Can’t Please Everybody
This has all been said before, but while bands obviously try to please their fans with each release, they – generally speaking – need to switch things up little bit to please themselves too. However, sometimes changes are rather great or in a direction that will lose some fans, but maybe gain others. Why am I reiterating this? Listen to the episode and you will know!
Reviews:
Periphery – Periphery III: Select Difficulty (Sumerian)
Revocation – Great is Our Sin (Metal Blade)
Black Crown Initiate – Selves We Cannot Forgive (eOne)
Periphery – Periphery III: Select Difficulty
Revocation – Great Is Our Sin
Black Crown Initiate – Selves We Cannot Forgive
The Sideshow Podcast 
I’ve now been listening to Periphery III: Select Difficulty a lot lately. I agree with you guys that it does take a few listens to sing in, but once it does, it reveals itself to be a great album. I’m ready to say that it is their best album yet, even though I agree with you guys that the first two songs on the album are not all that good because they are more for the “Sumerian crowd”.
I’ve figured out why I don’t like the first two songs on Perpiphery III (“Price Is Wrong” and “Motormouth”). They have no melody. The rest of the album is quite melodic, but those first two songs just don’t fit the melodic mold of the rest of the album.
Yup! You nailed it. They are heavy just for the sake of being heavy, but they sacrificed any sense of melody to do so.
I’ve really only listened to one of the three albums you reviewed this week, but I’ve been listening to it non-stop all week. Selves We Cannot Forgive by Black Crown Initiate. After one listen my initial impression of the album was that it wasn’t technical enough. Sure, there are guitar solos, but there wasn’t really any of the weedle-deedle guitar parts that I love so much about tech death. But I suppose BCI never intended to be tech death anyway focusing more on the prog side of metal. Metal Archives lists them as Progressive Death Metal, with no technical adjective. The songwriting on Selves We Cannot Forgive proves that they can craft an album of strong songs even without the technicality. This album is definitely a 5 of an album. BCI’s debut album, The Wreckage of Stars, was such a surprise hit that featured more technicality, so in comparing their two albums I’d certainly give the edge to their debut. But Selves We Cannot Forgive is not the disappointment you guys think it is.
That also means I certainly disagree with Nick’s comment about the “our second albums are bummers” tour in regards to BCI and Ne Obliviscaris. I do agree that pairing these two bands is a stroke of brilliance. To me, Citadel holds up just a hair below Portal of I, just like Selves We Cannot Forgive is just a smidge behind The Wreckage of Stars. But all four albums are solid 5s.
As for the show itself, I can confirm that there were only two guys singing live in BCI. They sounded great live. They were tight and the vibe of the recorded sound came across well at Gramercy Theater. Gramercy was a cool venue to enjoy these two bands because I was able to snag one of the seats in the back and chill out (no moshing for me at this show, believe it or not). BCI only played two songs from the new album: “For Red Cloud” and the title track “Selves We Cannot Forgive”. The song you played, “Belie The Machine” is probably my favorite track on the album.
Your problem with the ends of two songs getting cut off on the purchased download of Selves We Cannot Forgive happened to me as well. But I bought it from Amazon! Presumably, someone bought it on Amazon and then uploaded it to Bandcamp as the fake band account. So the issue wasn’t with the fake Bandcamp account, it was with Amazon or possibly the label itself (whoever distributed it to Amazon).
Next week, Hammers of Misfortune…