Customer Reviews

Coral Fang

5 star:		(165)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

The new album from The Distillers, Coral Fang, is not your typical Distillers album. The musical style has changed from their fast, heavy roots and seems to have lightened up a bit. While at first I thought this might be a product of them moving to a major label, giving the album a good listen proves that Warner Bros let the Distillers be the Distillers.

The lyrics on a lot of songs (such as Drain the Blood, Dismantle Me, etc) are a lot darker than previous Distillers lyrics.. most likely as a reslt of the split between lead singer Brody Armstrong and her now ex-husband, Tim Armstrong from Rancid. However, at the heart, they're still the Distillers. One thing that will thankfully never change is Brody's voice; probably my favourite vocalist for any band. She's incredible. Her voice is perfect for the sound and the lyrics, and the band wouldn't be the same without her. And, of course, you can expect some of her trademark screams on the new album.

While The Distillers have taken a new turn musically, this time its not a bad thing, in my opinion. Sometimes bands try something new and it doesn't work, but The Distillers pull off this new sound with style. If you're a hardcore Distillers fan or just getting into them, then be sure to pick up this album!! If you want a sample of some of the music, go to their website, where you can check out their online media player. Excellent, excellent stuff.

This is the Distiller's best and most polished album. Some may think that most polished means it couldn't be the best, but these kids have held on tight to their punk aesthetic and the thing just simply kicks ass. No, this is not revolutionary or different, it's just simply a classic genre done as well as you could do it.

If you like the Distillers, check out The Gits. Mia and Brody and Courtney were probably cousins or something. Eerie.

Where do I start?

Thank you Distillers..........

...........for producing an album which puts my faith back in the music industry........

........and for reminding me there is more to music than the typical boyband/girlband formula.


I only write a detailed review when something really motivates me to do so. This is one of those times...

...The Distillers' earlier stuff showed a lot of promise and some great individual songs such as `LA Girl', `Blackheart' (cool tune),`Seneca Falls', `Young Crazed Peeling' and of course `City of Angels'; it's Blackheart and City of Angels which really alerted me to them. Somehow though the earlier albums overall were a bit too raw for my personal tastes. Nevertheless there was enough there for me to keep my eyes open, and I'm glad my eyes did!!

Coral Fang is a wonderful and far more polished album.

There are too many good tunes for me to write about in Coral Fang. In fact for me, the `weakest' tunes (I use this word reservedly) are actually the first, `Drain the Blood' which is still ok and the last, `Death Sex' which is the only let down, the only one. The remainder are bliss, ranging from the mellower and slightly slower paced `The Hunger' the last minute of which is so utterly cool it leaves me motionless! to `Dismantle Me' which is a faster and gorgeously guitar riffed tune, the chorus of this is superb, especially the longer second chorus. It's actually my second favourite song on the album.

Oh, did I not mention `Hall of Mirrors' and `Love is Paranoid'. Both are really smooth and swift tunes right from the off?

The absolute standout song though is `For Tonight You're Only Here to Know'. Words can't adequately describe this song and how it makes me feel. All I can say is that it has sort of sorrowful underlying tone throughout yet it's just so pleasing to listen to with its haunted verses and truly breathtaking chorus, that it makes me wanna.............?!?!?!?! In fact I struggle to remember if I have heard a better individual song since the days of Hole and Smashing Pumpkins in the 1990s (except, perhaps, `Things Fall Apart' by Serafin or `Venus in Cancer' by Amusement Parks on Fire). I mean this folks! Yeh, you made me `sigh' with this one Brody. Thanks again.

As far as I am concerned, only one other album in recent years called `No Push Collide' (a slightly different type of sound) by a relatively unknown group called Serafin marginally surpasses this album in terms of its musical appeal. It's an extremely close call though.

You know, this album has grown on me so much, I think I will buy their earlier stuff now, where's my credit card..........

