Customer Reviews

IV

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

 

 

On IV, actually their second record, The Champs expand on groundwork fromn their monumental debut, Cham95. I hesitate to call this a metal record, although TFC employ inummerable metal conventions ie. fifth harmonies, artificial harmonics, arpegio sweeps... These songs certainly have the sort of righteous fervor you'd expect to find on a classic Priest or Metallica album but the time changes and general song structures are so precisely chaotic, outright insane even, K.K. Downing would flee for the dressing room in terror and Lars Ulrich, well, screw Lars Ulrich. Highlights include Thor is like Immortal, a sort of ballet for metal guitar, C'mon Smash the Quotile, the stinging opener from their live set, Lost, a synth exploration and Extra Man, the only track with vocals- it recalls the finest moments of Thin Lizzy while retaining the compositional sense of originality that makes the Champs a band without peers. I encourage anyone who enjoys this record to seek out their first, Cham95, which is better only because its twice as long.

This album is metal. Metal as it should be. No vocals. No bass. Two guitars and a drumset. The essence of metal. Pure. Unadulterated. The most elegant harmonies. The most glorious melodies. Simply wonderful.

The sound of where rock needs to go, "IV" is leagues away from parody. In fact, The Champs have said themselves that they loathe irony. This album is the two-headed fetus of a band that isn't embarrassed to embrace the remarkably hesh platters in their record collection (Priest, Lizzy, Halen), and cross it with elektronik post-rock influences like Kraftwerk and the Replikants. Moreover, it never fails to bring the f... rock. I can't emphasize enough how most acts that ape their style create absolute s... stew. Crucial album, rock believers.

What is this music? Post-rock that actually rocks? Instrumental thrash-punk? Math-Metal? This is the problem with music marketing nowadays; everything is so hyper-atomized and niche-marketed it has to fall into nice, neat little categories.

The fact that this band always seems to conjure up so much divided opinion between several different kinds of music fans proves to me that they're doing something right! =-D

Bottom line - does this album rock? The answer to that is unequivocably YES, so pick it up, ignore what your friends say and don't worry if it doesn't fit perfectly with the rest of your music collection. You can thank me later.

this is great riff-rock. it reminds me a lot of Kyuss-meets-Helmet, tight like quality math-rock, but with a far greater sense of humor. there are little quotes here and there from what seem like unlikely sources... it's almost like a spoof from one of those 'only available on TV' 'Guitar Rock' CD-sets.

like both of the previous named bands, the emphasis is on getting the most from an electric guitar - not just in terms of speed, but on different tunings, on playing with harmonics and feedback. but the song titles tell you that no matter how serious they might seem about their nine-string guitars, or how macho the chunky riffs might feel, it's almost a parody of itself.

almost... because it's not Pat Boone doing heavy metal tunes and because it IS about great, interesting guitar playing. there's only one track that has vocals, and its mumbling makes it sounds like a track from Dinosaur Jr's 'Bug' album. the Champs are great. long live the Champs.

This album is metal. Metal as it should be. No vocals. No bass. Two guitars and a drumset. The essence of metal. Pure. Unadulterated. The most elegant harmonies. The most glorious melodies. Simply wonderful.

Hated it at first, but now I like it. They used a nine-string guitar in various places, and the sound really stands out. The album kind of spoofs heavy metal and takes it ultra-seriously at the same time. The liner notes spec out every single microphone and guitar they used to make the recording, and yet the songs all have silly names such as "Thor is Like Immortal". Definitely different.

you are crazy. the birds have ears, you know. this record is like summer, it's like, winter, spring, fall, even autumn. do you like to do things indoors? do you mind nothing on television? have YOU heard this record? cancel your date, give me the specifics on a general idea because that is the purpose of this record album - the specifics on a general idea. racecar.

The f champs are great. But somebody above said this record sounds like Kyuss meets Helmet. Helmet maybe, if you are high. Kyuss, hell no, he needs to be smokin' something else. DOUBLE DOWN, BABE. Later.

I got the album thinking that they were surf punk but found out to my dismay that they were more like tired 80's speed metal. not really to my tastes but if your a fan of old slayer or dio these guys are for you.