What happened?
shitter or if the two events played out together in unison, but I used
to really like this band. 2002’s ‘Suicide Notes And Butterfly Kisses’
was a monumental album for me, having been my introduction to the band
I was blown away with their seamless melting of hardcore, punk and metal
into one cohesive unit, and it’s always stuck in my head as a cool
cd.
This is definitely not the case here, after setting opener Doomsday
off with an admittedly solid intro, things go downhill fast. The main
difference being vocalist Alex Varkatzas’ almost complete abandoning
of his scream in favour of a stupid droning shout, every now and then
making melodic interjections, presumably to give things a sense of rock
n roll attitude, but it doesn’t really work. At all. Drummer
Brandon Saller still chimes in with his melodic singing parts, but without
Alex screaming it hardly seems necessary anymore.
Vocals are not the only major change here though, drums have been slowed
down, guitars have been tuned down- and their metallic harmonized interplay
has been thrown to the dogs. The result is 11 tracks of sterile, lifeless,
junk.
There are a couple of standouts however, namely second track Honor,
which, while still sounding the same as pretty much every other song
on the album, has definitely got some backbone, and hits the new found
formula right on the head. The second is Slow Burn, and I really hate
to admit that because it basically just sounds like Good Charlotte doing
a hardcore song. Something about it just works though, it’s punchy
and catchy and of all the attempts made on this disc to change things
up and do something new, this is the only song that seems to succeed
because it’s confident and comfortable and the music finds its place.
That’s my major gripe with what these guys have done here; tried to
fix something that’s not really broken. Evolution can’t be manufactured,
bands progress and grow over time, often in ways not even they would
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have expected, but it’s a process that can’t be replicated. Lead
Sails Paper Anchor is not progression, it’s change for the sake of
change, the consequences of which are boring, contrived and completely
unconvincing.
1. Doomsday
2. Honor
3. Falling Down
4. Becoming The Bull
5. When Two Are One
6. Lose It
7. No One Cares
8. Can’t happen Here
9. Slow Burn