The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 178

They really should’ve redone James’s vocals in the 3rd part of The Unamed Feeling though, they’re painfully bad. I do like that song though prob my third favourite behind St Anger and Some Kind Of Monster.

 

I was given a completely blank slate for recommendations this week and I fuckin' love this thread. Haha

 

Since joining the other week this threads quickly become one of my favourites on the site. It’s just great discussing and discovering all sorts of different types of music in here.

 

Your welcome! (And thanks for being so open minded)

 

Yes I would like to second Nate’s sentiment, thank you.we are happy to have you.


And you as well Nate, you’ve really taken ownership of being in this club and done a lot of work here

 

So @Larry David and I got paired this week.

I have: As Cities Burn - Come Now Sleep
They have: Bombay Bicycle Club - So Long, See You Tomorrow

 

No worries. I’m glad everyone is really enjoying the club and making the most of it.

 

Suffice it to say, I need more time with the double album I have haha.

 

Me and @iCarly Rae Jepsen decided that I will listen to

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Carly Rae Jepsen - E-Mo-Tion: Side B

while he will listen to

Hurts - Happiness
Tesla Boy - The Tesla Boy EP

 

I am bringing the second day one release review to CMCS and it is:

Reggie and the Full Effect: 41 (2018) Pure Noise Records

To those unfamiliar with Reggie and the Full Effect, it is the one man project of James Dewees. James has a pretty extensive resume whose most notable accomplishment is being the keyboardist for indie rockers The Get Up Kids. He records and plays every instrument on his records but his live shows include everyone from The Get Up Kids, Coalesce, and The Esoteric with whom he also helped with on their records as well. Some of the other people he has known to bring on tour with include musicians from the bands such as Hot Rod Circuit, The Anniversary, From Autumn to Ashes and Ultimate Fakebook. The most recent album includes recording help from My Chemical Romance guitarist Ray Toro and the late Paul Gray of Slipknot fame.

The best way to describe the sound of Reggie and the Full Effect is pop punk laced with synth/electro pop. Let's be clear about one thing: Dewees is a master of the synthesizer and can create sounds that 80's bands and techno enthusiasts would kill for. Lyrically, he usually creates very self deprecating themes of his failures or a lot of tongue in cheek topics. You would think this would be the case with this album after looking at the cover. The cover depicts Dewees in an eerily memorable pose like that of Adele's gem of a record, 21. He even went so far as to name it 41, showing his age but with age comes growing up and on this album he did just that. This album sees him stepping out of his comfort zone and taking on ballads, electro pop songs and straight up indie rock songs. He even tackles serious and sensitive subjects like abuse and domestic violence on songs like Maggie. The most impressive track is closer, Off Delaware, and sees him stripping everything away and using a piano mixed with some very mild synths in the background and speaks of being away on tour and missing his family. This showcases the fact that Dewees can actually sing and has an amazing voice.

Unfortunately, he can't help himself and reminds us that he still has a sense of humor. Into track, II sniffy incontra, has this choir like sound to it and has this ominous voice speaking to him about being tired and needing sniff cocaine?! While, Trap(ing) Music features his industrial sounding alter ego Common Denominator and sounds like it could have come off the last Rammstein album. There is only one instrumental slash/dance track and has possibly the funniest song title on the album: Channing Tatum Space Rollerblading Montage. It is done tastefully and makes you want to bop around the room.

This is a great album and a great place to start if you have never heard of Reggie and the Full Effect. There are only a few tracks on the album I didn't enjoy and those being the aforementioned alter ego song and the song following it that just had way to much feedback and bass that made it hard to listen to.

If you are interested in seeing him live, he is on tour supporting Senses Fail in support of their new album.

RIYL: Pop Punk, Electro Pop

Favorite Songs: Broke Down, The Horrible Year, New Years Day, Off Delaware

9/10

 

@Kiana and I have exchanged album recommendations.

I will be listening to Bitter’s self-titled 2017 album and she’ll be listening to Cecil Frena’s new album The Gridlock.

 

I should probably check out Reggie and the Full Effect at some point. That review makes it seem like a band I’d like.

 

Right so I had 3 albums to do this week one from @Wall Of Arms and 2 from @theagentcoma.

First up I'll review the album I got from @Wall Of Arms

Tall Ships - Impressions



So I had heard of these guys as they'd been on the uk indie rock circuit for a little while now but had never got round to listening to them.

First impressions of this album is that it's quite good but it might not be for me and that it reminded a fair bit of bands like The Maccabees and Interpol. I have to preface this that I'm pretty picky when it comes to this type of indie music and this album didn't click with me right away. Saying that though this album has been growing more with each and every listen.

The main thing I really like about this album is the musicianship of the band, all the songs seem to have a really good driving beat behind them thanks to their rhythm section and they seem to be able to write songs that rattle along but still give room for the vocalist melodies to really soar.

Overall I feel this album is quite good but I'm still not 100% sold on it, maybe that will change with more listens and if I see these guys on a festival bill I'll be sure to check them out. It mainly boils down to that I'm just not overly into this type of indie music and if I'm going to reach for music like this I'm still going to reach for Given To The Wild more often than not.

My favourite tracks on this were Will To Life, Home and Lost & Found

RIYL: The Maccabees, Interpol

 

Now the other 2 albums I had courtesy of @theagentcoma were a bit more in my wheelhouse as I asked him to recommend me some Metal.

