| 4.5 superb |
| A Black Rose Burial An Awakening of Revenants |
| A Lot Like Birds Plan B |
| Between the Buried and Me Colors |
| Converge Axe to Fall |
| Counterparts The Current Will Carry Us |
| Counterparts Tragedy Will Find Us |
Tragedy Will Find Us is a fantastic representation of the evolution of Counterparts sound.
Instrumentally specific parts are more fleshed out while the songs themselves are much more
concise, and don't meander (which I thought some of their earlier material was guilty of.) The
overall tone is much darker and more desperate than previous material so when the melodies are
more prevalent they create a perfect "silver lining in the clouds" feeling that generally
accompanies this type of sound. Collapse, Burn, and Tragedy and are all good showcases of this.
Breakdowns still remain a staple of Counterparts sound, and on TWFU they bring The. Fucking.
Mosh. Whether dropped out of nowhere like in the pit rousing opener "Stillborn", the steadily
built upon until it collapses under it's own overbearing weight in "Stranger", or "Choke's"
plain ridiculous yet fitting attempt to out do the much discussed breakdown in Compass. They
are always tastefully placed and never overdone, they appear only when needed and are always
accompanied by a sick mosh call that is always equal parts distressful and poignant.
I could be wrong but the heaviness seems to be a lot more influenced by early Metalcore than
previous albums. The use of short bursts of spoken word passages that instantly bring to mind
Of Malice era Misery Signals/7 Angels 7 Plagues/Taken etc. also suggest this.
I admit a love of gut wrenchingly honest lyricism and being able to identify with said lyrics
definitely helps in appreciating this album. When I first heard "I AM A STRANGER WHEN I STARE
INTO THE EYES OF THOSE I LOVE LOOK AWAY IN DISGUST PROTECT YOURSELF FROM THE SIGHT OF MY
DECEPTION " my jaw dropped, and my vision turned blurry; to hear thoughts that ruminate often,
but are never openly spoken about, addressed so vividly and desperately it... It really caused
me to reflect hard on such matters and to be thankful that there is someone who truly shares
and understands my fucked up thought process.
Equally impactful, but for an entirely different reason, the closing of following track
Tragedy; the stern affirmation of I AM NOT A MORTAL I AM A METAPHOR FOR MOVING FORWARD instills
the listener with a sense of camaraderie that can only be found in a shared nature of despair
as well as a renewed sense of purpose which is much needed after the absolutely draining
Stranger.
I love that Brendan has the courage to address the deepest of insecurities and the darkest of
thoughts as well in such a way that is incredibly relatable and personal, but never alienates
the listener.
In conclusion the instrumentation and lyricism blend together to create a beautifully cathartic
juxtaposition that is the perfect soundtrack for encountering and ultimately dealing with the
tragedies that affect our lives.
Strong Melodic Hardcore/Metalcore AOTY material. |
| Dead Man In Reno Dead Man In Reno |
| Defeater Lost Ground |
| Departures When Losing Everything Is Everything You Wanted |
| Envy A Dead Sinking Story |
| Envy All the Footprints You've Ever Left and the Fear Expecting Ahead |
| Glass Casket We Are Gathered Here Today... |
"I'll let the world know what a wonderful person it will never get to meet."
listen to A Grey A.M You'll Never Get to See, one of the best songs to ever come from this genre. |
| Glassjaw Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence |
| Glassjaw Coloring Book |
| Glassjaw Our Color Green (The Singles) |
| HORSE the band Desperate Living |
| letlive. Fake History |
| Loma Prieta Last City |
| Loma Prieta I.V. |
| Misery Signals Mirrors |
| Misery Signals Controller |
I love this album, I wondered if they were ever going to surpass Of Malice, and with each listen i feel they may have or at least be on par with it.Everyone in the band stepped their game up.
Karl has definitely earned my grace especially with his singing performances in A Certain Death and Ebb and Flow,Branden never fails to amaze me with his intricate patterns and incredible fills like the ones in A Certain Death and Nothing.
Ryan and Stu wow just wow.I honestly wondered if they could top the ambient parts of Mirrors and Of Malice,yet still maintain the Metalcore sound and yes they have.I was simply blown away from the guitar work in Coma,Ebb and Flow, and Reset.
A real seller for this album was the lyrics from the thought provoking line of "Were just rehearsing who we think we are" from Coma to the to the powerful line of "Torch the fields and pray for rain" from Nothing, you won't find any whiny B.S about ex girlfriends here.What Jesse had in his lyrics were passion, and i absolutely loved this.However i'm also quite fond of Karls intrigueing and thought provoking lyrics of Control.
