Customer Reviews

Bone Palace Ballet: Grand Coda

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Yeah, I grabbed this CD as a gamble. Hadn't heard any of their songs, hadn't heard of the band. The cover caught my eye and the song titles tickled me just so. So I took a gamble.

And you know, I should HATE this album but I don't. Not quite my particular style of music but you can't deny they're good at WHAT THEY DO. Can't say that for everyone. (I'm looking at you, Fred Durst!) Yeah, the singer really, really sounds like a girl. Yeah, the album is uneven at times. But it's richly textured and got some very beautiful moments. I like the use of keyboards and how well it intertwines with everything else.

One thing that totally buggered me though: IT'S SO BLOODY SHORT!! First off, I like to get my money's worth. But also I gotta say, this album when it started off gave me the impression it was going to be epic in length, something I like a lot. It ain't. Some short albums out there are good but this one left me unsatisfied. I like throwing in Colors by Between The Buried And Me and just letting the whole monstrous thing wash over me ... it's exhausting but great, I feel invested in the album. This on the other hand feels like it's missing a good 20 minutes at least.

Still, they're intriguing to me and I'll probably pick up their other album, whatever it's called.

I've read the other reviews, and feel the need to defend this album. I'm a huge Chiodos fan and see them live any chance I get.

Bone Palace Ballet is a good 'sophmoric' album of sorts. I own "The Heartless Control Everything" and don't really consider that their first album since they seemed to still be discovering themselves. As everyone reading this knows "All's Well that Ends Well" was a sick album because of songs like 'Nereids', 'Best Friends' and 'No Penguins in Alaska' (sorry for the shortened titles, i'm at work). For the most part, fans don't listen to Chiodos for the 'Queen of Diamonds' or 'Lindsay Quit Lolligagging' which Bone Palace Ballet seemed to lack (for the most part). By further seperating Chiodos from these soft songs and pushing them into their side project, Cinematic Sunrise, Chiodos fans are getting a more refined, better defined Chiodos with every new album.

As for the structure of Bone Palace Ballet, every song follows the waltzy theme the album title suggests, which isn't a bad thing. This album is a bit different than their previous two, but shows the band's diversity. They went slighly softer, but held the tempo to a reasonable height throughout the album. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of their heavier tracks, but at least there weren't filler interludes and acoustic tracks like the previous album.

If you're a Chiodos fan, you can't not buy this album. It's not too far of a drop-off in intensity that you can claim they've sold out. The consistency of the theme throughout the album also sells me on their future albums. It shows me that the band has found their identity; understand that we, as fans, don't appreciate filler tracks; and will likely deliver another killer album in the future once they pick a more rockin' theme.

From start to finish this album is simply breath-takingly amazing. From the steller opening track, "Is it Progression if a Cannibal Uses a Fork", you know you're in for a wild ride. And the ride is indeed wild and more than worthwhile. This is piano-laced, scream-riddled post-hardcore at it's greatest. The vocalist, Craig Owens, is definitely one of my all-time favorite singers, effortlessly switching from beautiful singing to a blood-chilling wail the next. What's truly amazing is that Chiodos, while creating some of the finest, horror-movie vibe songs you will ever hear, they also prove they can turn things down a notch and produce some truly gorgeous soft tracks (check out "A Letter From Janelle" and "The Intensity In Ten Cities"). And they have some wicked song titles as well, all of which live up to their interesting names- "I Never Said I was Powerful, I Said I was a Wizard", "If I Cut My Hair Hawaii Will Sink", and "Bulls Make Money, Bears Make Money, Pigs Get Slaughtered". The last spoken words of closer "The Undertaker's Thirst for Revenge is Unstoppable (The Final Battle)" describe the album perfectly- "Empty? Don't Talk to me about empty". It perfectly sums up the whirlwind of emotions and gothic atmosphere that surrounds the album- but there's also a sense of hope, a senses of survival that clings to it from beginning to end.
Definitely worth checking out.

As some other people have said, All's Well That Ends Well was phenomenal. Chiodos created original songs that fused many elements from many genres. This created a unique sound that captured my attention and launched Chiodos into the spotlight. With Bone Palace Ballet they have evolved their unique sound but they are progressing down the wrong path. One of the things I loved about their first cd was that they combined keyboards, awesome guitars, and some very heavy elements. In bone palace they forsake many of the heavy elements and keyboards for a much softer sound. the keyboard is now used almost exclusively for string instruments and a cleaner piano (as opposed to synth) which permeate the entire cd and add nothing. I think they are trying to be more musical with this release but it simply makes them blend in more with lower caliber bands. I understand that bands like to evolve and develop their sound, which I wholeheartedly support. nobody likes monotony. In this case I think they are going the wrong direction. Everything I liked about All's Well has disappeared and Chiodos has sunk to the level of a typical emo band with Bone Palace. I bought the cd when it released and I listened to it those first couple weeks about 5 times trying to will myself to like it. It didn't work and I haven't touched it since (except for this review)

I absolutely love Chiodos, and this is one of their best albums! Awesome artwork, great songs... I give it a ten!

Chiodos has really improved from their freshman effort. This album is an amazing blend of screams, shrieks, growls and instrumentals, with very few slow spots. Some of the songs are a little repetitive though, and thus the lost star. Otherwise a solid piece of work. Definitely recommend.

First of all, this album is NOT too short. It's almost an hour long! 54 minutes to be exact. This album was a HUGE maturing point for Chiodos. The vocals are much more clear in this album (not taking anything away from "All's Well That Ends Well"). The only downside of this album is some of the songs don't have much in them. Still, an amazing album! As is their all their other albums (including the the ones without Craig Owens). An awesome album, and an awesome band. You're missing out if you don't buy this album!

I'm very happy with my CD as I always am with Amazon's service. I received my order very quickly and am completely satisfied. Thank you Amazon :)

I first heard this CD at the local library. I was always a fan of heavy metal. Megadeth was my favorite, and not unlike Megadeth, Chiodos incorporates orchestral as well as metal elements. I am so impressed with this CD! It soothes me when I am feeling sad, and I play it often when I need to hear "I never said I was powerful, I said I was a wizard.". I highly recommend this CD because although it's cover art may be a bit disturbing, gothic elements are a huge part in defining a dark story. It's meant to be strange, but that's what makes this CD so delicious.
Truly, this is a work of art.

I bought this CD very cheap and it was in terrific condition when it arrived.