Musical Review Therapy Part 1: "Pain"
The news week has been a gut wrenching one; however, there is not much that I can type that hasn't been said by other more qualified individuals. Still in addition to the Katrina victims, I would like to extend codolences to the family and friends of Justice Rehnquist. His presence on the Supreme Court and his actions in and out of the courtroom will be missed.
On to the music...
Cold -- A Different Kind of Pain
Admittedly I go into to most of these reviews with an idea what to expect prior to listening. In this case I was curious if Cold could live up to Year of the Spider which for me was a very enjoyable album given the changes in the band since the last effort. I, as an admitted fan, was not disappointed. A Different Kind of Pain shows both the hard rock and more melodic abilities that the band has shown in previous efforts. The 11 tracks here on a whole very solid though the latter half contains the three best songs on the album.
The soldier's tale "When Angels Fly Away" offers a well-crafted take on the emotional struggles of a soldier on the battlefield as he describes the action of the conflict while still, in the chorus, trying to comfort a concerned loved one back home. The song is woven around a driving bass line and solid guitar riffs that pick up the pace from much of the early album. The lead single "Happens All the Time" is a good single though not as lyrically special as When Angels Fly Away or "When Heaven's Not Far Away." By lyrically special, I mean having a number of easily quotable lines that stick with me. "When Heaven's Not Far Away" projects to me an uncertainty of faith, which has shown itself in a number of Cold's prior efforts, with verses which comprised entirely of questions such as "Do the little things in life stay with your soul? Does an angel hold a sign with directions for everyone?"
The album opener "Back Home" is a strong opener and the early half of the album has quality tracks but the sequencing of the disc places three songs which sound very much the same within the first five. Other than "Back Home" the first half of the album only offers the title track as a standout departure because of its reliance on the keyboard to melodic drive the song. The tracks "Another Pill" and "Anatomy of a Tidal Wave" have their own musical merits but they get lost in that sequence of similar tunes early. When listened to on shuffle the songs are enjoyable but straight through they are difficult to discern.
Overall, "... Pain" is a solid example of lyrically driven rock although those looking for positive and light-hearted material should probably look elsewhere.
8.0 out of 10 (rating would be slightly higher if not for concern over the sequencing)
Tomorrow: Part 2 "Paranoid"
Song Lyric of the Day
"Got a badge for my scars just the other day
Wore it proud for the sake of my sanity
I could see the flames burn bright from the winding road"
Cold -- "When Angels Fly Away"
On to the music...
Cold -- A Different Kind of Pain
Admittedly I go into to most of these reviews with an idea what to expect prior to listening. In this case I was curious if Cold could live up to Year of the Spider which for me was a very enjoyable album given the changes in the band since the last effort. I, as an admitted fan, was not disappointed. A Different Kind of Pain shows both the hard rock and more melodic abilities that the band has shown in previous efforts. The 11 tracks here on a whole very solid though the latter half contains the three best songs on the album.
The soldier's tale "When Angels Fly Away" offers a well-crafted take on the emotional struggles of a soldier on the battlefield as he describes the action of the conflict while still, in the chorus, trying to comfort a concerned loved one back home. The song is woven around a driving bass line and solid guitar riffs that pick up the pace from much of the early album. The lead single "Happens All the Time" is a good single though not as lyrically special as When Angels Fly Away or "When Heaven's Not Far Away." By lyrically special, I mean having a number of easily quotable lines that stick with me. "When Heaven's Not Far Away" projects to me an uncertainty of faith, which has shown itself in a number of Cold's prior efforts, with verses which comprised entirely of questions such as "Do the little things in life stay with your soul? Does an angel hold a sign with directions for everyone?"
The album opener "Back Home" is a strong opener and the early half of the album has quality tracks but the sequencing of the disc places three songs which sound very much the same within the first five. Other than "Back Home" the first half of the album only offers the title track as a standout departure because of its reliance on the keyboard to melodic drive the song. The tracks "Another Pill" and "Anatomy of a Tidal Wave" have their own musical merits but they get lost in that sequence of similar tunes early. When listened to on shuffle the songs are enjoyable but straight through they are difficult to discern.
Overall, "... Pain" is a solid example of lyrically driven rock although those looking for positive and light-hearted material should probably look elsewhere.
8.0 out of 10 (rating would be slightly higher if not for concern over the sequencing)
Tomorrow: Part 2 "Paranoid"
Song Lyric of the Day
"Got a badge for my scars just the other day
Wore it proud for the sake of my sanity
I could see the flames burn bright from the winding road"
Cold -- "When Angels Fly Away"
posted by Aaron at 11:28 PM
1 Comments:
That's a good point about listening on shuffle versus straight through. I prefer to listen straight through the first time, and then, provided it's not total shite, leave it in my car on shuffle for about a week. Sometimes songs stand out that might not have otherwise. I wish I could come up with an example, but oh well.
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