THE unOFFICIAL ALBUM REVIEW THREAD

[AnimaStone]

I'll start it off:

Don't Believe The Truth
Artist: Oasis
This album is, in my humble opinion, the best one that has been released so far this year, and I doubt that any other album will be better. Don't Believe The Truth is, simply put, classic Oasis. It lacks the single standout track that characterized the other albums ("Live Forever", "Wonderwall", "D'You Know What I Mean?", "Go Let It Out", "Stop Crying Your Heart Out"), but it is overall the best album they have released since (What's The Story) Morning Glory?. To begin talking about this album, I have to start with the opening track, "Turn Up The Sun". "Turn Up The Sun" is one of the defining songs of Oasis. It starts out with an upbeat musical sequence that rings of "Songbird", but then launches into a rockfest that would make any fan of Be Here Now proud. The lyrics are straight from the Definitely Maybe era: "I carry madness / Everywhere I go.... Come on, turn up the sun / Turn it up for everyone, yeah / Love one another / Love one another....", and so on. The song that has gotten the most exposure, the single "Lyla", is the worst track on Don't Believe The Truth. It was an attempt to write an anthem to solidify Oasis' place in history, but it was a failed attempt. Once again, this only goes to show that Noel should stick to writing songs and not picking singles. The rest of the album is superb, though. "Part Of The Queue", "Love Like A Bomb", and "Keep The Dream Alive" are each a legitimate candidate to be a single, and on a lesser album any could easily be a first single. The best song on the album, "Let There Be Love", sounds like but is better than "Wonderwall". The real winner on Don't Believe The Truth, however, is "The Importance Of Being Idle". "The Importance Of Being Idle" is the most innovative and original song Noel Gallagher has written since the Morning Glory era. It has been announced as the second single, and it is sure to be a hit because of its innovative guitar, interesting vocal style, and sarcastic, teenage-esque lyrics. The band is back together, and they still have the energy that has hallmarked the band's career. The future still looks bright.
OVERALL RATING: 9/10

Demon Days
Artist: Gorillaz
Without a doubt, Demon Days is the most original album of 2005. Described as being "inspired more by Noodle this time", Gorillaz' sophomore effort takes a hint from "Clint Eastwood", "Double Bass", and "Left Hand Suzuki Method" and reaches for a darker but just as addictive sound. And oh, how they do reach it. The first single, "Feel Good Inc.", met with chart success not seen since Oasis' Morning Glory era or even Pink Floyd. It was 22nd in its first week, when the CD version was not released and only downloads were counted. In its second week of wide release and eighth total week of release, it hit #1 above of Oasis' "Lyla". It was in the top five for five weeks straight, one of those from downloads alone. If that's not a smash hit, then nothing is. Plus, it's a really good song. There are other good songs on the album, too. "Last Living Souls" and "El Manana" explore the world of catchy melodies, while "O Green World" delves into the realm of extreme bass guitar. "DARE" is a made-for-dancing song that has make-you-think-twice lyrics. And speaking of lyrics, Demon Days gets extreme props for giving us thought-provoking, interesting cuisine to feast upon rather than boring old cud to chew on. Damon Albarn of Blur fame shows off his voice, while the contributing artists, especially Shaun Ryder, give their doses of excellence. This is an album to buy. Oh, and it has awesome album art.
OVERALL RATING: 8.75/10

I'll have reviews for Kasabian and X&Y soon, but I need a few more listen-throughs on each. Till then...

[AnimaStone]

X&Y
Artist: Coldplay
X&Y is another one of those albums that just goes to show that the UK is turning out better popular music nowadays than the US is. It has everything you'd expect from Coldplay: catchy melodies, flashy guitar, and brilliant piano; however, it also has a rock 'n' roll tour de force, the first for Coldplay. The first single, "Speed Of Sound", is about the poppiest song on the album. Although there is nothing on the album that can measure up to the sheer brilliance of "Politik" or beauty of "The Scientist", X&Y provides several alternatives that are just as good and in some cases better. "Square One", the album opener, is a textbook opener but manages to still sound original. "Talk" contains what is easily the best riff to ever appear on a Coldplay album. "Swallowed In The Sea" has a great chorus. "Till Kingdom Come", the hidden track, is charmingly catchy. The real winner on X&Y, however, is "White Shadows". "White Shadows" is a rock 'n' roll gem that any self-respecting band would be proud to have written. The one bad thing to say about X&Y is that the lyrics are somewhat weak. Chris Martin is no Noel Gallagher, after all. Overall, if you like "Clocks", "In My Place", "Politik", and "Speed of Sound", you should like X&Y just fine.
OVERALL RATING: 8/10

