Customer Reviews

When Excuses Become Antiques

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

 

 

I've been following these guys since their demos were up on mp3.com. I remember they were referenced to Linkin Park back when linkin park wasn't mainstream. Well these guys aren't quite in linkin park's genre at all...but the songs on this album are all amazing.
I'm not really sure what group of bands these guys would fall under because their label is mostly death metal/hardcore but I would group Phoenix Mourning's sound with some bands like dead poetic, underoath, and 36 crazyfists. Anyway I freakin love their sound it's unique and blends throaty screams with awesome melody.
Highlights: Across 26 Winters, Waiting for the King, From Afar

Ok, sure this may not be true metal but, I still thought it was good. I'm hard to please with music, either they growl too much or the riffs aren't heavy enough. This was right up my alley. If you like bands like Mudvayne and Mushroomhead, then you'll probably like these guys too.

This is no longer a band but the whole cd is good ignore all the people that rated this lower than 5. If you like the sound the entire cd is good and I suggest you buy the cd. Other than that my favorite song on the cd is Niche' but the best song on the cd has to be One January Mourning. The cd is good and it has the perfect mix of scream and singing this is not screamo thou so don't think that closest thing I could put with it is a faster paced Poison the Well or close to Haste the Day but that is not close sorry people this band had a good sound and it is hard to place with other bands that is the best I can come up with. And lol post-hardcore is not right god nice tag wish I could delete it.

I listen to all types of music, so call this an unbiased review.
I love this album. It flows with melody and emotion that is rare in albums of today. I don't distinguish any track I just roll along and ride the waves of melody. Fantastic stuff.
I hope these guys make more albums....

Phoenix Mourning has potential to be a very good band. Don't get me wrong I'm a fan of screaming in music, but they don't need as much screaming as there using. Some bands sound better with a lot of screaming, but I think this isn't a band that does. They need to tone down the screaming a little bit and do some more singing. Other than that this band has some pretty solid talent

....then Phoenix Mourning's picture would be right beside it in the dictionary. In a time when this brand of emotional hardcore/metalcore has become the norm for the music scene, Phoenix Mourning comes in triumphantly with a sound and distinction all their own. While there's the typical elements of the previously mentioned genres floating around in the mix, PM brings a lot of different things to the table. And as crazy as it sounds, they all work. Metal, Alternative, Hardcore, Emo and Hard Rock all play important parts in the band's identity (or identity crisis if you will) and it's been a while since this kind of musical fusion has really caught my attention. "When Excuses Become Antiques" is already poised to become this year's best debut record and the band doesn't show any plans of letting up.

While the term "emocore" or whatever you want to call it is thrown around pretty loosely in today's music world (please some also describe bands like Hawthorne Heights and Senses Fail as emocore, yea right), Phoenix Mourning is a band that really embodies the term: There's beautiful singing parts, outlandish screams, guitarists that can duel one second, and then melt your heart the next, chugging breakdowns and bone-chilling harmonies. But as standard as that sounds for the genre, PM doesn't quite sound like anything floating around right now. Besides the obvious hardcore, emo and metal influences, there's definitely touches of alternative and hard rock thrown into the mix. This makes for a great combination of altering styles and really gives the band the ability to dive in and out of musical tones as the please. This is the main attraction point of the band. Instead of sounding like the endless mass of screamo clones that are circulating out there, Phoenix Mourning breaks the mold and does their own thing. When it's almost impossible to come out with a sound that is all your own, PM has created one that sets them apart from many.

