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SikTh
Death of a Dead Day


5.0
classic

Review

by Whiskey On The Rocks USER (5 Reviews)
June 28th, 2006 | 1156 replies


Release Date: 2006 | Tracklist


Whilst the original SikTh album ‘The Trees Are Dead And Dried Out” was a true classic, this new offering is vastly superior, adding more pace, variation and musical skill to the original SikTh sound. Each member of the band is incredibly talented – guitarists Pin and Dan Weller are at the top of their game – fully showing off their skill this time around with solos that are both melodic and incredibly technical. James Leach once again shows that he is a very talented and capable bass player. His bass is heard clearly through the guitars. Dan Ford throws in some very interesting beats, there seems to be more double kick this time around. The duelling vocals of Justin Hill and Mikee Goodman are typically hyperactive sounding, with just as much melody as the previous album, if not more.

‘Bland Street Bloom’ kicks off the album with a brief, quiet intro before the main riff comes in. Brief scales punctuate each repetition of the riff, whilst Mikee and Justin scream their heads off for a bit till the chorus comes in. The chorus is pretty damn catchy – "A world of wonders/Man made mechanical thunders" – and Pin adds a nice little tapping lead to the mix. The next verse is interrupted briefly by a harmonised tapping riff before we go into a “breakdown” of sorts, followed by a singing section. The outro is pure hyperactivity, Pin playing the harmonised tapping riff of the second verse whilst Dan plays the standard riff – sounds very good.

‘Summer Rain’ is one of the faster tracks. There seem to be slapped harmonics by the guitarists here – showing how they think outside of the box and try to be original and unpredictable as possible. The verses are very driving and there is a very cool lead line played in the chorus…the solo here is very, very good but not the best on the album. There are some nice runs from the guitarists in later riffs.

‘Mermaid Slur’ is a poem track, much like ‘When Will the Forest Speak’ from the first album, but much shorter unfortunately. Still great fun!

‘Part of the Friction’ is my personal favourite from this album. Some nice double kick patterns in the intro, the vocals are nicely memorable and melodic the whole way through. Pin and Dan add some nice leads to the song up to the middle eight, which is where the song really gets good. Dan Ford begins a massive build up on his toms, whilst Mikee screams how we feed off the world and ruin it (my interpretation, I’m probably wrong) till he screams “You’re all the same!” whilst Justin wails away in the background till Pin comes in with a tapping line, sounds epic as *** with Justin’s singing vocals. Pin and Dan harmonise my favourite riff on the album, it’s just so melodic and powerful. The song goes into the verse riff, then back into the chorus one last time. Epic.

‘Where Do We Fall?’ is the “ballad” of the album, as it is mostly singing - much like ‘Peep Show’ from the first album. All very nice sounding, the bass punches through nicely with some cool fills. A great (if brief) solo is in there as well.

‘Another Sinking Ship’ picks up the pace again, back to hyperactive duelling vocals and double kick drums. Still clean singing in there however…at around the 1:54 mark Pin begins a solo with a whammy bar dive before going into some impossible sounding runs, Dan’s solo is also insane, some nice tasteful bends in there. Dan Ford blasts (closed roll on snare and hi-hats / ride bell) over the solos, making them all the faster and impressive sounding.

The only fault I personally had with the first SikTh album was that the album sometimes lost pace with unnecessary tracks like ‘Emersion’ but that has been remedied on this, the pace keeps the whole way through. I have no faults with this album, the production is immense, the guitar tone is incredible (Possibly due to the quality of guitars, pickups and amps Pin and Dan use…) the bass tone is fat and the drums sound class. Album of the year so far for me!

Pros!
+ Immense instrumentals, haven’t heard better in all honesty.
+ Great vocal work and production
+ Lyrics typically great – “You wanna say why you’re wanking in a well for?”

Cons!
- Urm…too progressive for some perhaps
- Very fast and heavy, less ‘relaxed’ then their last album
- …that’s about it!


user ratings (1135)
4.1
excellent
other reviews of this album
Psychaberration (5)
We all have our band, this is mine. Perfection in my eyes....

messiah167 (4.5)
Metal for the 21st Century...

Scoot (4.5)
A frenzied finale from a band that left a lot of potential on the table....

warwkplyr (4.5)
...



