Customer Reviews

All's Well That Ends Well (W/Dvd) (Dlx)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Before I get to any of my disparaging remarks, I must first say that this really is a quality album. So much of the screamo/emo/post-hardcore/punk bands...(whatever, these labels are beginning to annoy me to no end) are no better than Limp Bizkit or Good Charlotte in their whiney, we're so rebellious tone. Chiodos is not one of these bands. This six piece outfit will hopefully create a niche of its own simply because of their talent as musicians and songwriters.

All's Well That Ends Well displays influences from the aforementioned styles, but also incorporates elements of classical music, progressive death/thrash, and pure heavy metal ala Iron Maiden. Metal heads beware! I am in no way saying that these are the dominant influences, rather, Chiodos has created a unique sound by infusing these sounds with the more annoying screamo related stylings. Put together, though, it works. A great example of this would have to be "Expired in Goreville" which contains an almost techno-themed chorus, and a near-to-grindcore breakdown.

What I simply cannot get over are the almost unforgivable clean vocals. My goodness, if this vocal tone is not the epitome of the "I'm so mad at the world because my parents are rich, but I just want to be an obnoxiously rebellious teenager, because, goshdarn, it's just soooooo cool" trend, then I don't know what is. Please, I am in no way insinuating that I know the roots or philosophies of these band members, but any metal fan who hears these vocals will immediately understand where I'm coming from.

Luckily, Chiodos saves itself with instrumental originality and ability. The dual guitar attack presents technical riffs not often heard in the screamo/post-punk genre, and the piano and keyboards play such an integral part in establishing the mood and emotion of the tracks. Most importantly to me, Chiodos avoid stagnation by composing songs of multiple themes, breakdowns, riffs, sections, etc., and in looking at the album as a whole, the tracks are also varied when compared to one another.

Screamo/post-hardcore fans will absolutely love the unrivaled sound and ability of this band, while those who approach the album as metal fans, like me, will find it hard to swallow the sometimes tortuous vocals. Still, "All's Well that Ends Well" and at the end of it all, any listener will be impressed with the scope of influences, and the truly unique final product they create.

I'll be the first to admit that I was never a big fan of Chiodos (formerly known as The Chiodos Brothers) before. Personally I thought they just sounded like an alternate version of The Blood Brothers, while being more melodic and cohesive at times. However after hearing "Alls Well That Ends Well", I can safely say any pre-conception I (or anyone for that matter) had of the band can be completely erased. Enter Chiodos. Chiodos does so many things right and extremely different on this record, something which easily sets them apart from most of their peers in the emo and hardcore scene. They do an excellent job of blending all the popular musical styles of the current scene (emo, hardcore, screamo, punk), while adding their own special elements to the puzzle, and create one of the most unique sounds you're likely to hear. To put it simply if you like any form of emo, hardcore, screamo or whatever, then this is a must listen album for you.

Chiodos are extremely accomplished musically for being so young. I think the age of most of the band members is somewhere between 19-21. That's saying a lot for this release. The guitars weave in and out with eachother creating remarkable patterns, and excellent riffs on pieces like "The Words 'best friend' Become Refined" and "There's Penguins In Alaska". Chiodos also has an extreme range, capable of turning something upbeat and poppish like "Baby You Wouldn't Last A Minute On The Creek" into a fierce breakdown with volatile screaming and plenty of double bass. Everyone in the band is extremely accomplished musically, and that really pays off off for them in the end. There's not a song on here you will want to skip (except maybe the interludes). Every song has its own unique flavor, and is distinct from any other on the album. Songs like "We're Gonna Have Us A Champagne Jame" and "No Hardcore Dancing In The Living Room" see the band taking their sound to the heavy extremes, while "All Nereids Beware" and "Expired in Goreville" balance out the record, showing Chiodos' more melodic side. The pace of the album is another great thing. No song lags on too long, or is too short for taste. Occasionally there is a slightly long soft intro ("Expired in Goreville", "No Hardcore Dancing In The Living Room"), but those parts don't hamper the songs at all. The addition of electronic elements like keyboards, what sounds like synthesizers, and even piano adds amazing depth to the music, really giving it a different sound from most of today's screamo/emo/posthardcore/whatever. Vocally the band is still somewhat in the Blood Brother's range (I mean hey they also have two vocalists, no coincidence), but personally I'll take Chiodos vocals over the Blood Brothers any day. They don't come off as sounding like little children, just passionate singers. Every single song on this album is worthy of praise, but you will only get the full idea when you listen for yourself.

After hearing this album I can't believe I ever doubted these guys. I'm also glad the guys signed with Equal Vision Records, because they are definitely a perfect fit for Chiodis' sound. Like I said if you're a fan of emo/hardcore/screamo/punk or whatever then I don't see why you wouldn't enjoy this one. This is already moving up spots in my top records of the year list. I can't wait to see these guys live again (because they are as equally amazing live) and hear what they have to offer in the future. If this is any indication, this band is destined for good things. So don't let this one pass by you; you'll be missing one of the definite highlights of 2005. And remember "No Hardcore Dancing In The Living Room."