I love this album. Absolutely love it. The lyrics, the music, the artwork... Everything about this album is great. Even the 12 minute long feedback fest that is 'Death Sex'. I love that too. I have been a fan of The Distillers since 'Sing Sing Death House' came out and I believe that this is a step up for them. I love the thrashy, hardcore, crazy sound of the first 2 albums, but honestly (and I'm trying to be as unbiased as possible) this exceeds both those albums in my opinion. Maybe it's the divorce from Tim; maybe its the success of 'Death House', but the lyrics of this album seem much more heartfelt and risqué than on any other album. Though I do wish that I could keep them to myself forever; for them to remain unknown commercially, this album needs to be heard. Brody Dalle is an amazing songwriter, and this is conveyed best through this album. I love every song on this album. Whether it be the adrenaline pumping 'Die On A Rope' or the acoustic screamer 'The Hunger' all of these songs touch me in a special way. I strongly recommend that anybody, a fan or not, buys this album. If it speaks to you in the way it speaks to me, I know you won't be disappointed. Oh, and buy the album with the crucified lady on it. It contains the lyrics and the awesome artwork of this album.

The Distillers never fail to let out a really good album. "Coral Fang" shows a high level of maturity in the band's music, and as usual, Brody's voice is amazing.She wrote all the poetic, stab right through the heart lyrics and sings in anger and in pain. Example,"Coral Fang", "The Hunger", and "The Gallow is God" If you haven't got this album yet, i really recommend it ;) (by the way, im not below 13, it was just easier to put my review in) anyways Xxsee ya in the pitxX

If there were a way to describe perfect, Coral Fang and Fever to Tell (YeahYeahYeahs), would definitely be that. The satin sound of the guitars against the silky bass are perfect in contrasting Brody's often brash voice. The soul of the lyrics are beyond anything I'd ever heard in any other genre of music. All of the tracks are in perfect order and the quality of it goes beyond all words in my vocabulary. I didn't really understand Death Sex but the reat was perfect. I would love to play each and evey one of these songs in concert.

I got into The Distillers last year with their breakout album "Sing Sing Death House". Unlike most bands that are being passed off for 'punk' nowadays, The Distillers' music isn't polished and overproduced. Their music has a raw, hard-edged sound that bands like Simple Plan and All American Rejects possess. The Distillers has Brody Dalle to thank for their less than polished sound. Brody reminds me of an early Courtney Love when she was still hungry and relevant to the underground punk scene. Although I am not into the punk scene any more because a) I find most of punk music today irrelevant and lacks the backbone of their elders like The Clash, Black Flag, Fugazi, Minor Threat, etc...etc..., and b) my taste in music has evolved over the years. The Distillers is the only band I will listen to. Originally "Coral Fang" wasn't high on my priority list of cds I wanted but when I heard their first single "Drain the Blood", I fell in love with the catchy melodies as well as Brody's uncompromising vocals and lyrics. I found a copy of "Coral Fang" yesterday in the used bins at my favorite record store and without hesitation, put it in the stack of cds I wanted to buy. "Coral Fang" definitely is another great album from The Distillers. It is a 44 minute ride of blistering, uncompromising music from one of the best punk bands in the past 5-10 years. One of the best songs on "Coral Fang' has to be "The Hunger". I was quite surprised to hear acoustic guitar on the opening riffs. By all means "The Hunger" is no sappy ballad, the song blends both acoustic and electric guitars with Brody's ferocious growl. The title track totally rocked my socks off as did the rest of the album. The only thing I did not like on this album was the bloated, annoying guitar solo on the last track "Death Sex". That just got on my nerves and I can not seem for the life of me to sit through the entire POS. Talk about a waste of space. Otherwise I totally dug "Coral Fang". If only punk music had more Brody Dalles and less of Simple Plans, All American Rejects, Blink-182s, the scene could continue to be relevant in the world of pop culture.