Comments:Add a Comment 
Tyler
Emeritus
June 28th 2006


7927 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Great album, but the vocals can be a major hurdle for some.

burton.and.gas
June 28th 2006


641 Comments


some people think tha screaming=bad. So yeha it true what CaC sed bout vox . This band are great tho.

miklec_666
June 28th 2006


1 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

this review is too right, just a shame it left off anything about 'In This Light' which is an immense melodic song again a little like peep show and has, in my opinion, the best solo in, certainly not the most technical but creates a beautiful harmonised sound that is catchy to anyone!!!

Refl
June 28th 2006


43 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Nice review, probably could have given stuff on other tracks e.g. in this light, way beyond the fond old river etc. which are also great imo

alexmonty12
June 29th 2006


17 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

It's a wicked album, well reviewed =] My favourite line is the bland street bloom "About as much fun as drinking a pint of piss" line hah =D



I think, although it is an immense album, it's hard to listen to all the way through, because it's far from easy listening



Muisee
July 1st 2006


679 Comments


3 posts, my bad.This Message Edited On 06.30.06

Muisee
July 1st 2006


679 Comments


good band. good review.

Muisee
July 1st 2006


679 Comments


good band. good review.

spoon_of_grimbo
July 1st 2006


2241 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

amazing album, i just can't stop listening to it!!!



good review, but somehow incomplete, you should really either do an overview or a complete trackbytrack, rather than odd tracks (unless its a 22-track album or something, then i could let it slide!), but yeah i'd positive vote this if you edited in descriptions of the other tracks.

crazycobs
July 6th 2006


114 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

i love this album its amazing.



Good review it swayed me to go out the day after i read the review and buy it! and i wasnt disapointment sikth havnt lost any originality but i must say id of loved them to of put a track or two like cant we all dream and tupelo on it to create more of an atmosphere but its an amazng album.

Whiskey On The Rocks
July 10th 2006


36 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

how do i editt?? *head explodes with sheer frustration*

Volunteer
July 12th 2006


102 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Two things. 1. How exactly is this a Progressive Rock album and not a metal album? 2. This album is definitely not a five star album. "You wanna say why you’re wanking in a well for?" Yeah, that lyric ranks right up there with "and she's buying the stairway to heaven". LOL. I will give it one thing though, this album does vary. It can go from crap to catchy in the same song. Thus endeth my slag.

JAStewart
July 13th 2006


180 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

I dont think this is the better sikth album, but how were they gonna top Trees..

Whiskey On The Rocks
July 14th 2006


36 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

to "Volunteer" - its progressive rock because of the odd time signatures, vocal style and the style the riffs are played i.e. the slapped harmonics. it is a metal album but unfortunately theres no "progressive metal". and the lyric made me laugh, im 15, im easily amused.

francesfarmer
July 15th 2006


1477 Comments


These guys are very bad at making up album names.

Whiskey On The Rocks
July 15th 2006


36 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

cheers lol, im a bit of a spaz when it comes to this site...

Confessed2005
July 19th 2006


6098 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

^^^ Dont worry about it my friend. You write good reviews and have an awesome taste in music :p



I absolutely adore this album - one of the most original, progressive and dense albums I have ever had the joy of listening to. I am definitely going to try and see this band live in October - they will playing at a venue near to me so I will endeavour to get down there.

Cairnexus
September 11th 2006


11 Comments


My friend is trying to get me into this band and all I can say is that they are an acquired taste.

JumpTheF**kUp
November 8th 2006


2723 Comments


Any recommendations for good songs to get me into some SikTh? I'm trying to get into SikTh and dredg because ive heard fantastic things about them on mx.

spoon_of_grimbo
November 8th 2006


2241 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

if you're into more melodic stuff, start with "peep show," "where do we fall," "in this light," "scent of the obscene," and "part of the friction."



otherwise, add to the above list, the following "if you weren't so perfect," "hold my finger," "skies of millennium night," "wait for something wild," "way beyond the fold old river," "when the moment's gone," and "as the earth spins round."



also, their covers of nick cave's "tupelo" and iron maiden's "wrathchild" are pretty damn amazing. as are mikey's spoken word tracks "when will the forest speak" and "mermaid slur."





hell just get all their stuff!!!



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