Gothtober - Unto Others : "Strength"

 

Idle Hands by any other name. My first thought on the change is the vocals are more aggressive which plays to their advantage. There is less of an 80s metal vibe. Not that it is shed entirely as the second song has some Iron Maidenish harmony guitar parts. The goth side of the band sits more smoothly into what they do? There is more of a Misfts vibe, though vocally he is more like Graves than Danzig, so a little watered down.  "When Will God's Work Be Done" runs off of the driving bass line. I am not as big of a fan of this one as I am the first two songs/ The guitar parts are more well arranged and constructed. The more melodic "No Children Laughing Now" is somewhat emo in the AFI direction, but still a more memorable song than most. 

"Destiny" also tread down a more melodic path with synths filling up the background, but while it might not be as catchy as the previous song , still proves to be effective. As the album progresses we get further into more clean guitar tones with the drummer this time holding the heavy. In some ways this reminds me of Volbeat if they wrote moody power ballads.  On a song like "Little Bird" the drums help things more aggressive, but most of the weight hangs on the shoulders of the vocals , which fall back on the Volbeat power ballad formula an increasing amount amount as the album progresses. "Why" fakes like they are going to pick things up into more of a punk pacing, and while the drummer is still game for it every one else drops back into the moody emo power ballad thing, this once just has the drums powering through and dragging the rest of the band behind them. "Just a Matter of Time' works off the same formula. In fact it teeters at the brink of going to the well one too many times , but it works however it is just a matter of time before it won't .  

Their cover of "Hell is For Children" is fun , except for the fact he does not try to go up into a falsetto to hit any Pat Benatar notes. Guess he did not take notes when they toured with King Diamond. Or he jut can't do it which seems a more likely answer, as he never strays from his baritone octave. The bass line to "Summer Lightning" not like they have a direct influence of Sisters of Mercy, but of a band who is influenced by Sisters of Mercy like 69 Eyes. So 3rd generation goth .Lyrically this is one of the album's better songs. I like the effects on his voice on "Instinct" . I think some of the rocket launch samples are little over board. It was on the third listen through that I finally figured out the lyrics do have some space shipish references. The title track that closes the album is a little more metal, but over all I feel the song is rather anti climatic.  There are better songs on the album it could have ended with. This album feels like an improvement in many ways though it falls back on formulas frequently , I think a 9 is pretty fair for this one.

Idle Hands : " Mana"

I am a sucker for goth being mixed with metal. The times when this is well done is dwarfed by the times it is actually a Hot Topic haunted cheese fest.  Really the lyrics are the only over cheesed part. The guitars are the most metallic thing going here. If this had been replaced by a more death rock approach these guys would sound more like Bellicose Minds. I like the more melodic tension of "Jackie" even though it's not as metal. I am willing to compromise heavy for a good song.With "Don't Waste Your Time" I can hear how  AFI is another point of reference.  The baritone vocals are well done. I am interested to see if this guy is a one trick pony or not. The quick growls or attempt at grit are not his strong suit. In fact it's the only part of their sound that comes across somewhat amateur.  The metal guitar solo is pretty on point.

The guitarist is clearly the metal head of this band. There is almost an old Ozzy feel to the riff going into " Give Me to the Night". This is not the strongest chorus on the album.   I can hear where people  might feel riffs like these have this band leaning in a power metal direction. I think the fact the vocals are no operatic keep it from going there. "Blade and the Will" finds them doing this juggling act between horror punk like goth and old school metal. "Dragon Why do You Cry" is an odd power ballad, but it works. I think the lyrics to this song are less silly than some of the others we have already at this point in the album. We begin hear him to reach out of his chest register.

"Double Negative" finds the pace picking back up. There is some interesting syncopation on the verse.  It almost sounds like one of Queensryche's darker moments.  The power ballads keep coming with some stronger than others. There are  moments somewhere between the two like " A Single Solemn Rose". It's more uptempo, think the Police. The title track is a little more metal, though this album does back off a great deal in the second half. It does wind it's way around to a solid groove.  I will round this one up to a 9. Lyrics aside it hits more often than not. I think all the elements of the two primary styles meet in middle.