I'm a huge fan of their first two works, 'The Distillers' and 'Sing Sing Death House', and although with this album the Distillers embark on a totally new sound, I rate it as their best yet.

The opener 'Drain The Blood' showcases a new maturity to Brody's voice and the chorus is a complete blast - a great start. 'Dismantle me' is slower but with 'Die on a Rope' the band regain momentum with an awesome song that's instantly catchy and gets the adrenaline flowing. In fact it's already quite clear that the Distillers are aiming for a more 'pop' appeal with some of the melodies whilst still retaining the intensity and angst which has thus far separated them from the norm.

'The Gallow is God' is a beautiful heartfelt song with the sarcastic Brody singing "What a Surprise" (presumably referring to the breakdown of her marriage with the Rancid frontman). 'Coral Fang' is another infectious rock song with a great chorus (notice a pattern) and 'The Hunger' charts yet more ground for the band as Brody almost sounds countryesque at moments in this song. I'm not sure some of the screaming is necessary here but this is the Distiller's we're talking about.

The 7th track 'Hall of mirrors' is flat out my favourite song of the year. Brody has never sounded so good. The lyrics are great and the chorus just blows your mind - just great flat out rock n roll. 'Beat Your Heart Out' sees the Distillers sounding as pop as they're ever likely to. This actually is a great song and I think it could be quite a big hit for the band if they release it as a single.

The next couple of tracks 'Love is Paranoid' and 'For tonight you're only here to know' are slower more contemplative songs, almost soulful in fact. A nice change in pace perhaps, but personally I would have preferred the album to close out with someting a bit more epic. I guess you could call the albums final song, 'Deathsex', and epic in that it clocks in at 11 minutes, but nine of those minutes just consist of static and wordless whispers and laughing. It's a pretty disappointing finish really which is why I give this album four stars rather than five.

Overall, this is a fantastic effort from one of the best hard rock bands around. Don't be fooled into thinking they've gone soft, or heavens forbid sold out ;) This is the same Distillers pumping out intense heart pounding anthems, but here they've shown they have got versatility and a pop sensibility which should see them win over new fans as well as keeping their older ones happy. I certainly am.

Don't get me wrong -- the only thing that kept this album from five stars was the last track. But as a long-time punker, I can't call this true punk; raw, exciting, and very well-done -- that I can call Coral Fang.

I mean, come on: these guys use more than three chords in practically every song and have layered harmonies arranged in several. There's no doubt that Brody is a stud, that there's a lot of energy in the band's performance, and that as a scrape-your-knuckles-and-hurt-your-throat album it is very effective. But you can also sing to it, and the lyrics aren't meaningless anti-establishment hacking.

All in all, a fabulous album -- a surprisingly good listen, and one I'm still not tired of after many, many times through the headphones. Sure to be in the playlist a long time.

This is probably my favorite line-up of any Distillers album. Of course Brody is going to be great, that goes without saying. Andy, Ryan and Tony are just beasts. This is definately one of those punk bands that take themselves seriously. As soon as the music hits your ears, you can easily realize that the production is much better than on any other Distillers album as well. I didn't know what to think the first time I heard "Drain The Blood". It sounded so different from what I was used to. Had Brody gone pop? Then the vocals kicked in and there was one line in particular that made me realize that this album still possessed the same genius that all other Distillers albums had possessed. I believe that line was "...I've never met a boy quite like you, who can shimmer and rot at the same time through...". The poetry was definately still there, the vocals had only improved! This album shows a bit of a sensitive side of Brody. Songs like "The Hunger" and "Beat Your Heart Out" have a "love song" feel to them, but the fury is still there. "Die On A Rope" and "Hall Of Mirrors" back up that statement, fair and square. This is probably tied with their debut as their most colorful work. "Sing Sing Death House" was just so angry! I guess basically what I'm trying to say is that, if there was ever any doubt in your mind about this album wasn't on par with previous releases, think again!