F O U R T H E Y E

Markus suggested this last week in the synchtube.  I figured it would be a good idea since some people seem to be on the fence about picking it up.  I uploaded all the songs and put them in a playlist for your listening convenience.  Enjoy!

 



 

And if you haven't already check out Hellboy's review here.

 

 

^ Fuck I knew this was coming.  Sitting this one out.  Enjoy.

Thanks for the playlist, Und. I'll be hearing this tomorrow when I have quite a bit of free time for the first time in a bit.

If I like it I will immediately order it afterwards. Let's hope that's the case.

Alrighty, here I go.

 

I'm sure I sound like a broken record but I can't stand the vocals.  Not only are they awful but at times they tower over the rest of the music.  Not once did that dude's vocals make me say, "oh that's not too bad".  They are so bad that when Justin started singing it felt like a choir of angels had started up.  Justin's vocals aren't great, but he's not trying to do more than he can do, if that makes any sense.  They go well with the songs he sings on.

 

On the other hand, I liked the music for the most part and Justin's bass playing is top notch (no shock there, I'm sure).  Maybe these guys should've considered being an instrumental band (ok I'll shut up about the vocals).  But I do like the mixture of unexpected sounds like record scratching for example.

 

The two tracks I'd recommend for anyone to hear are "Toad" and "78_Hardshell" (not surprisingly both sung mostly by Justin), and the music in "Future" is pretty bad ass.

 

6/10, due completely to the music.

Had some issues understanding how the whole Album of the Week works...rather embarrassing. But here I am! I've had to swap out some headphones (turns out those earbuds really were as bad as I thought they would be) and I'm starting over, about halfway through Dear Eric. Here we go...

Dear Eric: I am a sucker for the ocean floor, swimming atmosphere of tracks like this. It serves as a nice introduction to clear your palette, so to speak, and get ready to step in. The spoken word over it is almost arbitrary, but I'm sure they had a reason for picking this in particular. Maybe a tongue in cheek, "Sorry it took so long"?

Black Day: Having heard this a while ago when it was released, I know that I love this track. The bass is smooth and eloquent, and I'm happy they chose it as one of the earlier tracks, again perhaps because they know anyone closely following has heard it before. Still fairly light, I'm curious to see if the album gets progressively deeper as it continues.

Nothing's Matter: My favorite part of this song is the drumming. I also like where Justin comes in with the muted megaphone effect. The yelling isn't doing it for me, I'm afraid...though the bridge section is nice.

Dub Set: I like the slow climb of this song, though I have to say the "drop" is rather predictable. I like the female vocals, they contrast well with Peter's voice. Though I enjoy the build of this song and breakdown, it doesn't offer any particularly notable moments.

Truthbrush: At least they didn't slow it down and call it Mantra.

Toad: Like Black Day, this is another track I have been introduced to before. I enjoy it a lot, though I do prefer Justin's verse instead of Peter's half. It has a nice bridge and solo, which sounds vaguely familiar, and I don't attribute that to the fact that I've heard the song before. Toad is my favorite song so far.

Wendell: The bass tone on this song absolutely kills. Unlike Dub Set, it provides one with shifts in all the "appropriate" places, but offers something new along with them. Very quick to get into and jam out with. I would love to know what is being said during the spoken Polish parts, though! Not quite sure how I feel about the yells Peter comes in with, but they are infrequent and the rest of the song quickly washes them away. I feel like it cuts off too suddenly, which is a bit of a let down. Tough to decide whether I like it or Toad more at this point...

Dzien I Noc: Again, nice hook from Justin here. This song starts off as a little campy, perhaps because we've stepped so suddenly away from very energetic tracks such as Toad and Wendell. It grows for a moment, and I feel they should've set the growth and subsequent bridge back just a bit. They are very sudden. In the end I can't help but be caught up in the song, though, it has some very nice hook pieces that are unfortunately not polished in their transitions.

Future: I instantly like the groove feel of this track. It is the slow descending I think Dzien I Noc was firing for, but missed. It is smooth even through the heavier parts because of the underlying riffs. Something about the bass solo seems off but purposefully so. I'd hate to hear the ending while tripping! Quite a step away from the flow of the rest of the song, but not too unpleasant. Takes some getting used to, I imagine it would be easier with further plays. Overall I really liked it.

78_Hardshell: Though Justin's voice offers a nice respite from the generally rather aggressive Polish vocals, the introduction to this song at least tries too hard in my opinion. Really digging the rapping(?) but it goes back into the verse with its cheesy keyboard/synth track I can't get over. I really think I would enjoy it a lot more had that not been included, and I hate to write the whole thing off because of it, but it doesn't leave a nice taste in my mouth. At this point I also feel a bit burned out on the slow pieces, so I am hoping that changes somewhat or they surprise me.

