Customer Reviews

Art Damage [Vinyl]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This CD is different from Odd How People Shake- it's even better. Odd How People Shake was an amazing CD and Art Damage is even better. Law of Averages and The State Of Texas vs. Fear Before are what I think are two of the best songs on the CD but all of the songs are good. Unlike ALOT of CDs there isn't anything repetitive with the beats and it isn't one of those sappy emo CDs either. It's brilliant. Go buy it. Now.

first off, the complete track listing for this album is:
1: Hey Kid, I'm a computer, stop all the downloading
2: Should have stayed in the shallows
3: Consequences David You'll meet your fate in the Styx
4: Whiskey is alright in its place but its place is in hell
5: The story of the curious oysters
6: Absolutely fabulous and me
7: The long road to the middle
8: The state of Texas vs. Fear Before
9: Law of averages
10: A tyrant meets his maker
11: The God Awful Truth

This album is an evolution of their first release. Their music has become much more complicated, but the same general idea is there. The mastering though is SIGNIFICANTLY different... much less raw but it's not overly produced either.

Overall it's a good album, my favorite song is track #2, and anyone who has been to one of their shows in the last year or so will recognize many of the songs.

Definitely worth the purchase!

This cd is probably a bit harder than OHPS. It's punching, intense, and a bit less melodic. However, that being said, I can attest that this is probably much more technical. Also, the lyrics on this cd are awesome. The singing/screaming hasn't strayed too far from OHPS, but it's still good as can be. This cd is almost worth buying for the interesting and artistic booklet inside on its own. This cd definitely lives up to the hype from the first cd, and then some. I can't say which cd is better, because they're both a bit different. Get this cd if you like hardcore, basically in general.

This disc blew my goddamn doors off. I saw the video for "should have stayed in the shallows" and i was hooked. The style is a flawless mix of Refused's art-rock/screamo/punk, Zao and Converge style hardcore, and even Dillinger style jazz/grind/punk. The lyrics are another thing, such biting bitter, sarcastic, obscure, poetic lyrics, pure genius. If you like bitter social commentary with a sense of humor and a sound like being covered in thousands of paper cuts and being rolled in rock salt, check this out.

Unlike most people, I actually heard this album before their debut album. "Odd How People Shake". So this was my first exposure to the band. The first time listening to it, I had a hard time developing a taste for it. It seemed so experimental and chaotic...but I soon came to realize upon my second listen or so...thats what makes it such an amazing album. The screaming is nothing short of amazing....And the singing however little on this album compliments David's screaming perfectly. The guitar player offers up some awesome riffs which blend together with the screaming to create a truly unique screamo sound which is badly needed for this kind of music.

Hey Kid, I'm A Computer Stop All The Downloading- Great way to start this album out...Great vocals...The lyrics are great as well....10/10

Should Have Stayed in The Shallows- The single from this album...Amazing song which actually features more singing than the other songs which is nice too...This song puts me on a power trip. 10/10

Consequences David, You'll Meet Your Fate In The Styx- Crazy title and one of my personal favorites on the CD. An Awesome bass line leads you right into some bone-chilling screams. Heavy and chaotic....but then out of nowhere slows down...Great song. 10/10

Whiskey Is Alright In it's Place, But it's Place is In Hell- Starts off incredibly chaotic...almost grindcore-ish in the beginning but then fades right back into a classic fear before sound. Fun Song To listen to. 8/10

The Story Of The Curious Oysters- Another whacky title, but an awesome song. I love the line "The doctor stands accused for painting the roses red/Off with his head!" This song also starts off with some great lower screams from David. 8/10

Absolutely Fabulous And Me- Another good FBTMOF tune...I know I keep saying that every song is a great song and I probably sound repetitive as hell but seriously...all the songs on this album are solid. 8/10

The Long Road To The Middle- Not much to say...Good song...8/10

The State Of Texas Vs. Fear Before- Great song, which features some more awesome sing/scream tradeoff's. Probably my favorite on the album. I always find myself singing along to this one. 10/10

The Law of Averages- Another good song...not a whole lot that stands out but a good song none the less. 8/10

A Tyrant Meets His Maker- A cool little musical interlude. 10/10

The God-Awful Truth- Some nice bass work in this song...nice way to end the album...it kind of gives a feeling of completeness. 8/10

As you can see...every song on here is completely solid...I only have one problem with this album, and that is that the songs do tend to sound the same. They all seem to blend together...After the third track a lot of the songs start to sound very similar...but that really doesn't matter once you hear how incredible of a sound this band has.

