Customer Reviews

Of Love and Lunacy

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Emocore?
Wow.
That's the worst label for a band I've ever heard.

Still Remains are masters at what they do. Everything fits together quite nicely. They're lyrics can be considered slightly emo, but they are just beautiful.

The lyrics for the songs "Recovery" and "I Can Revive Him With My Own Hands" are the best on the cd. They're heartfelt and pretty.

This album is in my top 10. These guys know what they're doing, and I can't wait til their next album. I know I won't be disappointed.

I don't know why people are listening to new metal bands if they don't like this.

Yes these guys are unmistakably groupable with the in flames killswitch unearth types. One thing they have to offer other than generally strong song writing, is: keyboards! keyboards. Im a sucker. I even like that new found glory song just because of the keyboards.

So anyway this album is basically the strong, active, new wave of metal sounding stuff plus keyboards. I would say that underoath's 'changing of times' comes closest just because there's that vibe of something other than hate or whining buried in the heaviness.

I have narrowed my bands from this general genre down to about 10 now. So maybe if you're open to liking a good chunk of this kind of music, including beands yet unheard as to you, this album could surprise you and be up there with unearth or as i lay dying.....rather than down there with shadows fall (ok thats just a cheap shot).

For the past 5 or 6 years i've been really skeptical about anything that's come out on Roadrunner Records. Until recently they've actually signed some good bands (KSE,Agony Scene) and enter Still Remains. They had it up at a listening station at a local record store and I was very impressed, I bought it on the spot, which is something i don't do too often anymore. They have an incredible sound (immediate comparisons Mortal Treason, Zao, In Flames, Bleeding Through, IDT come to mind) they are the whole package when it comes to metal. If you are looking for a cd with great singing, brutal breakdowns, and all around solid musicianship, check these guys out, you won't be disappointed.

Wow! I first heard this band on the music choice channel and immediately I purchased their EP. The EP has only 5 songs on it, but they were played continuously. I consider myself a very diverse music listener. I love hip hop, jazz, you name it. If it has heart, feeling and emotion then it is artwork to me. "Of Love and Lunacy" is an amazing record. It is so well-rounded that it has something for all ears to enjoy. I have owned this cd for two weeks and it has not left my player once. In fact, this cd has made my personal work-outs last from one and a half hours, to two and a half all by itself. The cd just makes you want to burst out of your shell and take on the world, in a positive Christian way. This cd is so amazing that it could take Red Bull, Rock Star and every other energy drink out of business. This cd will be the caffeine you need to stay awake and revitalized. Sick!

This album IS really good, but it is exactly what I expected would happen with this band...Their EP is amazing, and I have had it for 4 or 5 months and still listen to it constantly, but this album falls short of the EP for me, but I do NOT feel it is the band's fault at all. It is GGGarth's fault. HE is the one who made this band sound exactly like a love child of Atreyu's "the Curse" and it dies today's "the caitiff choir" in an attempt to make them more accessable, yet still heavy.
the truth is the man is a one trick pony. the guitars on this album, as well as the song structures, the stepped-up amount of singing,the vocal overdubs during the singing, even the way he has the guitars quickly swell up before a crushing metal riff here and there-ALL sound EXACTLY like what he did for Atreyu, and it pisses me off. He should stick to producing chevelle and leave the genre of metal alone altogether. The fact of the matter is that his shiny, big-budget production ultimately sanded down this band's abrasive edge, making them less intense. Still Remains should have been left alone so their sound could evolve on its own, the potential of which was proven with If Love was Born to Die. If they had stuck with Ryan Adkins, who produced, engineered, and recorded the EP, their sound would have been able to do this without constraint, and this would have been a much more intense and original album, but if your band got signed to a major label and you had the opportunity to work with the "hit-making" producer that brought you Atreyu's "the Curse," what are the chances you'd turn it down.
Once you get over all of that, though, this is a very solid album from start to finish, and so far, there isn't a single song on it that I entirely dislike. you can definitely sense the increased influence of swedish melodic death, which is especially apparent in the guitar riffage and the very soilwork-esque keyboard/synth action. I do wish, though, that they left "recovery" and "...my own hands" alone. Neither of them are as good as the originals because of the unnecessary over prodiction, and especially the multi-tracked harmonized singing, which is not nearly as powerful.
So if you like Still Remains, buy this album. it is definitely a very good listen, but not quite as brilliant as their EP.

