Customer Reviews

Awaken the Dreamers (Bonus Dvd)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love their last album and this album is no different. These guys play very focused and precise metal. Every member seems to be well schooled at their instrument. To some it might not be experimental or crazy enough, but this isn't your spazz freakout mathcore band. This is a band that at it's core is very influenced by classical composing. Every part is meticulously crafted on purpose and well written. Some of the guitar work is unbelievable. You'll just need to hear for yourself. If you take the time to get past the ultra heavy textures you'll begin to hear the intricate melodies hidden within. Great album, great band. I love these guys.

While this outing may not be as br00tal as their last release, it is still brutal enough to keep this metal head happy. This shall I dare say is their progressive record? A lot of experimentalism is going on around this record, most of the songs are down to mid-tempo with just a few skull crushers. Hernan's vocal ability is especially on display here sans the pig squeals we've all grown to love but it doesn't hurt the over all experience. All Shall Perish is still one of the heavy weight contenders in the death-core genre and don't think for one second that they're going to get dethroned anytime soon.

I always approach a new album by a band that writes a masterpiece trepidly: "The Price of All Existence" was such an album, and knowing that ASP picked up a new guitarist also made me skeptical... but I was pleasantly surprised.

Such as how *mellow* some sections of this album actually are; ASP is demonstrating that they indeed have a deep musical depth. They weave this mellowness in and out throughout the disc, it's not simply an afterthought single track tacked on just to show "Hey, we can be mellow too," they make it a strong component to virtually each song. I always thought these guys had a classical streak: "Better Living Through Catastrophe" off their last album recreated Carl Orff's seminal classical masterpiece, "Carmina Burana," though whether they or fellow metal band Vehemence did it first I leave to you guys to debate.

"The Price of All Existence" was a brutal tour de force in crushing technicality... this album still picks up where that one left off, but the guys are becoming more atmospheric. The surprise track for me was track 3, Never...Again. It is one of the most dark songs they've put together; very sinister.

ASP, has been listening to Herman Li in their off-season; there is a couple moments of nintendo-riffing reminiscent of Dragonforce here, which as an aficionado of a broad variety of metal, I find both exciting and refreshing to watch a cultural shift within the scene.

This is without a doubt, the deepest guitar work they've done, and vocals are knocked out of the park--there isn't a style of vocal not tried with the exception of prog/power metal vocals. Black, death, hardcore, Manson-esque industrial, whispers, clean singing...

This album earns a 5 star review as well but for different reasons than the last...

WTF are you reading for, buy it!

The thing that stood out the most for me on this release was the amazing vocal work of Hernan Hermida on every track. It has been mentioned by other reviewers, but it really is staggering how many styles of screams Hermida brings to the table. So many heavy metal vocalists only drone on in one style of screaming from track to track and as you switch between songs, it all starts to blend together. But Hermida is able to conjure up some of the most intense and suitable screams in every situation. This is some of the best vocal work I have heard in years from a metal frontman.

Besides the vocals, this album is very good overall. For me, it seems to have taken a significant "hardcore" turn from their last release, but they do it in such a way that it enhances the music instead of just turning everything into one big breakdown. The guitar work is really intricate and beautiful.

I recommend this CD to anyone who appreciates good heavy metal, but especially to any aspiring heavy metal vocalists.

These guys have done it again. Perfected their style and added some clean vocals as well. What more do you want from this band. Death Metal with Hardcore breakdowns. Man....Eddie is a well versatile singer. I feel he is the best there is. Buy this.

All Shall Perish habia sido para mi una banda mas de deathcore dentro de la escena metal mundial, no por eso era una banda mala, de hecho dentro de tanta porqueria de bandas estadounidenses esta banda descarga un metal bastante bueno pero nada especial.

Eso hasta este album, creanme, este disco es simplemente una joya, una obra de arte. Aun sigo sin poder creer como una banda puede mejorar tanto de un disco a otro, pues no es solamente que este disco es el mejor de su corta carrera si no que hasta parece otra banda totalmente distinta, uno hasta podria pensar que es una alineacion diferente pero son los mismos integrantes del price of existence.

Con respecto al disco, todos los tracks son geniales, pero black gold reign es mi preferida, en donde Hermida muestra un rango vocal excepcional, con unos cuantos gritos a lo glam metal sensacionales y en general la labor de voces a traves de todo el disco de parte de Hermida es notable, tanto en los grows ya conocidos como las voces limpias, que ademas de ser un elemento nuevo con respecto a sus discos anteriores son ademas de gran manejo vocal, ejemplo de esto es Memories of a Glass Sanctuary, que tiene cierto aire a opeth en sus partes acusticas, notable!

Pero quizas lo que mas se destaca en el disco es el trabajo de guitarras de Chris Storey y Ben Orum, pueden ser tan brutales como melancolicos pero con mucho sentido y conocimiento de su instrumentos lo que muy pocas veces se puede apreciar en una banda de deathcore. Hay una total coherencia y cohesion en todas las piezas, con especial enfasis en el sweep picking que es ejecutado notablemente en Never... Again y From So Far Away.
En general a los que les gusta la buena musica, sin importar si es death metal, metalcore, metal progresivo, mathcore o afines este album lo deben de tener debido al alto nivel de las composiciones, su brillante ejecucion, interpretacion, por la coherencia musical y por sobre todo el esfuerzo de la banda por hacer algo distinto y bueno y no ser una banda que se aprovecha del "momento" musical que vive el metalcore y el deathcore. BRUTAL!!!

This is a great example of the direction that American Death Metal is taking today. technical brutality and earth shattering breakdowns make this a must have for anyone with ears.

This group has definitely gotten a lot better since their last release. Awaken the Dreamers is their best album to date in my opinion. It's heavy and extremely fun to listen to.

I recommend this for any heavy metal fan!

The light hearted stuff at the beginnings of some of the songs. What's with that??? Especially for a shred band, Otherwise a pretty solid release.

I absolutely loved the first two ASP albums. Sheer brutality, and each song distilled that brutality into a sick breakdown towards the end of the song. Perhaps a bit predictable, but so sweet to my ears. This album moves in a new direction, and several have appreciated the change of pace. I, on the other hand, was disappointed. Like my grandpappy says, if it ain't broke don't fix it. I loved the formula of the previous albums, and this departure leaves me underwhelmed. I feel like every song is a compilation of lighting fast guitar scales, up and down, up and down, never solidifying into the sick breakdowns that made me love this band in the first place. I understand the perspective that bands should push the envelope and try new things, but I would rather listen to the first two albums a thousand times than this one twice in a row. Yeah, it's different, but at no point do I find myself baring my teeth and bobbing my head, which happens with just about every other track they've made.