Review Summary: This is the only album which Emmure has put effort into.
To most people, Emmure are known for their stereotypical deathcore-sounding music on their later releases such as The Respect Issue and Felony, which are full of 99% breakdowns and terrible lyrics. Rip-offs of The Acacia Strain. No blast-beats. There is nothing to enjoy. Let's just say, at least there is one record where Emmure don't act like such idiots. Despite that, they may never reach the same level as what other deathcore bands (Suicide Silence, Whitechapel, Despised Icon, All Shall Perish) can achieve, because of talent and/or technicality.
Like other Emmure albums, songs are given strange titles to them, like what other metalcore bands like The Devil Wears Prada or A Day To Remember what do. The 50 second album opener, A Ticket To The Paralyser, is just one simple breakdown; One shout of the word "GO" will direct bros through the rest of the album. The second track, "10 signs you should leave", was the first song from the album that I have heard, and I honestly could not believe that Emmure would perform something like this - with effort. I went to "Check tracks 8 & 9" afterwards. Tracks 2, 3 & 8 show the heavy side of the album, yet pulled off very well. But when someone repeats the question "Won't you be my bride?" in a final breakdown, it becomes too much.
Tracks 4, 5 & 7 show the slightly more unpredictably melodic side of the album, with track 4 being "Rusted Over Wet Dreams". This one uses the common verse-chorus formula; the chorus pulls off a more "Melodic death metal" kind of sound and I like it. It's nice to see a metal band try a slightly different metal style*. Track 7, "Sleeping princess in the devil's castle", is the most melodic on the album. The only one with clean vocals, obviously not performed by Frankie. According to Wikipedia, the song features Karl Schubach of Misery Signals and Tyler Guida of My Bitter End. The clean vocals should be what Karl does on the song if that is true; I don't notice Tyler anywhere. There are still some tracks to ignore, like the afore-mentioned album opener and "Travis Buckle" (if not, the last track).
The last 2 tracks a written about someone commiting suicide by slitting their wrists in their bathroom (the shower floor). It seems to give the illusion that there is a concept behind the whole album, which is not what I believe at the moment. The last track is ironically the longest track on the album, being only seconds longer than 4 minutes long. It's not a track for enjoying, it's pretty simple, but it effectively and emotionally closes the album. A 2-minute breakdown is performed mid-way through the track, constantly getting slower and slower (We Butter The Bread With Butter's Extrem does it slower and longer). Then it ends with an electronic drum loop which, if you listen carefully, represents the rhythm of the album opener, followed by a sound of a train and then nothing.
In conclusion, This is the only "better-than-average" Emmure album ever released yet not a perfect album, hence the 4/5 rating - It is still pretty short. If it wasn't for all of those flaws of the album, I would have ended up giving them a 4.5 or 5/5. I would do the same for the other Emmure albums that have alot more cons then pros.
Favourite Tracks:
10 signs you should leave
Rusted over wet dreams
When keeping it real goes wrong
It's not a party, it's a funeral
*I'm not saying that having a Nu Metal kind of sound on Felony was a good idea.