The production work of Devin Townsend helped to make Of Malice a classic Metalcore album and this is no different.This record combines the greatest aspects of Of Malice and Mirrors.4.5/5 Best of 08 by far! |
| Misery Signals Misery Signals |
| Mudvayne The End of All Things to Come |
| Norma Jean Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child |
| Nothing Guilty of Everything |
| Protest the Hero Kezia |
| Radiohead OK Computer |
| Reflux The Illusion Of Democracy |
| Shai Hulud That Within Blood Ill-Tempered |
| Shai Hulud Reach Beyond the Sun |
| Suis La Lune Riala |
| The Dillinger Escape Plan Miss Machine |
| The Dillinger Escape Plan Option Paralysis |
| The Faceless Akeldama |
| The Knife Trade/Through the Eyes of the Dead The Annihilation of Expectation |
| The Number Twelve Looks Like You Mongrel |
| The Number Twelve Looks Like You Worse Than Alone |
| The Sawtooth Grin Cuddlemonster |
| Through the Eyes of the Dead Bloodlust |
| Through the Eyes of the Dead The Scars of Ages |
| 4.0 excellent |
| A Lot Like Birds No Place |
| Alcest Écailles De Lune |
| Amia Venera Landscape Amia Venera Landscape |
| Atmosphere When Life Gives You Lemons... |
| August Burns Red Thrill Seeker |
| August Burns Red Constellations |
| Beau Navire Hours |
| Beau Navire Lumens |
| Becoming The Archetype Dichotomy |
| Between the Buried and Me Between the Buried and Me |
| Between the Buried and Me The Great Misdirect |
| Born of Osiris The New Reign |
| Brand New Deja Entendu |
| Broadcast the Nightmare Twenty Twelve |
| Circle Takes the Square Circle Takes the Square |
| Converge Petitioning the Empty Sky |
| Counterparts Prophets |
| Dead Kings Dead Kings |
| Dead Man In Reno Ideology |
| Deadwater Drowning Deadwater Drowning EP |
| Defeater Travels |
| Defeater Empty Days and Sleepless Nights |
| Deftones Diamond Eyes |
| Dionaea Still |
| Emery The Weak's End |
| Emery ...In Shallow Seas We Sail |
| Eminem The Slim Shady LP |
| Eyedea and Abilities First Born |
| Fit for an Autopsy Absolute Hope Absolute Hell |
| From Graves of Valor Famine |
| Glassjaw El Mark |
| God Is an Astronaut All Is Violent, All Is Bright |
| Ill Nino One Nation Underground |
| Iwrestledabearonce Iwrestledabearonce |
| Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains Love Songs For The Apocalypse |
| Johnny Truant In the Library of Horrific Events |
| La Dispute Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair |
| La Dispute Wildlife |
| Life in Your Way Waking Giants |
Yet another, amazing Melodic Hardcore band, that bit the dust.Waking Giants, is one of the most passionate cds,that i've heard, in the Melodic Hardcore genre.
The track Salty Grave is worth the price of admission alone, as it perfrectly sums up the bands sound as a whole, and features, one of the most captivating, spoken word sections of the genre.
So if your looking, to get into this great (yet unfortunately deceased) band, I advise you download Salty Grave,We Don't Believe and perhaps Reach The End.
I miss this band....*sob* |
| Manners Pale Blue Light |
| Matchbox Twenty Yourself or Someone Like You |
If you were around in the 90s and listened to the radio; you're a damn liar if you say you
didn't get the infectious choruses of Real World,3 A.M, or Push stuck in your head.
|
| Misery Signals Absent Light |
| More Than Life Love Let Me Go |
| Mudvayne L.D. 50 |
| Mudvayne Lost and Found |
| Mudvayne L(ive) D(osage) 50: Live in Peoria DVD |
| Old Gray An Autobiography |
| Periphery Periphery |
| On this album you will hear Heavy Metal, a musical genre from the future.Be dazzled by distortion, be bombarded by bass beats, and jitterbug to djent! I'm sure you will enjoy such finger popping tunes such Light,Insomnia, and my personal favorite, Ragtime Dandies! |
| Poison the Well You Come Before You |
| Poison the Well The Tropic Rot |
| Prayer for Cleansing Rain In Endless Fall |
| Protest the Hero Fortress |
| Rosetta A Determinism of Morality |
| Sailboats Demo |
| Skycamefalling 10.21 |
| Snowing I Could Do Whatever I Wanted If I Wanted |
| So Hideous To Clasp a Fallen Wish With Broken Fingers |
| Solace (CAN) Call & Response |
| Sum 41 Does This Look Infected? |
| Tech N9ne The Lost Scripts of K.O.D. |
| The Contortionist Apparition |
| The Contortionist Exoplanet |
| The Demonstration Accidents With Intelligence |
| The Faceless Planetary Duality |
| The Number Twelve Looks Like You Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear. |
| The Red Chord Fed Through the Teeth Machine |
| The Saddest Landscape After The Lights |
| The Saddest Landscape/Pianos Become The Teeth Split |
| The Showdown A Chorus of Obliteration |
| The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza Danza III: Series of Unfortunate Events |
| This or the Apocalypse Monuments |
| This or the Apocalypse Haunt What's Left |
| This or the Apocalypse Dead Years |
| Touche Amore ...To the Beat of a Dead Horse |
| Touche Amore Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me |
| Trenches The Tide Will Swallow Us Whole |
| United Nations United Nations |
| Veil of Maya All Things Set Aside |
| White Arms of Athena Astrodrama |