The first single "Across Twenty-Six Winters" is the perfect representation of what the band has to offer. You've got the emotionally layered choruses, guttural screams, excellent musicianship, and introspective lyrics. Jeremiah Ruff can slip in and out of rasping screams or beautiful harmonies, and do it with best of the genre. Even though it's commonplace in almost all metal and hardcore now a days, He does an excellent job of mastering the contrasting vocal styles and his presence on the mic is very, very impressive. His pipes take pieces like "One January Morning" and "A New Decor" to extraordinary territory. Guitarists Ahmed Smith and Stephen Bowman also help to further define the band. While most bands are so over-invested in cramming their songs full of swedish melodeath riffs, the two prefer a much more rock-oriented approach or rather the "loud, heavy" sound as it's been dubbed. Tracks like "Niche" and "When The Sky Falls" are heavy hitters that take on the typical hardcore and metal influence and "Across Twenty-Six Winters" and "Etched" are definite emo-hardcore bridgers. However songs like "From Afar" and "Contrast" have a grasping alternative influence that makes them very different from most of today's music. Marshall Gibson and Kerry Dewitt give the band an extremely talented rhythm section that can hold it's own with the best of any band around. Overall highlights include: "When The Sky Falls", "Waiting For The King" and "The Ornament."

"When Excuses Become Antiques" is already one of my favorite records of the year and it's going to be hard for most band's to top this effort, especially those making their debuts. Everything you've come to love about bands who mix styles together, Phoenix Mourning embodies. Mixing in their own special touches and influences gives them a very distinctive feel from most other artists in the same genre. If you're looking for emotional hardcore that knows when to hit the high notes but can also just as easily devastate you, then Phoenix Mourning will be like a match made in heaven. Definitely check out the lead single "Across Twenty-Six Winters" and then know there's only good stuff waiting. Definitely one of 2006's best already.

I am so tired of the scene splitting into tiny little pieces and everyone acting like it's game of Risk and telling people/bands to stay out of each other's territory.

For the love of Zombie Jesus, bands like Phoenix Mourning are not ruining metal. Attitudes like some of the other reviewers are. I am tired of the beat downs (on both sides) and the fights at shows. Grow up.

I am also tired of the absolute refusal by many metal fans to listen to or realize musical merit of any band formed after 1995. But that's a whole other issue.

People like different things. I like Phoenix Mourning and I like Between the Buried and Me. SO WHAT? You don't like it? Don't listen to it, it's that simple.
/end rant.

I like this album. It's a solid hardcore/screamo mix. If you're into that. I have a very fine line on how much screamo is too much. Phoenix Mourning straddles the line well. It's not the best band I've ever heard, but it's a enjoyable CD to pop in.

The music itself is right in the genre without sounding *too much* like anything else. The singer can actually SING decently which can be rare in the screamo genre. Listen to the "singer" in From Autumn to Ashes and you'll see what I mean. He can't carry a tune in a sack. If you're a fan of screamo, you will probably love this album. If you're more on the metalcore side, it may be too much.

Phoenix mourning.. what to say?

This is very typical of the screamo scene today. Typical isn't always bad, because for a first CD, this is quite good for the genre.

I do think though, that the songs do begin to sound the same and that the singer's voice is sometimes really annoying.

I listen to a lot of heavy music too.. and this stuff doesn't make me want to punch walls or anything, but it's pretty cool anyway.

Not only is this a complete disgrace to REAL metal there's still something that really bothers me, the fact that people don't realize that EMO and METAL are polar opposites. These guys are almost as bad as HIM (love metal is the biggest joke ever). Emo and metal is like eating lamb and tuna fish (Big Daddy fans anyone?) or a black jewish republican, it just DOES NOT WORK. When will people learn? If you're gonna be emo then be all whiny and emo-ish with the rest of the Hawthorne Heights, Something Corporate pussbags and stay the hell out of metal territory because frankly no one wants to hear your whining. At least the emo people just stay emo and don't try to be anything else. PEACE.

Then I won't have to sit through bands like this on the metal channel while i'm waiting for Megadeth or Iron Maiden to play. I first learned of this crappy band when I heard that s*** festival of a song "Contrast"(I turned it before my ears bled). This isn't metal. It's screamo with a metallic edge. S***ty hardcore screaming and whiny emo singing make up the vocals.
The guitars are about on level with Atreyu in skill-they suck. There's no solos on this CD at all. Nonexistant bass and sloppy drumming make up the rhythm section. Avoid this and Threat Signal(they stole Meshuggah's sound and made it metalcore). Save your money for Slayer or Megadeth's new CDs.