The packaging:
I understand the value of a dollar and you certainly get your money's worth. Most stores had this for sale under $10--I paid $7.99 and for that I got a full length album, a 30 minute bonus DVD, and a bonus CD that has select tracks from other Century Media artists. That's two CDs, a DVD, in a classy digipak and booklet for $8.
The music
I went into this album hesitant, but optimistic.
Every so often an album comes out that everyone rants and raves about...this is one of them. I have read comparisons of this album to Master of Puppets and Reign in Blood. The reviews that don't compare this to those albums specifically almost always drop comparisons to Slayer, Metallica, and Anthrax.
I know great metal...I am a fan of great metal...I have listened to great metal for almost 20
years...this, sir...is not great metal. It sounds like a band that can shred on their instruments, but are lacking in the songwriting and singer departments. Every so often, they pull it off...and when they do, it's damn near flawless, but it's too few and far between.
So let me go on record and correct most reviews you've probably read...this is not as good as anything Slayer has done except for maybe side B of "Diabolus." Someone who says "Shadows Fall is like Slayer" has no clue.
This not comparable to any Cliff era Metallica release, though I suppose it is better than Load/Reload/S&M/St. Anger.
Reviewers that say such things can only be forgiven if this is they own less than 25 metal albums and really don't know much about the bands they compare them to.
Every so often while listening, I'll think---Goddamn, that's awesome. Check out the last song, "Those Who Cannot Speak." Musically, good goddamn, that's amazing. Vocally, he nails it...he growls when he has to, and the bark works perfectly. Most importantly...the song is memorable. Why couldn't the whole album be like that? Brutal, melodic, intense...put out a whole album like that and I'll be happy.
But then...
Check out "What Drives The Weak"...the song starts out just right...it's heavy and brutal but there's that melody that makes it listenable. The solo that kicks in--complements the build up to the song...the vocals kick in and everything is going great...57 seconds in, they put this mellow part with horrible vocals in and the song is destroyed. The 20 second segment kicks back in but the singer can't turn the clean vocals off all together for a few more stanzas....he gets over it and just when you think the song has redeemed itself, the mellow part repeats. This is not the singer's fault...why didn't someone...anyone in the band or the producer say "what the hell are we doing?"
At first, I viewed this as indecisiveness, but it's not...it's intentional, it's planned out...bands like this are trying to appease everyone...they put metal parts so metal guys like it...they put breakdowns so hardcore kids like it...they put in shitty clean vocals so the emo kids who have a soft spot for metal like it.
Check out "Stillness" where he adds some not quite growling, but not quite clean vocals...there's a hint of early James Hetfield in there and it works fine, it's certainly not great, but it's pretty good.. The song is heavy, the solos are some of the best in modern metal, and the vocals are accessible without sounding weak.
So here's the thing...they technically did it, they played the song brilliantly, the vocals were done the way metal should be done, and the production is flawless...so what's wrong? It's not much of a song really...I've heard it around half a dozen times and I don't really know it.
Get 18 seconds into "Inspiration on Demand" and it sure as hell sounds like he sounds like a guy in a Metallica tribute band trying his hardest to sound like Hetfield...but he misses a note. He misses a note or at least delivers it poorly in a segment of the song that was obviously written to show him off. Bad move, but forgiveable if he didn't add these horrible EMO sounding clean vocals. Yes, they're emo flavored...they're not Belladonna influenced, because Belladonna could sing...he sounds like Geoff from Thursday.
And that's fine for Thursday, but fuck...this is metal.
I feel bad laying in on this because HE CAN GROWL FINE. He can even immitate Hetfield to an acceptable degree, but he's not a powerhouse vocalist who should have segments written to showcases his abilities.
Could you imagine Glenn Danzig rapping? It would sound terrible. Could you imagine Jello Biafra trying to pull off Pavarotti? Of course not. If you have a style that works for you, then stick with it...if you want to branch out, then only branch out as far as what is appropriate for you.
There are thrash elements, melodic death metal elements, and hardcore elements...they mix them well
as it sounds natural. It's not like they put together a Cannibal Corpse type song and throw in a Hatebreed breakdown, so the fact that they blended the styles together well is a strong point. At the same time, they're not the only band doing this, and though I feel they're good at it, they're not the best.
I can't help but feel all the hype for this has influenced me in two ways:
The first, my expectations may have been a bit too high...sure I was hesitant and not really expecting something perfect, but I figured it just had to be awesome.
The second way the hype influenced me is that after listening to it twice and it not striking me, I forced more spins...I forced myself to keep listening, and to search for what it is that makes this so flawless. If it didn't get so many great reviews, I may have written this off as an album not good enough for me to consistently listen to but certainly not bad enough to sell. I feel like I've found redeeming value in the musicianship but the fact is, I've dismissed bands for having less flaws. There are so many tremendous bands out there...there are so many wonderful CDs in my collection that I could play over and over again that I resent myself for listening to this more than I should have.
If you want modern brutal metal, may I suggest the new Lamb of God?
This will undoubtably be many people's first metal album. If it is...welcome, and dig a little deeper, this is the tip of the iceburg and there's much more out there for you...in the end this will be an album you'll love now, look back on with fond memories, but soon realize compared to so much more out there, not even really worth discussing.
The DVD
The "guitar and drum lessons" didn't really strike my interest as I play neither instrument. The live stuff is acceptable. I just don't care I guess.
Recap
I have two points...the first is the packaging is excellent and the value for your dollar is certainly here. The second is that it's hard not to react to all the bullshit being spread by the metal world. How could someone who owns "Seasons in the Abyss" rant about how great this is? Really.
