Review Summary: I always wondered what would happen if Norma Jean raped Daft Punk.
These guys are damn good. I have good hopes for their future. They need to drop that auto tune in the vocals, but other than that an interesting, well crafted album. It's not the best thing I've ever heard, but the potential for greatness is there. The question is, will they take the route for creativity and breaking boundaries, or will they opt to take money.
Hot Grills and High Tops is hilarious and fun. Sounds like any Lil' Wayne song with a little screaming in the background. Classic and makes me like them right off the bat. 5/5
Stick Stickly starts out with a nice contrast from the intro. I love when a band can switch it up like Attack Attack does here, and do it well. Just stopping and changing has to be approached in a certain way, and they nail it. I will admit, I find the clean vocals annoying as hell. Listen close and you can hear the auto tune on his voice all over the place. That means 2 things: He can't hit notes well, and his engineer doesn't know what he's doing. And if they do it deliberately, well then it's just cheesy beyond belief. If you use auto tune or melodyne correctly, I shouldn't be able to tell you did anything at all. But other than that, the song is generally heavy and very rockin'. Thankfully the clean vocals weren't the bulk of the song. I will say, over the electronic, it DOES fit. But over the metal, it does NOT. The auto tune is a synth effect and blended in with the metal, it sticks out like a sore thumb. 4/5
Bro, Ashley's here starts out very hopeful. I like the heaviness of the intro, the dissonance is great and appropriate, but then they drop into a very pop-punk riff with that auto tuned vocal again, and that, for lack of a better word, sucks. It changes it up between the heavy and soft a lot, and the heavy in this song is tight. The screams are powerful, the guitars interesting, the drums fun, but the clean in this song is just cheesy. But that outro riff is SO fierce, that it saves this song from a possible 2.5/5 score. 3.5/5
Shred, White, and Blue starts out strong and just keeps it up for most of the song. It keeps throwing punches and great riffs come out of no where. Even the singing is appropriate. I think this is one of the best songs on the album. Heavy, and the synth on this song is nuts. Fast, and out of control. 4.5/5
Party Foul is another action packed extravaganza of a song. It keeps the energy high through out the whole thing. And thank god, the singing was nil on this song. The breakdown is legendary. This shows a real creative side to their hardcore. Yes Pretentious Music Kid, hardcore can be creative in and of itself. It doesn't need to be cross-genre to be creative. The synth is minimum, but I think this song gives a real taste of what they can do musically within only one genre, and that gives me real hope for the band's future. 5/5
What Happens... is hit and miss with me again. Here, they do not switch between styles as well as before. The lighter stuff seems like it's just throw into the heavy stuff. The riffs just end and begin with no semblance of order, rhyme, or reason. Not a huge fan. Breakdown isn't even worth the wait. Funny title though. 2/5
Interlude is a synth heavy, well, interlude. Normally I would skip said interludes on just about any album. But I like it. I don't care how cheesy it is. I'm down with Daft Punk. As long as it doesn't have some spanish woman singer over it with too much processing, I'm down. It's good to see hardcore bands like more than just hardcore. 4/5
The People Elbow reminds me of Death Kult Social Club a lot. The vocals at the intro are very like francis's. I don't know if I like that or not. Obviously FATA didn't have the synth line over it. But here, AA keeps it fast paced, but the breaks in the song are a little abrupt again. Not as bad, but a few places could have been done better. They need to find a way to fit the pieces better. But over all, not a bad song at all. Just not the most original. 3/5
Kickin Wing, Animal Doctor is a great reference to Joe Dirt. And what a song to do tribute. Starts out with lots of punch and style. Good change ups, good energy. I really like when they stay heavy. The talking thing is a bit, meh, but most of it is just a faced paced, barrage of breakdown like riffs, shredding, dissonance, and a bangin' good time. 4.5/5
Dr. Shavargo Part 3 is decent. Musically it's a little boring. But, it is catchy enough in a lot of parts to keep you listening. I wouldn't skip it, but I'm never going to go right to it either. Solid, but nothing remarkable. The electronic break into the heavy ending was a little too much ballad cheese for me. Not epic enough to make it good. 3/5
Catfish Soup is kind of what you'd expect as the last song. Kind of the most head-bobbing track. Well written, lots of change ups, good creativity, and lots of epic qualities. I still don't like the auto tuned vocals, but it doesn't ruin the song. I love the piano break and the synth strings into that just huge breakdown. Great things happen on this song. One of the top tracks of the album. I'm all about just epic songs. And this tips the scales with its great transitions from soft to burning in no time flat. This song was not written, but crafted. Well done, boys. 5/5
