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User
Reviews 23
Approval 97%
Soundoffs 66
News Articles 10
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Album Ratings 959
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Last Active 02-07-15 9:34 pm
Joined 02-07-15
Review Comments 2,845
| As Cities Burn alternative timeline...
This list might be pointless and will probably disappear in the ether, but I used to be a super fan of this band and their earlier material had a lot of impact on me growing up.
ACB has had numerous lineups and has broken up multiple times, and their discography is all over the place because of it.
This is a "what if?" timeline organizing their material in a way that the music continues a natural progression and evolution and, thus, making their discography more digestible and interesting. | | 1 |  | As Cities Burn
As Cities Burn
I've never listened to their first demo album so I'll just ignore it. This is a 3 song demo containing early versions of songs from their debut. You can see why they were sign to Solid State Records as they display enough talent here. | | 2 |  | As Cities Burn
Son, I Loved You at Your Darkest
The debut is the heaviest ACB album and it's a complete delight. Everything from the production, the overall length and song flow is almost perfect. This album used to be the only album featuring TJ Bonnette (brother of main songwriter, guitar player and singer Cody Bonnette) as the screamer of the band up until STTW was released. This is also the first album produced by Matt Goldman, who has worked on most of their records. | | 3 |  | As Cities Burn
Scream Through the Walls
While being their fourth album, STTW sounds more or less as a continuation of the debut. This is the second and final album featuring TJ Bonnette. The sound is a mix bag of their indie rock tendencies and post-hardcore sound, but unlike CNS, TJ's vocals don't mesh very well with the music itself as it is not as abrassive at it was on the debut. The compositions are also a bit all over the place as some of these tracks lack hooks and an overall defined structure. They recruited Matt Goldman for this album as well, but it lacks the cohesion their other records display. | | 4 |  | As Cities Burn
Prince of Planet Earth / Goldmine
While these songs were released between their third and fourth albums, they actually pull off perfectly what the band attempted on STTW. In an ideal world these would be the two singles where TJ Bonnette said farewell on a good note. | | 5 |  | As Cities Burn
The As Cities Burn EP
This EP features demo versions of songs from CNS plus a live acoustic version of "The Widow". It's a great appetizer for their third LP which is regarded as their best material by most fans. | | 6 |  | As Cities Burn
Come Now Sleep
What there's left to say about this album? This is the anthem of all those Christian kids who started questioning their faith or at least reposition it while going through high school, or as it was in my personal case, this is the album that got me through very tough years while being a college student.
Being the first LP without TJ Bonnette, it is arguably less heavy and definitely less immediate but still maintains its post-hardcore identity while introducing more ambience and somber compositions. Cody proved to be a solid performer as the sole frontman. Matt Goldman also served as the producer. | | 7 |  | As Cities Burn
Hell or High Water
This album further strays away from their post-hardcore identity in turn for an indie rock direction. It also features different instruments and a variety of different styles. This is also the first album that wasn't produced by Matt Goldman, but even so it sounds absolutely incredible. It might even be my personal favorite from a production standpoint. TJ Bonnette makes guest appearance on "84 Sheepdog" and the bonus track "Gates" *(which should have been the official closer).
Bonus: If you listen to the Audiotree session, which features two songs from this, one from CNS and three from STTW, right after listening to this you could almost be convinced it was released during the time this was released in this hypothetical timeline. | | 8 |  | Hawkboy
Hawkboy/King Folly
This was drummer Aaron Lunsford and Cody Bonnette solo project after one of the numerous breakups the band went through. Being the only two original members of ACB who have been involved in every ACB release, it follows the next logical step from HOHW. Actually, this is ACB "lost" fourth album imo
These two EP's, which later were released into a compilation, continue the indie rock direction but with a more direct alt rock flair. Matt Goldman only produced the King Folly side, while the Hawkboy side was produced by Tyler Orr. | | 9 |  | As Cities Burn
Brain Matter(s)
ACB latest album was released independently through a relatively unknown streaming service and later on WAV files as a free download. The album is mixed well but it is relatively underproduced as most songs are acoustic with ocassional moments of distorted guitars and random effects. it sounds more like a mix tape. It is Cody's songwriting at its most simple and deconstructed. The album was produced by Aaron Sprinkle, who has worked with many of the band's peers. | |
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