Customer Reviews

Infrared Riding Hood

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

 

 

I don't find the negative reviews of this album fair. There are moments of brilliance on this album, and whatever the reason for the more "progressive" sound, it fits. I can only applaud a band that evolves in a more musically-conscious direction. While there is something to be said for pure, crushing brutality in music, so too is there something to be said for maturity, complexity, and a metal hook with some intelligence to it. Tad has accomplished all three of the latter with this album. Oh, yeah, and it still rocks as hard as anything they've done in the past.

Please hunt this CD down if you do not have this as part of your CD collection. As like in all the other Tad albums, you will not be dissappointed by the songs and sounds on this album. The walls of sound on this CD are great. Just listen to Emotional Cockaroach. Makes the hairs on your neck stand!!! Seeing them perform this song in concert was even better..especially when Josh the drummer is standing up playing/pounding on the drums through the entire song and Tad is wailing walls of sound and feedback through his guitar!. Tad was personable enough to talk to us common folk before the start of the set, having an intelligent conversation which was a real treat, and made true Tad fans of friends and family that accompanied me to the Tad concert in Asbury Park Summer 1995. Weakling is another great example of Tad sound and feel with great drums/guitars/vocals. Particle Accelerator, Tool Marks, Dementia, and Mystery Copter are great examples of Tad's creation of Heavy Heavy sound that places this band far past any great band that came from the Seattle Sound scene. I miss this band alot and wish for a reunion tour to visit the East Coast soon. Bottom Line - GET THIS CD!!!

I don't agree at all with some of the other reviews that describe this as "commercial" or their worst album.

I think this is a fantastically diverse album in terms of material ranging from the crushingly heavy "Bullhorn" and "Emotional Cockroach" melodic "Red Eye Angel" and "Thistle suit". "Dementia" even has echoes of Dinosaur Jr amongst the crushing riffs. (J Mascis incidentally produced their album "Inhaler").

Some reviews describe this as them going "commercial". I find this exagerrated. They may have introduced more influences into their sound and the writing is more melodic... but its hardly "top 40" rock material!
The songwriting is incredibly strong on the album and the production (Jack Endino) is fantastic; very organic sounding and well produced. (I mean you're hardly going to go to Jack Endino if you want a polished sickly clean, over-produced "commercial" sounding rock record are you?)
Maybe what these negative reviews are getting at is that it has less of the "full on metallic grind". By no means do I find this a necessarily a bad thing; it gives Tad a more diverse catologue of material! I mean we already have 8 way Santa and Inhaler for the total full on heavy stuff. (And the heavy grind is certainly still there on many of the tracks on this album.)

As I mentioned, its certainly tonally different to their previous releases in terms of the guitar sound. I find the guitars sound a little crisper with more texture. Theres nice sections of guitar with some tremolo in some places and even a nice surfy middle section in "Weakling". Tad Doyles vocals are filtered through distortion (tremolo as well on "Weakling" )on a lot of the tracks and he varies his vocal more than on previous releases.

This album is excellent. I would highly recommend this as much as I would Inhaler. It is extremely well mixed and recorded as well.

Tad are one of the most underated bands to come out of the Seattle scene, by far.

This cd is proof positive that this band only got better and better as time went on. "Ictus", "Emotional Cockroach" and "Dementia" are my favorites from this CD, but the entire package is loaded with people used to call "Grunge" rock, but what is really just outstanding music. Excellent guitar and drums, and outstanding vocals by Tad Doyle (as usual.) Be sure to check out the electronic, insect-like sounds and industrial beats, too. Even if you are not a devoted TAD fan like myself, you will still enjoy this CD on many levels. It's just that good!

Yes, like most of Tad's output, this is patchy -- probably more so than previous efforts. But it's worth it for two songs that are among the best they ever recorded: "Ictus" (spontaneous rush of grunge electric current) and the absolute killer, "Bullhorn" -- the most intense thing they ever did (Tad growling and wailing, rhythm section completely out of control). Those songs blew me away in 1995 and still blow me away today.

To a dedicated old-school TAD fan, this album can be easily disregarded. However, given a second listen, it becomes quite clear that the complexity and maturity level, as well as the intentional new direction in sound of this album can be dismissed as either to commercial sounding or simply not sounding like their past albums. These criticisms are irrelevant because Doyle and his fellow bandmates wanted to attack their sound from a different angle. It worked. Some of the songs might seem rushed, but its how TAD deliberately constructed and crafted the songs. The riffs are heavy as always and the transitions are tight and well executed. I strongly recommend this rocking album to any hard rock or grunge listener!!!

Tad is one of the founders of Grunge Scene...They did alternative music for years...First albums are great...but then they tried to catch money with this album and the one before...this is too commercial for a band with the status of Tad.I was negatively surprised when I listened to it the first time.

Just writing this cause I thought the other reviews here were unfair. I`ve been a TAD fan for years and rate the band as one of the top bands of all time alongside other grunge greats as Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. For me, TADs first three albums are without a doubt 5 star classics. But Infrared Riding Hood, their last LP, is a let down. It`s not a compromise or a sell out. It`s still angry and heavy. But it sounds forced. And the songs aren`t as good as on earlier LPs. Even still there are some decent songs/riffs like Ictus, Dementia and Emotional Cockroach. But it`s nowhere near the genius of early TAD albums. I guess it sounds to much like other mid-nineties alternative metal/crossover rock to stand out. Instead of Infrared Riding Hood,check out any other TAD album(or Tad Doyles new band Hog Molly, whose first LP is similar to Infrared..., only better).

This album is horrible & disgusting.Too commercial.Tad did in it their own direction to the waste bag.