All and all Fear Before offer a very high-energy and intense album, while still being fun to listen to. Everything just seems to fit together...The vocals, the guitars, the drums...everything. At first I didn't care for their lyrics but..somehow they fit perfectly with the over-all attitude of this band. I would definitely recommend this album to anyone who is into Screamo/Post-hardcore or metalcore. I award it with Five stars. I would also highly recommend their debut "Odd How People Shake"

To be honest, it's hard to compare this to "Odd How People Shake."
OHPS was almost screamo in many points.
Live, the ridiculous amount of guitar overdubbage and Adam's background singing made it a mixed bag, despite their high-energy performance.
This time around, they decided on stripping the emo element almost entirely away, utilizing skuzzier production, skeletal guitar riffs and sarcastic bro-down lyrics for their own unique sound.
The vocals are definitely an acquired taste; right away, I was thinking, "Someone wants to be Jacob Bannon," but lead screamer David's style becomes more palpable with each listen.
The rhythm section is only tighter than before, which drives the songs with precision.
Now, the songs are the real issue.
Some tracks, like "Hey Kid" and "Whiskey Is Alright In Its Place" are deliciously fun to listen to, but a few tracks start hitting Crimes-era Blood Brothers-late-album-blandness.
It does finish strong (although not quite "Vegas"-style) with the "God Awful Truth," but it takes a little while to get there.
If you are an elitist Terror fan who loves your dance material, this will only annoy you.
If you're a Hot Cross/Fall of Troy/Blood Brothers/Transistor Transistor/Converge/Norma Jean fan, this might be right up your alley.

I must say that after the extremely powerful and almost violently passionate first album, they wouldn't be able to maintain that high level of intensity.

Not only did they maintain it, they took it to a whole new level! Diverging from a sorrowful rage to pure rage, I was shocked as well as pleased to find the whole album was amazing, each track being better than the last.

The musical intensity flows naturally and nothing is 'forced', rather it seems that the fury cannot possibly be contained in these musicians and this record was their example of how one could be professionally violent.

If you crave extremely fast, complex, violent, loud music done with talent that never lets down as well as a unique style and rich flavor, look to further.

They play their music with such clear and complex precision, they can afford to intermix sarcastic lyrics with their overall serious sound.

What makes this album so amazing is that the intricate combitation of all the excellent musicians together... at times where I think, 'boy they must be exhausted after that', the next track is easily twice as hard and fast

For me, this album might as well be a strait shot of adrenaline. Its a good album to scare away all the wimpy music listeners.

I recommend get a nice stereo or headphones and listen to it loud. You'll be hard pressed to find anything else that matches both their control and their intensity.

i agree with the people who have said that you should listen to "odd how people shake" before "art damage"... i started listening to them both at the same time and at first i only liked the odd how..., but as i got used to their sound i realized that art damage really is the much better cd...

first off, the lyrics are a lot better in art damage, a lot of the songs are really funny... i think i started liking the cd a lot more once i looked at the lyrics and could sing along...

the music is also a little more complex, which is good for some people, and not for others... if you're into math rock stuff you'll probably like art damage a lot.... if you like norma jean's second cd this will probably be up your alley - it's the kind of music that's tough to tap your foot to.

all in all i think this is a good cd who are into quirky mathy music, but can also appreciate the screaming, because there's a lot of that in this cd - it's not really much of a metal cd, more like math rock disguised as a metal cd....

and even though they are different, i'd still highly recommend odd how people shake, but it's a bit more emo, whatever that means, but you know what i mean.

I picked up this album after hearing the song "Hey Kid, I'm a Computer, Stop all the downloading" online. I was very impressed at how much this band changed from their first album, "Odd How People Shake", which I thought was a disaster of a album. Notable stand out songs are "Hey Kid...", "Consequences David, You'll Meet Your End in the River Styx", and "The State of Texas VS. Fear Before". Definitly check this out if your fans of "As I Lay Dying" or "Norma Jean"

Are Fear Before The March of Flames important people? The kind that deserve the awards, the honors, the accolades that the music industry foists upon them? These Colorado convicts in my opinion deserve nothing less than the nonstop night-time achievement award, and honorable mention for Tallest/Gauntest Singer. The words adroit and salty might be applicable when describing the artists formerly known as America's answer to Latin supergroup Menudo. But hear this: sweaty and unsafe as they may be, why can't you stop singing "Hey Kid, I'm a Computer. Stop All the Downloading." or why does your uncle Cleetus' pelvis oscilate wildly upon the first few notes of "The Story of the Curious Oyster," the Boulder boys' shameless ode to their oceanic upbringing as shellfish hunters in the tepid waters off the Cape Horn coast? Probably because Fear Before is nothing if not sincere. Yes, the tracks are obscure and at some times even harsh, and, yes, we will suffer many a nightmarish sleepless night when Fear Before lets loose with there secretive new project rumoured to be a freestyle spoken word acid discoblues album collaboration with traditional japanese bamboo flutist ubergroup, the Yamato Ensemble. But give them this: Fear Before are an auditory placebo, a way of making peace with ourselves, even if we long ago left hope curbside with a look of disdain on an abandoned pickling plant service road in the outskirts of Pittsburgh. "Fear" not all ye Fear Before loyalists, the lack of classical influence on Art Damage was not lost on us, and we shall champion the cause to revive the overground movement. UNITE!