Customer Reviews

Beginnings

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

...I'd read the reviews on Memento here. I figured I'd buy the cd...Memento doesn't even sound like Tool. Just because a band has guitars and a singer doesn't mean they are copying Tool. Musically the CD is great, I like the singer's voice, and everything comes together well. It isn't perfect, but not much is. It's a quality CD and as long as you like rock you would be fine in picking it up. The first few tracks are real good, and though I haven't listened to the CD all that much yet, the first thing I looked for was any evidence of being "copycats".

I'm still looking. Try as I might, I won't find it. This is a good band with a good CD, and you'd be crazy to think otherwise. It may not be the most original thing in the world, but they don't sound like copycats in the least bit.

it's hard to describe this album. they obviously have some influences from some other bands (eg Tool, A Perfect Circle, Sevendust), but after a while you begin to hear their sound as theirs alone. and the more you become familiar with their sound, you find it harder and harder to make parallels to other bands... and you'll realise why you should never have considered putting them in the nu-metal 'category' in the first place.

the songwriting, lyrics, musicianship and production are excellent. usually, a band's debut doesn't have the best audio production, but this is an exception. not overly produced, but still clear and loud. audiophiles will love it. why does it sound so good? look at the names these guys managed to get on their album production credits: Toby Wright, Brendan O'Brien and David Campbell.

Memento make a lot of religious references, but these can be interpreted in other ways - this is good for those of us who don't like being preached to. if you have or have had a special person in your life, some songs will rip your heart out while making your ears beg for more. i always feel emotionally exhausted after listening to this CD, and it's a very depressing album (check out the story behind 'stare' on their website bio). Cotta's vocals are emotional and genuine. the guitars/basses of Cotta, Space and Lats are beautiful when clean (eg the four layered guitars on the chorus of 'saviour') and when the distortion kicks in, it kicks your ass (eg 'coming'). their sound isn't as dense as Pantera's, but it doesn't need to be. it lets the music breathe. the percussion is well suited to the sound and drummer Clark has tremendous taste. my only complaint is that the drums should've been turned up a notch.

despite all their talent, there's one tragic thing about Memento: they are no more. they broke up in late 2004, and hardly anyone seems to know about that. Man vs Clock is the current band featuring Cotta and Lats, and from what i've heard of it, it's more acoustic and simple. Memento will be VERY missed by their true fans.

myself and millions of other musicians wish we could write music like this.

this one of the best albums i have ever heard.

Memento - (n) - an keepsake; something one kept as a pleasant reminder.
Beginnings speaks on a subject which touches a lot of people. They share their views on God and religion throughout the disc in a variety of ways, mixing themes of disbelief and anger. You can feel the genuine pain. The lyrics are well written and arranged. Each verse seems to have several of its own vocal harmonies.
These guys know how to write a great music as well. The guitarist has several different styles of playing and even mixes fingerstyle into a hard rock song, yet maintaining a steady rhythm to mosh with.
There is a lot of creative energy throughout the cd. Some songs I've found myself listening to over and over: "Stare" and the title track, though the whole cd is worth dozens of listens.
In summary, Memento is easily one of the best artists to be arriving on the metal scene. This is a keepsake that will remain in my collection as long as I live. If you haven't picked up the CD yet, what are you waiting for!?

without the song nothing sacred this cd would probably get only one star,music has a touch of disturbed anf tool

I can not believe the reviews that compare this band to the greatness of Tool (the best band on earth). Tool does have a lot of meaning behind thier songs and that is great that is one of the reasons why Tool is so great other than Maynards great vocals and Danny's awsome drums, but unlike Memento, Tool is capable of sending this message without being preachy about it. If you come in during the middle of some of these songs You could swear you were listening to Christian rock. Save yourself some money and get something else. The only song that is worth hearing on here is "Nothing Sacred"