All's Well That Ends Well has to be one of the best records that came out last year. Chiodos can't be labeled by a simple word like 'screamo' because it's so much more than that. The band incorperates (yes screamo) with prog., metal, hardcore, etc. I know many bands say that they do this, but Chiodos rises far above those bands. The music has so much energy, you just have to rock out to it. These guys also put on a crazy show. I haven't had so many elbows to the face as I had at their show. If you're bored of the scene, check these guys out.

And P.S. don't compare this band to other bands. Chiodos isn't like them.

Becasue this CD is AMAZING. It's easily understood how people dont like the sound of the clean vocals, yes it sounds girly, but i dont see anyone complaining about Coheed and Cambria or AFI. Once you get past the vocals, your set to go. Brad does an awesome job on the keyboards, it gives it a different feeling compared to some other Screamo/Post Hardcore bands. But, these keyboards arnt like the usual, its more of a classical style instead of a progressive(Drop Dead, Gorgeous) or synthisizer (Blinded Black) style.

-The Guitars on this album are ok, im not a guitar player so I just know a little above the basics on what i expect.
-The drums, deliver. They dont give you the bland backbeat like a lot of bands out there today.
-Bass, wow I didnt notice the bass player for awhile haha. Sometimes there is so much going on i couldnt pick out the bass player except for his little solos here and there.

Theres two things i dont understand about this band. First, the album art. I mean, what the hell is it? lol Its good except it makes no sense.
Second, why does there label on the cd package say sounds like UnderOath. IT DOESNT, Chiodos is a sound of its own dont trust those labels.

With that said, go buy it. Im going to go drown myself in the amazing song All Nereids Beware.

After listening to this album for the first time, I realized how great of an album this really is. This CD incorpotates a ton of different styles of hardcore and screamo bands. The CD is a combination of Underoath and The Blood Brothers. Many of the songs on this album incorporate different types of relationships and hard times someone might be involved in. This CD also uses a lot of piano on top of heavy guitar riffs. The piano adds a sense of calmness to the rest of the music. This CD is a very technical CD and makes you feel like you could listen to it over and over without getting sick of it! I definitly recommend this CD to anyone who likes hard rock. After seeing this band live, I have realized how extremely talented this band is.

I discovered this band after going to see Underoath, The Chariot, These Arms Are Snakes, and Fear Before the March of Flames. Check those bands out too, the all are really good. After the show they were handing out a Equal Vision Records Sampler, since Fear Before is on that record label. Anyway the song "Expired in Goreville", the demo version, was on there and I loved the song, and could not stop listening. So I figured I would buy their CD, thinking the rest of the music, must be somewhat like the one track. I just got the album, about a week ago, and since then I have listened to thing about 8 times or so, all the way through. It is a great CD. The best way that I can explain the band's sound is that they sound like Saosin with The Bled's breakdowns. It is ridiculous! The fusion of Screamo and Metal breakdowns is awesome. The lead singer and the keyboardist, who does backing vocals have great voices and they compliment each other extremely well. Plus the guitar work is killer. If you like any screamo or metal, I would definetly recommend this album to you. Listen to some samples, and go out and buy the sucka.

I simply love this band and especially Craig Owens. After listening to Cinematic Sunrise and The Sound of Animals Fighting, I fell more in love with his sound.

My favorite band....=p

Awesome CD, but I can see why others might not like it. The lead vocalist's voice is definitely an acquired taste. I would not recommend this to just anyone . . .Just someone who's willing to trying something . .something different. However, once you get over the high pitched-ness of the lead's vocals then the kick arse-ness kicks into high gear. I suppose you could say the song titles reflect the songs. They're random, fun, a little different, but in the end, the message still chugs through. In fact that's what drew me to this CD. The song titles - all I had to do was look at the titles and I could relate so I assumed I could relate to the songs as well and I wasn't dissapointed for the most part.
Warning though . .if you can't stand a vocalist going sharp every now and then you may want to second guess this CD; however, I wouldn't write off Chiodos just yet . . .Their newest CD is much better (at least to me) and Amazon has samples of a lot of their songs.
I recommend this for people with eclectic tastes and who don't mind a band with a non-mainstream vocalist - like Atreyu, Aiden, Alexisonfire, the Blood Brothers, Coheed and Cambria, or From First to Last (with either Matt or Sonny as the singer)

Peace Out,
Ronnie <3

good music, plus acoustic versions of some of the song, plus a DVD that has some really good live tour footage.

Well, I picked up their newer album and foung it interesting. If you've read my review for that, you'll see "I should hate this but I don't." I believe I gave it three stars.

And so many of the reviewers for that album went on and on about how much better the first album (this one) was.

I disagree. Yeah, I gave it three stars but it's definitely a lesser three.

It lacks the complexity and blending of all the sounds that their newer material has. The keyboard work in this feels to me like it's taking a backseat in this one ... which is par for the course for most "heavy" guitar driven bands. What I heard on their newer material is a much more integrated sound where no one instrument stands out as king. It's a blended sound that takes some serious thought to put together. I found it more interesting than this one.

One thing both albums have in common is they're short. Short enough to make me angry.

... oh, and the guy sounds like a girl in this album too.

Fact of the matter is I bought this album because their other one intrigued me. I didn't LOVE it, but it was intersting enough for me to want to check out this one. BUT, had I bought THIS one first, I can all but guarantee I'd have never got the other.