I like pop music. I don't feel so guilty about liking it that I have to convince myself that I am still listening to metal when I am listening to pop music. With this band, it's almost comical. It's like that one dude whose purse falls from his mouth every time it opens, and everyone knows the poor guy is gay except for him. If he just came out, life would be so much easier, but denial has become a part of his identity. There was maybe 20 seconds of nu-metal guitar, and a scream that needed every bit of post-production effects on it in the first three songs. But some slapping beats, and hooks that would make Sam Smith jealous, this is the kind of music Justin Timberlake wishes he was making. Justin Bieber, rinse off the baby oil and get these guys to write your next album.
If the music press tries to play these guys off as even rock music, much less call them metal, then I am personally going to call them out from now til the Russians kill the internet. It's time to rip the band-aid off. The first song I am not as impressed with is the ballad "Dangerous", which is as boring as most pop ballads. Maybe Joji did not just drop off the edge of the world, maybe he put on a mask and this is what he is doing, as it really sounds like him on "Caramel" it's a great pop song, yes there is guitar on it, Micheal Jackson's "Thriller" album had Eddie Van Halen on it, but no one back in the day was stupid enough to confuse it with Judas Priest.
The heavier elements are mixed back and not given center stage, as they are not who this band is, and the band themselves were smart enough to keep up the charade. If you hear the isolate vocals tracks, the screams will make you think what Chris Rock thought when Will Smith slapped him "I got smacked by the softest nigga that ever rapped". The title track wanders around lost in its own emoting, similar to the previous ballad, though the mood has more melancholy to it. By the time we get to "Provider," I am 100 percent convinced no one in this band has ever listened to a Slayer album, much less Goatwhore, but things are starting to get bogged down by ballads.
At their best, they are like a softer version of Spiritbox, perhaps their singer does a fire Courtney LaPlante drag routine in their spare time. 'Damocles" at least flows better than the previous song. Lyrically, "Gethsemane" reminds me of Taylor Swift. The drumming is pretty great on this one. These guys are talented, and this is brought out more as they embrace who they are. Perhaps this entire project is a metaphor for being afraid to come out of the closet, as earlier in the album, the singer admits to being the "demon of Sodom."
"Infinite Baths" is another atmospheric power ballad. The album is really well produced, but they are now on RCA, so a major label is not going release albums that sound like shit. I will give this album a 9, it's a great pop album, even the last few minutes of the last song when they try to convince you otherwise, three harder riffs on an album does not make it metal, so enjoy this album, but face the reality of what it is. It's not gagtekeepiung it's just stating the obvious. Though I am not not opposed to gatekeeping as some one has to stand up and speak the truth of the masses will lose themselves in the comfort of their delusions.
No comments:
Post a Comment