The packaging
The good
This has potential to be the most intimidating artwork I've ever seen. The cover...well it seems to be an eye in a flower, which is sitting on top of a demon, perhaps a goat. Evil. Then you open the CD and you are met by a man in a ski mask pointing a gun at you.
Take the CD out, there's another guy pointing two guns at you. The whole booklet has a militia theme going. It's very nicely done. What's intimidating is not the fact that these are people with guns...it's the look of near insanity in their eyes...they have their guns, they're insane, and they're pointing at you. Nice.
The bad
Nothing bad to say...perhaps out of fear.
The music
The good
Well, I'm going to go out on a limb here...and no, I am not saying this out of fear. This is, as of August 17, the best album of 2004.
The band's last album "Sadness Will Prevail" was a lot to digest. It's been out over a year and I'm still working on it...this one is very much in the style of "In The Eyes of God." Pissed, angry, generally fast songs, but there is the occasional droner to mix it up a bit. The band is not easy to describe...elements of death metal are present, but it's not a constant blast.
Vocally, Steve has a very distinct style...there is a less frequent death metal growl that is mixed in with the more dominant style...it's more of an emotional bark than anything else. It's not purely pissed, it's not purely sad, it's very energized, very emotional�the best way to describe it is an anguished howl. Check out a sample on amazon to get a feel.
The songs are chaotic and completely driven by rage. At times it seems like things are about to spin out of control, but the band manages to control the insanity presented here. Worth noting is that while this contains burst after burst of rage, the songs are memorable. After listening to this just a couple times, the tracks were catchy enough that I really felt familiar with it right away. Some may say the songs are too simple, not enough thought and control are put in...I say truly pissed songs should sound like this.
The production on here is probably what Metallica was looking for with St. Anger. It's a bit muddy, but it sounds natural that way. I'm not sure if this would really sound right with crystal clear production. This is pretty brutal, violent music and the raw form gives it that much more edge.
The album kicks off with some absolutely ferocious tracks. You put the album in and the first thing you hear is a gun loading...the song ends with gun shots...it definitely sets a mood. The album has a perfect length and not even 40 minutes. Music like this that really pummels can be a bit much to handle when given 75 minutes of it. With this I'm happy with what I have, not being overkilled and not really craving more. The last song has a droning feel that really brings some of the older, depressed Today is the Day material.
I find it hard to review albums I strongly like because I prefer not to gush. So I'll just kill this one now.
The bad
Today is the Day can be considered a bit of an acquired taste. They are brutal, but not in the straightforward manner of most death metal. They're strange, and I think ultimately rewarding...when I first heard them I hated them and now I'm saying their album is the best of the year.