Kasabian
Artist: Kasabian
For being a debut album, Kasabian is amazingly good. It has major hit potential that only points to great things to come. "Club Foot", the first single, is a good indication of what Kasabian is about: writing good songs with power guitar and thought-provoking lyrics. "Processed Beats" and "L.S.F." show that Kasabian has the potential to make some real head-bangers. "Cutt Off" and "Reason Is Treason" prove that Kasabian can play the governmentally paranoid game and win. "Running Battle" and "Butcher Blues" give a glimpse at the ability to write good album tracks that aren't poppy enough for the mainstream but are just plain good enough to keep a stable fan base. Kasabian has potential, but they aren't there yet. Most of the songs that contain Kasabian's biggest strengths--energy and power--also contain Kasabian's biggest weakness: the inability to write a song ending. "Cutt Off", "Club Foot", "Processed Beats", and "L.S.F." would be anthems if they had a third verse or at least a final repetition of the chorus. As it is, they seem unfinished at best. Overall, Kasabian is a good album if you want some straight-up rock 'n' roll, but don't expect anything huge.
OVERALL RATING: 7/10

[SpasticChicken]

A Fever You Cant Sweat Out
Band- Panic At The Disco

Well I didnt even buy the CD, My friend gave it to me because I went crazy over "Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage" I soon learned that most of the songs on the CD are very catchy, there are still a few that I listen to and just think "wow, lame" But the majority of the CD is fine. They have their own sound but the lyrics are totally "Fall Out Boy" The Cd as a whole is a good deal for 10 bucks(online). This is their first/only CD, I think its doing well for a couple of navada boys. Oh and by the way i believe they have the same record label as Fall Out Boy maybe they also have the same writers...which is just plain lame but... yeh

[AnimaStone]

Amnesiac
Artist: Radiohead
Disclaimer: no, this is not a new album. However, it is Radiohead's least known, and it is one I recently acquired. On to the review.
Kid A, Radiohead's fourth release, executed what is probably the sharpest musical turnaround this side of the cavemen. In Pablo Honey, The Bends, and OK Computer, Radiohead established themselves as a power alt-rock megalith. In 1999, Radiohead moved completely over to electronica. Fans were outraged. Record company executives jumped off the buildings. I was too young to really care. Bad stuff, you see. Thus, when Radiohead promised something different in 2000, people were ready to listen.
Suckers.
Brilliantly crafted from the same creative vein as Kid A, Amnesiac is a retread of the same ground--electronica and flat-out crazy shit--that manages to sound different. The fundamentalist rockers were appaled, but the open-minded listened. Amen, I say to you, they were rewarded. Amnesiac is a collection of eleven masterpiece tunes that span the melodic and the monotone, the sprightly and the soporific, the conventional and the crazy. There's even a drunken brass band. Amnesiac has all the ingredients to a successful album (excellent bookends, "Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box" and "Life In A Glasshouse"; excellent tunework in the swirling "Knives Out"; sheer brilliance in the understated "You And Whose Army?" and the genre-bending "Pyramid Song"), but the ingredients are of a different breed than the usual. Less tangentially: the album is good, but it is not the straight-laced music your father and Graham Coxon listen to. If you liked Kid A or Gorillaz but could use something more, Amnesiac is what you're looking for.
OVERALL RATING: 8.5/10

[Ape]

I didn't even know this thread existed here. I once planned on being an active member of the Metal-Archives community by posting reviews and entering any information I could that didn't already exist in their archives. That didn't last long, but I did post a few reviews, so I'll go ahead and post them here as well.

Artist: Down from the Wound
Album: Agony Through Rituals of Self Preservation
Review Title: "Some Quality Brutal Death Metal"

Let's face it. This is brutal death metal. It's slow, it's stupid, and it doesn't do anything that's going to revolutionize the metal music industry. What it does do though, is make you want to bash your head into a wall, and I mean that in the most positive way possible.


