Review Summary: Why did I use to praise this album?
I'll start with the negatives. Just for the record, I would like to say that I heavily enjoy both Dear Love and Zombie, as well as what I've heard from Plagues and the newer TDWP material. One of the things I liked about Dear Love and Plagues was Mike Hranica's screams. I enjoyed the gutturals heavily, and liked the higher, Zao-esque screams as well. Hranica threw those out the door for this release in favor of a more generic approach to screams. The lows sound average now, the highs borderline annoying. He seems straining to hit both, and should've stayed in the more comfortable range displayed on previous releases. Also, the album starts to run together after previous listens, due to all of the songs having the same sound structure. I know people complained that the tracks on the first two releases weren't structured enough, but TDWP should've stuck with the less "mature" approach, and not tried to organize the songs to the point where they all sounded the same. Breaks from the monotony are few and far between, and when they come, they are two short to be recognized (opener of "Big Wiggly Style"). And although the instrumentalists are talented, they too are playing the same notes, it seems, for every song on the EP. Chris Rubey's leads on guitar are most always the same, though the affected and somewhat interesting lead on "Assistant to the Regional Manager" is a highlight. Jeremy Depoyster just chugs along on guitar, failing to provide any interesting material unless during a breakdown. The samples are either awkward or way overused every track. Drums are somewhat standard, and bass is impossible to hear. Finally, there is an overuse of autotune on Jeremy's clean vocals, and a lack of lyrical diversity (most songs are just the same convicting themes over and over again).
There are some positives though. There is a good deal of energy displayed on the tracks. My favorite on the record, "Danger: Wildman" shows that the band does enjoy what they are doing, especially Mike's scream of "I KNOW A GHOST!" at the beginning. The chorus is also somewhat explosive, and one of the stronger choruses on the album. As a sidenote, this track live also puts out a good deal of energy, Mike runs around the stage and screams like a madman. Heavy opener "Sassafras" is probably the fastest-paced song on the record, and is a highlight due to it's fast-tempo, and that it carries Mike's best vocal performance of the album. In addition, it seems like the band actually wanted to due something a little different. Jeremy varies his palm-muted chugging just enough to make it less mundane than the rest of the album, the drums are pounding, and Chris' lead isn't too bad either. Depoyster is a great singer, and though his voice is obviously overdubbed with autotune, he does show a great deal of talent- "Des Moines" has his best performance, though he delivers passionately on "Danger: Wildman." Also,though the guitar riffs and chord progressions can get repetitive, "Sassafras," "Big Wiggly Style", "Lord Xenu", "Ben Has A Kid", and "Wapakalypse" have some good riffs, even though again, they are repetitive. Finally, though Mike sounds his worst on this record, he isn't the worst vocalist out there, and his growls aren't that bad.
Is this a bad album? No. Is it a good album? No, not at all. It's just average. To their credit, TDWP improved heavily after this, and thankfully haven't put out an album this weak since. I would only recommend this to someone just getting into metalcore, but if you are TDWP fan who enjoyed Plagues and Dear Love, this isn't for you. Also, if you want to get into the band, don't buy this, it's not a great first impression. Thanks for reading!!