First of all i would like to say this is possibly the greatest rock album that i own. This album might not appeal to most people because not every song sounds the same... they are actually almost all different almost entirely. After hearing "nothing sacred" i figured that this band would be just like every other "rock" band out there untill i listened to the whole cd. You can not judge cd on it's first listen either. I actually listened to it once and then tossed it on the back seat of my car as i have done with most of my favorite bands. If you are going to listen to any song at all then listen to "figure 8" While it may be a 13 minute song and most people who enjoy todays "pop rock" don't even have the attention span to pay attention to anything for 13 minutes it is possibly one of the greatest songs i have ever heard. If you can not find the genius in this song then your favorite bands are probably staind, korn or chevelle (ok so i couldn't mock tensionexperiment's review with nonpoint seeing as how they are my second favorite band but i'm sure he doesn't understad their music either) If you like something new and different and you didn't think that nothing sacred was a "bad@$$ hard rock song" then take a closer look at this album, you'll be suprised

I checked out the CD because I thought "Nothing Sacred" was a good song & I heard good things about this band on Ozzfest. I found that the whole CD is pretty consistent & each song is pretty well crafted and executed.

The first thing I typically look for in any rock band is if the lead singer can actually sing. The lead singer (Justin) can definitly sing and his voice comes across as passionate. Also, the lyrics are not mindless like several other things out now.

The band strikes a pretty fair balance between heaviness & the slower ballad type music. Nothing something easily done. Each song is listenable, even the almost 13 minute last track "Figure 8" doesn't seem like it goes on that long. It just kind of flows.

Overall, a great album for fans of hard rock. I hope these guys can keep it up over time because a lot of rock out now just sucks...

One listen to the album "Beginnings" and you know that Memento is something special. Heavy yet melodic without having to copy the current trends in music. Nothing Sacred is your typical nu-metal song with a twist, there's actually depth to the song. And instead of rapping, Memento seem fine with actual singing. Saviour and Beginnings are two very powerfull and dynamic songs that help showcase what Memento is capable of. While Shell, Abyss, and Below turn the volume up a notch. Then the surprise two hit emotion packed combe of Reflections and Blister come into play, slowing it down and giving you time to hear a very talented group of musicians doing what they do best. Coming and Stare bring it back up for a while, before the most dynamic and powerful track Figure 8 kicks in and changes you perspective on the future of music in only a few minutes. With enough bands out there to keep anyone gueesing on what they're listening to, its great to finally hear a band that dares to be different and actually do what they love, rather than what's sure to sell.

Trust me on this. BUY THIS CD! I can't believe that Amazon is virtually giving it away. Until I saw them at the Ozzfest, I'd never even heard of them and it turns out that they were one of the best bands on the 2nd stage. I would have personally preferred to see them headline the 2nd stage instead of Cradle of Filth.

As for their sound? Well, if you like Chevelle, you'll like Memento. Period. They can really jam, and they have a good quality sound. They don't thrash and grunt speed metal, like Motograter or any of those other bands that get somewhat tiresome to listen to because you can't understand a thing they say, but these guys ARE the real deal and they ROCK hard with GREAT melody!

I waited to hear them live before I bought the CD, and their live performance was so OUTSTANDING that I was the first in line after the show to buy the CD and have the band sign it. Trust me and buy this CD.

When I purchased this album, I had only listened to a few 30-seconds samples. I thought the samples sounded good enough to buy this CD, but I was expecting a mediocre album at best.
Every song was great. They go from hard to soft between different tracks and the vocalist (in my opinion) really stands out from the rest of the guys. He can actually sing! The bass player is also amazing & creative and you can actually hear what he's doing in this CD. In other CD's from other bands, you sometimes have to strain to pick up what the bass player is doing. Additionally, the drummer is actually more creative and talented than a lot of other drummers you hear on the radio these days. He can actually do really neat drum fills and creative playing patterns that don't get repetitive and annoying. And their electric guitarist is everything that a good band needs. I like his somewhat erratic playing pattern in the first song - Nothing Sacred.
Overall, this is a very well-rounded band with a few edges that keep them interesting and different. This is definitely a good buy!