Ok for starters this band is amazingly awesome, extremely potent, breath taking, and powerful! Roadrunner found a gim when they found Still Remains. From start to finish these songs knock you down, kick you around and leave you w/no remorse! This cd rocks! The drumming and guitar work is simply amazing! The good tracks are To live and Die by fire, In Place of Hope, White Walls,Bliss, and Recovery but all the tracks are great check this band out NOW!!!

Yes it is, and I like it, one of the catchiest of the year by far, and it'll probably stay there. I've been a fan of this band ever since I heard "Recovery" from their EP, and I just liked that song so much, I was happy when they signed to Roadrunner, who has actually signed some great bands lately(Trivium, Opeth).
But this album falls at the second half of the album, it was a bit of a letdown, but overall, it's still an enjoyable listen.

1. To Live and Die by Fire- 4/5 (Great opener)
2. Worst Is Yet to Come- 5/5 (Great follow up, very catchy chorus)
3. In Place of Hope- 4/5 (Another great chorus)
4. White Walls- 5/5 (2nd best song on here, perfect blend of heaviness and catchy hooks)
5. Bliss- 4/5
6. Cherished- 4/5
7. With What You Have- n/a (Instrumental)
8. Kelsey- 4/5 (Pretty good, but not as good as with the first listen)
9. Recovery- 5/5 (Best song on here, great lyrics, great musicianship, just one of the best songs of the year)
10. I Can Revive Him With My Own Hands- 4/5 (Good, but nothing spectacular)
11. Stare and Wonder- 4/5
12. Blossom, The Witch - 4/5 (Good, but when I was listening I was hoping for a great singing chorus, could have been a five)

And for the idiot that says It Dies Today is the worst metalcore band? You're making Georgia look bad, d00d, and by the way, Nick Brooks writes some pretty intelligable lyrics.

it is nice to hear that more and more underground bands are getting noticed. i have had the still remains ep for quite a long time and when i heard they got signed to roadrunner i was very impressed. 2 songs are re-recorded with much better production. nice keyboards and plenty of 2-steping and breakdowns. 2005-great year for hardcore

I got this CD earlier this week and have had it in my CD player ever since. I downloaded "If Love Was Born To Die" several months ago and loved songs like "Light Through Skin" and "I Can Revive Him With My Own Hands" and the powerful builds layered with breakdowns and ferocity they provided. Still Remains' intelligent use of keyboarding provides an almost 4th Dimension to their music, making it intriguing and keeping it fresh against the innumerable amounts of metalcore bands in the world today. This factor, along with their Christian message and ferocity are why I considered "If Love Was Born To Die" magnificent, and i expected no less from "Of Love and Lunacy".

My first taste of this album came in the form of "White Walls", and it provided a strong outlook on the upcoming album, an album to which i was at first very skeptical with them being signed to Roadrunner (a label who's done nothing but put out crap-nu-metal for several years). But I figured not even Roadrunner could spoil Still Remains, and I was 100% correct. The new album has more clean vocals, but also keeps the chugs and eerie keyboarded melodies so present on "If Love Was Born To Die". The new version of "I Can Revive Him With My Own Hands" is nothing short of a masterpiece. Easily the best song on the album. Although similar to the older version (duh, they're the same song) it feels more layered and the build is stronger.

This album doesnt have a single weak song.... well, except for the piano track, but I dont really consider that a "song" on the album. No matter how hard I try, I keep feeling like this album is a follow up to It Dies Today's "The Caitiff Choir". The two albums are strikingly similar,(both have clean vocals, breakdwons, melodies, etc) but "Of Love and Lunacy" faaaaar surpasses "The Caitiff Choir". If you like It Dies Today, but want a deeper feeling album, this is it for you.

THE DOWNSIDE: Very similar to "The Caitiff Choir", and besides the keyboards, this is nothing you havent heard before.

BOTTOM LINE: A beautifully heavy metalcore album from one of my favorite bands. This album has it all. With some of the most varied and diverse vocals I've heard, along with some fantastic melodies, this album remains catchy WITHOUT compromising heaviness (a factor i felt IDT struggled with on a few songs) For fans of It Dies Today, Unearth, I Killed The Prom Queen, As I Lay Dying, etc.

STANDOUT TRACKS: I Can Revive Him With My Own Hands, The Worst Is Yet To Come, White Walls

THE JAYROD'S RATING: 4.5

This album takes you in with catchy songs such as "If love was born to die". Their screaming style is very much compared to that of Haste The Day. Their songs are "metal" (if you will) at times, and yet melodic with the use of a keyboard.
I love this band and i suggest you purchase this release. Infact...i'm going to go see them play live this sunday.