If modern music critics were going to make a top 10 list of their favorite metal bands, these guys would be in the top 5. I understand why, despite not agreeing. They think out of the box. They are progressive without focusing on pretense and guitar solos. They are heavy enough to hold their own with bands heavier than them. They are always evolving and never make the same songs twice. They also do not write songs that make me want to listen to them multiple times. In fact, when thinking about this review, I am trying to remember how this record was different from their previous ones, as their previous albums are not memorable to me.
They have always scored an 8.5 here. Which means 85 percent of the album was solid. So even on this new album I appreciate what they do and do not question their skill as songwriters what they do just does not resonate with me. Three songs into this album and I am clear what one of the reasons for this is. They are not dark enough. However, the opening track is darker and more dissonant than what I have heard from them in the past and this album has more black metal influence from the vocals and drumming than I recall hearing in the past. But it does not have the same feeling that I get when it comes from an actual black metal band like Gorgoroth or Watain.
'Endless Gray' feels like a Metallica instrumental so it's hard to argue with that and so far the most metal moment of the album. The first song that feels dark enough to me is ironically 'Gardens in the Dark" The vocals are more sung in the post-punk baritone fashion. However, they use a similar vocal approach to "the Children the Bombs Overlooked" and it does not feel as dark, and the song itself is pretty unfocused. with the drummer overplaying. I begin to get bored with it when the vocals shift to a growl. So add sometimes bore me to the list of reasons.
'Concrete Cliffs" is more legit death metal, than what we have heard the bulk of the album from them. The last song sounds so much like King Dude that I was Goggling to see if he did a guest spot on the album. He is not they are just ripping him off. I guess they could also be trying to sound like Johnny Cash and it came out that way. Perhaps the album's least original moment, and certainly filler on a King Dude album. I will give this one a 7, making their least impressive offering to date, though they are still thinking out of the band and it's a change for them, I am just not believing their attempts at sounding darker and the little Metallica-like instrumental ditty is the best part and that is an interlude.
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