Review Summary: Unadulterated angst in musical form!
I can imagine the advertising of this album. Br00tal growls!!! EP1C RIFFAGE SAUSAGE FEST OMG!!! CRAY CRAY DUBSTEP *** THAT MAKE PANTIES DROP!!! Based on this fake ad, you might imagine this is the most immature album ever created. You might be on to something if you said that. The growls sound like if a teenager had a bad cold, and decided it would sound cool if he tried to gargle cookies and gasoline, and then attempt to breathe fire. I mean, some of it works, but the other half of it sounds like what anyone’s mother might imagine growly vocals sound like. This all might be okay if the sung vocals didn’t sound like if someone grabbed the dude’s testicles and yanked on them, but that’s exactly what happened. I love high vocals if they sound, y’know, good, but no such luck. This lead singer has the most nasally performance I’ve heard, and I’ve listened to other albums before - a lot of them. The dude sings through his nose and sounds like he’s breathing helium, and boy does it create a headache. Bless his soul, he tried. Let’s not even mention the hilariously terrible lyrics involving whining about a terrible relationship, and subsequently getting revenge.
If you can somehow look past half of the album’s direction, there are some cool bits. The production is incredible, and the editing is on point. There are a lot of cool electronic bits, as well as great riffs. Seriously, whoever did these riffs had a brain wave. Well played, great chords, actually enjoyable chug sections, perfectly timed with everything, the guitarist knows his stuff. The highlight of the album is definitely the riffs, because I can’t imagine there being another highlight. If you listen to this album, it’s because of the heavy riffs, and that’s the only selling point. Well, that and the silly faux dubstep and silly electronic elements that are just silly. The electronics only work 20% of the time, because the rest of the time it completely drowns out the music. It’s almost as though they were aware of how grating the vocals would be.
There are some that will enjoy this gong show of an album. I enjoy it in the same way that I enjoy the Twilight series - ironically. I See Stars tried so very hard to create a mature album, and it didn’t work at all, and it is hilarious. Twilight has more highlights though, and doesn’t have some dude screaming at the top of his lungs the entire time. If you want to hear better vocals, I would suggest I See Stars’ newer album, it honestly sounds good. I kid you not. Not gonna lie, the vocals even sound great in that album, for real. Like, I’m being serious. Anyway, skip this one. I don’t know what happened here, but it’s just an abomination. There are much nicer sounding albums that you could be listening to in your free time, so I don’t know why you would settle here. Let’s give this album a 2.5 because I’m merciful and just, and because the guitars are good.