White Face Kiss: Loving this. They brought the sub-octave effect back, but here it adds texture rather than being unpleasant or hard to grasp. This song has many layers of sound and is fun to ride out, if you will. The guitar solo suits it well, as well as the vocal overlay. Vocal melody and delay in the very end reminds me of a particular Led Zeppelin song in an odd way...

Lanimal Session: Set up in such a way that one is vulnerable, hesitant about what will happen next, which is fun. The issue is this feeling continues too long. The vocal overlay is nice, though again I wish now I had an album booklet with some lyrics to follow. Another issue I have is tabla is to be accompanied by a melody, and while Lanimal Session puts forth some drone notes this isn't really present until much later in the song.

Neo: The beginning of this song ends up with so many time layers that it becomes muddled. The bass carries it with a quickly familiar riff, but the vocals are abrasive. I don't have much to say about this track, it is a really disappointing end to an album that had some really great moments in my opinion.

 

Sorry for writing a novel, y'all, seems the "review each song briefly" idea got a little out of proportion. I am going to order the album, though, I really like it overall despite it's low points. Though a lot of people have issues with the Polish vocals, which aren't hard to swallow so much as frequently aggressive, they don't bother me too much. I'd love to have a copy of the (translated!) lyrics to know what the tracks are about, and I hope they release one in the future. The album flows from this ocean floor feeling to a peak around Toad and Wendell, and unfortunately after that suffers from a bit of a lack of focus. Taken as a whole, this presents a disappointment save for some high moments, but as it doesn't seem to insist on cover to cover listening ala Lateralus or The Downward Spiral, the songs can certainly hold their own.

 

EDIT: At :33 of White Face Kiss, there is a brief clip of German, which I can't get much of: "...jede Andere diese zweulfte...ein und sechzig" and it continues behind the other sounds, "niemand kann..." and I lose it again. With only brief pieces this is useless. Is there any chance someone with a physical copy of the album could look in the liner notes and see whether or not this is referenced?

 

8/10, ordering tonight.

^ Sweet baby Jesus.

 

Not a bad album. Worth forking over a few bucks to J-dog. The singer took a bit to get used to but it's a solid album overall.

Ravenpig said
Alrighty, here I go.

 

I'm sure I sound like a broken record but I can't stand the vocals.  Not only are they awful but at times they tower over the rest of the music.  Not once did that dude's vocals make me say, "oh that's not too bad".  They are so bad that when Justin started singing it felt like a choir of angels had started up.  Justin's vocals aren't great, but he's not trying to do more than he can do, if that makes any sense.  They go well with the songs he sings on.

 

On the other hand, I liked the music for the most part and Justin's bass playing is top notch (no shock there, I'm sure).  Maybe these guys should've considered being an instrumental band (ok I'll shut up about the vocals).  But I do like the mixture of unexpected sounds like record scratching for example.

 

The two tracks I'd recommend for anyone to hear are "Toad" and "78_Hardshell" (not surprisingly both sung mostly by Justin), and the music in "Future" is pretty bad ass.

 

6/10, due completely to the music.


 

Thank you for writing my review for me

 

Heh. That's pretty cool.

Finally had a chance to listen to the album in one sitting as we were stuck in traffic last night.  A few songs were ok, but nothing more than that.  It is not an album that I will listen to with any regularity.  Honestly, 3/10.

badkittygothgirl said
Finally had a chance to listen to the album in one sitting as we were stuck in traffic last night.  A few songs were ok, but nothing more than that.  It is not an album that I will listen to with any regularity.  Honestly, 3/10.


Youch. I've been waiting to hear this for a while. Haven't yet, but I'll hit this probably tomorrow afternoon.

3/10? Damn.

 

My assessment is a bit nicer than CJ29's.  

badkittygothgirl said
My assessment is a bit nicer than CJ29's.  


Ouch.

Fuck it, I'll spank it on and play "SKYRIM".

Be back once I run out of booze.

 

crow011 said

badkittygothgirl said
My assessment is a bit nicer than CJ29's.  


Ouch.

Fuck it, I'll spank it on and play "SKYRIM".

Be back once I run out of booze.

 


That's a lot of booze!

 

Eh, it wasn't too bad I guess.  Didn't think it was Kat and Co.'s review but it didn't have me wanting to rub out a load to it either.  At some points the singer guy reminded me of Johnathon Davis from Korn with his trying to scream-sing and all.

 

Guess I'd put it in that 5-6/10 range or so.

nothing miraculous to report...  Polish vocals don't bug me too much, being that I used to listen to a lot of german industrial type shit when I was a kid...  Definitely a cool record in parts... Dug the more ambient portions...  Probably won't go out of my way to listen to it, but not gonna complain if it comes on and immediately delete the album.  

 

Still waaaaaay better than conditions of my parole and donkey punch...

 

5/6 outta 10 is a fair assessment

It's out on iTunes.

It's also now on.Rhapsody, so I'd guess its on other similar apps/sites. Gonna hear it again later for the first time in months.

Yeah I need to listen to it again. I only listened to it a couple of times, though I did enjoy it.