Eternal Champion - The Armor of Ire



So I'd never heard of this band before but judging by the album cover I had a feeling I knew what I was in for with this album and I was correct. It's an old school heavy metal album in the vein of Iron maiden, Manowar, Iced Earth, Helloween. Basically over the top metal steeped in lots of fantasy imagery.

I have to be upfront with this album and I didn't really enjoy it, I'm not a massive fan of the type of metal that this band harks back to, it's by no means a bad album it's just not really my thing. It was easily listenable though and I didn't want to turn it off or anything like that.

Right some positives, their musicianship is ridiculous good, they're tight as fuck for a band on their debut and they're really good at what they're doing. There's also some great guitar work all over this album and they do that Maiden galloping dual guitar thing really well. I quite liked the title track and Sing A Last Song of Valdese.

The main thing that puts me off with all these sorts of bands are the vocals which is the same problem I have with this band and I just can't get over that here, sorry @theagentcoma

Favourite Tracks: The Armor of Ire, Sing A Last Song of Valdese

RIYL: Old School Heavy Metal, Iron Maiden with the heavy turned up

 

I'm still trying to listen to the Brian Fallon rec from @Nate_Johnson but if you're ready @JediMasterKevo182 let me know and I'll figure out a rec for you

 

Wolftooth - Woolftooth




So now onto the last album I had this week. Now this was a much better rec from @theagentcoma I bloody loved this one, finally I hear you all shout This band play kinda heavy stoner metal with lots of Sabbath and Mastodon vibes going on and this is their debut album.

Where to even start with this one. Riffs, my god the riffs, this albums got them everywhere and I'm loving it. You can tell this band were heavily influenced by the Ozzy era Sabbath and likes of Mastodon, especially in their rhythm section. Also the vocalist definitely has an Ozzy style high pitched singing to his game. Reading a little about this band, it's made up of members that have been playing in other bands for the last 10 years and you can definitely tell as for a band on their debut this album is ridiculously good.

A couple of standout moments on this album for me were the tracks Aegaeon the solo at around the 4 min mark is face meltingly brilliant. White Mountain rattles along like a beast which I love, I couldn't help but bang my head along to this at home. Then The Huntress just has such an awesome chugginess to it, again you just can't help but headbang this.

Basically I loved this album a lot and haven't stopped listening to it all week, I will definitely be going back to it and I'm so happy @theagencoma rec'd this one. Also shout out to the ridiculousness of the album artwork on this one, love it.

Favourite Tracks: Aegaeon, The Huntress and White Mountain

RIYL: Mastodon, Baroness, Black Sabbath, RIFFS

 

I DMed you yesterday lol

 

@Micool1 and I have decided

He’s giving me:
Billy Talent - Afraid of Heights
Dashboard Confessional- Crooked Shadows


And I gave him:
Blink-182- Take Off Your Pants And Jacket
Senses Fail- If There Is Light, It Will Find You


And now I get to give someone my second favorite blink-182 album!!! This month has been a blessing

 

Great review and that album cover is really cool!

 

Nice man, I actually wish I'd recommended you their debut Everything To Nothing after all, knowing you it's a little less conventional and way more experimental and math-rock influenced which you may have found interesting. They went almost classic straight-forward pop rock on this album and whilst I love it, it's not what the band are known for. They actually split up end of last year after this release too.

 

I knew I liked you!

 

I should have responded via DM I guess, but you didn't give me an album rec.

 

@ugman_2000 nice write up! Glad you enjoyed the Wolftooth album, it's super catchy. As for Eternal Champion, that style of music was definitely never my thing (I'm a death and thrash guy) but that album was fun enough to pull me into the genre. I'm definitely a fantasy nerd so all the themes and artwork added to my enjoyment. Since then, I've been giving stuff like Manila Road, Cirith Ungol, and even the new Visigoth album regular reps in my listening time.

Well, 1 out of 2 ain't bad! Thanks again for listening.

 

I don’t know what you have and haven’t heard lol I can’t just go in with a Rec! I sent you a list in dm

 

Ok I was blessed by @ugman_2000 this week with two albums. This post will cover his first rec: Animus by Venom Prison. They are a 5-piece death/hardcore band from South Wales. Here is the (NSFW) album art:



This is a picture of what appears to be a guy being force fed his own genitals after having them removed.

This perfectly sets the tone for the 33 minutes of chaos that ensues when you start the album.

Animus is a brief but brutal experience. It begins with a short and ominous intro track that quickly gives way to a relentless assault that pretty much doesn't let up until the equally creepy outro of the last track. Death/hardcore is not an area I am familiar with, and this album is rife with riffs of the death metal variety and pseudo-breakdowns that are heavy as goddamn hell. There's more death here than hardcore, although the vocals tend to lean toward the sonic spectrum of the latter genre.

Honestly, this album is just a barrage of heaviness. The word that comes to mind is "bludgeoning" as I can see how choosing between listening to this album or getting hit in the face with a steel pipe can be considered a wash. Every instrument is intent on smashing your eardrums. Above it all, Larissa Stupar's vocals howl throughout the madness like some ancient warchief. I highly recommend this album to anyone who likes being assaulted by the sounds of pure chaos.

If there's one little nitpick I have, it's that the vocals are a tad monotone, as there's no real range to be found. That's just me, as the style is more than fitting for the atmosphere the band is going for. Don't let that dissuade you from giving them a listen.

Weapons of Choice: "Celestial Patricide" "Corrode The Black Sun" "Perpetrator Emasculation"
RIYL: not having a jaw like the nurse from The Grudge, tinnitus, blunt objects