i reviewed this album already, but it was deleted, so i am reviewing it again now in hopes that this one will be kept. Moving on. If i got the genre wrong, im very sorry, but i dont think it really matters. Also, if you want the bio and cover art, go to www.theblackmaria.com the bio is too long and i cant get the cover art to work, it says something about an error.
Overall, this was a quite good album. The instrumental and vocal work isnt too bad, i like it alot. The lyrics arent fantastic, but who cares? Alot of people will instantly give up when i say that there is screaming, but there is barely any at all. on to my track by track
The Memento: This is a very good song. It starts off with this funeral-ish organ intro that i dont like much, and then that drops off and is instantly replaced with the full band. The guitar work is good throughout the song, but its at its best near the end of the song. The vocals sound angry, which suit the lyrics, there is some screaming at the end, which i personally love, i cant really make out the bass and i dont pay attention to the drumming much, so pretty much you can guess that i wont be mentioning bass or drums much in this review, anyway, the song is about hating someone that you love. If it werent for the organ intro, this would be my favorite song, but, because of that, i give it a 9/10
Betrayal: This song starts with an intro that is very close to "Sugar We're Going Down" crap from fall out boy. I chose to forgive the song because i like the drumming . this is a song where i notice the drumming, which i think is very good. The guitar is ok, but not great, i think there is some kind of bell in this song too. The vocals are ok, but i wouldnt say they are great, just average. the name of the song pretty much tells you what its about, betrayal. 6/10
Organs: Good song. It begins with the guitar playing a few notes that sound a little palm muted. the guitar in the verse has a heavy sound that i enjoy. the vocals are some of the best on the album, very emotional sounding. the song is about someone about to jump off of a building or something because nobody loves her, but then the vocalist says he loves her. This song has one of my favorite lyrics ever though "some things can never change, so just get used to it". Good song 8/10
Our Commitment's a Sickness: THis is another one of my favorites. The intro is a slightly heavy sounding guitar, which makes it my favorite intro on the album. The song has a slow verse with ringing guitars and a fast chorus that has the band singing "woahs" in the background while the lead singer is singing pretty fast. I have no clue what this song is about, but i love it. The bridge is where this song goes bad. there are some weird effects on the voice that i hate, so thsi song gets a 9/10
The Distance From The Bottom: My original review said that i didnt like this song, but upon further listening, i decided that i do. Another heavy ish intro, a medium paced verse, a slightly sped up chorus. The vocals are good here, and the guitar in the verse is some of my favorite on this album. Once again, i dont know what this song is about. I dont really like it as much as some other songs either, 5/10
The Lines We Cross: This song is almost all piano and vocals. I dont really like the vocals, but the lyrics are some of the best. The chorus has some creepy sounding vocals and some equally creepy background screaming. I think this is about being dependant on someone. Not a favorite of mine, 4/10
Mirrors And Cameras: I love this song. it starts out with an almost metalish intro and you can actually hear the bass a little. The vocals are very good, as is the instrumental stuff. No idea what this songs about, but its very good, Definantly a favorite and i recommend this song to whoever likes this kind of band. 9.5/10
Sirens: My favorite song on the album. It has an airy guitar in the intro leads into the lead vocals and backing vocals singing together with small screams echoing in the background. The verse is fast and the chorus is strecthed a little bid. Good song, i think this song is about someone drawing you in. Awesome 10/10
To Have Loved: I kind of like this song, but i have mixed feelings about it. On one hand i love the guitar parts, but on the other hand, the vocals are borderline suprano, high pitched in some places but not in others. this song is about heartbreak, i think, not much to say though, 4/10
Ash: I dont know if i like this song or if i dont like this song. I like the verse, but the chorus isnt very good. The guitar part is absolutely one of the best on the cd and the vocals arent bad, sometimes fading in and out of screaming. This song has a horror movie piano part that scares me when i hear it and even think about it. this song is about sinning, i think. hard to rate ?/10
Rats In The Prison: I dont like this song much. It starts with a guitar intro that somehow seems familiar. You then hear "Rats" in a long, drawn out, half scream. The verse is about slavery or escape and the chorus is about a whore. The only swear on the album is in this song "And you, you're the kind of f***ing whore who would sell your heart and soul for a dollar bill" Weird song, 4/10
So, The Black Maria is a good band with good music. Hopefully this review helps influence you to buy the cd because its so good that it desereves your listening. The album overall gets a 9/10.