These guys lay down some of the thickest, most brutal riffs you can find. The vocalist is a monster, issuing intensely deep gutturals like nothing and doing it in a way that actually works well with the songs, as opposed to grinding against it. It sounds like the lyrics were actually written as if they were another instrument, fitting in with and adding to the landscape created by the music behind them. And the drummer can blast with the best of them. Together, all these aspects add up to some of the most sickest brutal slam around.


The only negative thing that can be said about this album is that many of the songs having nothing memorable about them. They all sound very similar. Though some may say that is a good thing, because they all sound similarly awesome!

I can't imagine a brutal death/slam fan who wouldn't enjoy this album. Highly recommended

Rating: 9.5/10


---------


Artist: Vampire Mooose
Album: Serenade the Samurai
Review Title: "Something Different"

I stumbled upon Vampire Mooose when the cover of this album caught my eye. It seemed strange for a metal album. And then I saw the name, and thought this couldn't be a metal cd, someone must have mislabeled it. After finding out it was indeed a metal band, I just had to buy it.

Expecting a half-assed spoof band I was surprised to hear the opening track, Portauni, kick in with some groove-oriented death metal. Then I heard the intro of Ogdru Jahad and I was hooked from there. They play a style that can't really be described well. At first you think it's a slightly generic death metal band with some very core-like vocals. Then you hear the thick grooves of song 2 and you want to say groove metal, and that's right before 1.21 Jigowatts starts and you consider labeling them as some form of a groove-oriented post-thrash...thing! It's all over the place, and this is what makes Vampire Moose worth looking into.

The vocals at first are annoying, being very scratchy and unpleasant, but after a couple songs I began to realize how well they were integrated in with the rest of the music. I still don't enjoy them much, and in my opinion the vocals are what hurts this album the most. But after a song or 2 I just came to accept them for what they were.

The guitarists lay down grooves that are actually very interesting and make you wonder what will come next. They mix simple groove with intriguing and complex song structure that will keep you interested throughout the entire album. The drummer doesn't just hammer out blast beats for a half an hour either, rather adopting whatever style he felt was good for each song.

Overall, I enjoy this album a lot. But the poor vocals really make it hard to listen to regularly. This is one of those albums that I think everyone should hear at least a few times just because of how strange and different it is, but then most people will put it away and only listen to it sporadically.

Rating: 7.3/10



----------



Artist: Nekrogoblikon
Album: Goblin Island
Review Title: "Could be Better"

It is common for metal bands to attempt to give fans something new and different to listen to in today's industry. We here metal fused with everything from electronica to jazz. We here bands dedicate themselves to all kinds of silly things...ninjas, trolls, beer, pirates, and the resurrection of satanic demons. No one succeeds at making music as strange as Nekrogolikon though, and no one does it as well either.

Nekrogoblikon gives us melodic death/folk metal complete with epic keyboards, guitars that can lay down quirky grooves or shred your face off, and vocals that range from goblin screeches to deep death metal-like gutturals. And if you haven't figured it out already, the lyrics are all about GOBLINS! Goblins eating pirate skin, goblins eating troll balls, goblins eating filthy humans, and goblins eating...well, all kinds of strange things.
Goblin Island shows that Nekrogoblikon has some great potential. There are some very great moments on this disc that really make you want to be a fan of this band. Certain points where their superb musicianship and fantastic song writing ability shines through and overpowers their childish humor. You can really appreciate these guys when they are shredding it up and taking their goblin lyrics seriously. And I use the word seriously lightly, what I mean is "a little more serious than usual."

Unfortunately, there are only a few songs where they stick to this formula the entire time, and the rest of the songs are ruined by sporadic outbursts of immaturity and amateur-ness. One example of this is the clean vocals. They aren't funny, and actually ruin the mood of the entire cd. The sung lyrics sound like they are trying too hard to be funny and in the end it just sounds forced. Goblins flying down from space to stuff babies in cradles of razors? Funny. Goblins attacking and eating pirates? Hilarious. But the clean vocals just make the band sound immature, and even though they are meant to be a humorous band, it's hard to take them seriously after hearing a song like Army of Goblins. The fact that they are a goblin metal band is funny enough, they don't need to push it too hard with stuff like that. It only lessens their music in my opinion.

Goblin Island is an enjoyable album that is fun to listen to. But there are moments where you realize they could be much better if they could take themselves a little more seriously. I look forward to what they will give us in the future and hope for the best.

Rating: 7.7/10