Some More Returning Favorites
Last week’s show had some new faces…this week does not. We have covered all these bands at least once before, and we even interviewed one of them (John Cobbett of Hammers)! So how do these new ones stack up against previous efforts? Presumably you are here to find out, so you should know what to do.
Reviews:
Skeletonwitch – The Apothic Gloom (Prosthetic)
Russian Circles – Guidance (Sargent House)
Hammers of Misfortune – Dead Revolution (Metal Blade)
First Impression:
The Dillinger Escape Plan – “Limerent Death” from Dissociation out October 14th through Party Smasher Inc.
Skeletonwitch – Apothic Gloom
Russian Circles – Guidance
Hammers Of Misfortune – Dead Revolution
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Yup. Tempel. Pelican would be 4. ….it’s like you know me or something!
“The Day The City Died” is SO good. It is probably my favorite on that album, but the chorus to “The Grain” is in my head more often, which is specifically what I was referencing for ear worms. Either way, our point remains the same – 17th Street is more memorable across the board than Dead Revolution. It needed more songs like “Days of ’49.”
You guys did a good job of putting Russian Circles into words, which is even harder to accomplish for a band whose music has no words. Nick mentioned he could easily name his top 3 instrumental bands and then proceeded to only name 2 of them (Russian Circles and Dead Empires). Who is the third? I’m going with Tempel. If not Tempel, would it be Pelican?
There’s a bit of irony in the fact that while listening to your reviews of Russian Circles vs. Hammers of Misfortune, you seemed to agree more about Russian Circles but you each gave Guidance a different rating. However, the debate seemed to mark several differences between your opinions of Hammers of Misfortune but you each gave Dead Revolution the same rating. In terms of the disagreement about Hammers of Misfortune, I’m more in agreement with Nick, specifically about the vocalist. While I can see Brian’s point about the vocalist straining at times, to me that strain adds more emotion in ways that many singers can’t. Nick mentioned the song “The Grain” on their previous album, 17th Street. I will cite the song “The Day the City Died” from 17th Street as a fine example of the emotion that guy puts into the words. I think you implied this, but a few of those songs in the middle to second half of Dead Revolution don’t really stand out, but the album ends on a high note with the instantly catchy “Days of ’49” (my favorite track on the album). The other thing that struck me about Dead Revolution is how “classic” the riffs and sound is, with “Days of ’49” reminding me of Thin Lizzy and the riff of title track sounding like Judas Priest.