Customer Reviews

To My Surprise

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is upsetting to see people giving this CD two and three stars out of five, you are all out of your minds and insane to expect a side project from a member of Slipknot to be anything like the sound of Slipknot. Do you think the members of Slipknot just listen to speed metal and only speed metal???? No, I think not, just because Slipknot is their primary focus, it doesn't mean they are not musically inspired by all different kinds of music under the sun, which you should all take a stab at yourself and try listening to something a bit more inspiring than Korn, Mudvayne and Metallica, which by the way there is nothing wrong with speed metal, it is my favorite type of music too, but it is not all that is out there worth giving a listen to. This CD is one of the best CDs I have come across in a long time, it is beautiful, upbeat, melodic and nothing short of mind broadening. If you like emotional rock at all, this is for you. I am extremely proud of the clown for illustrating that he is capable of such musicianship and songwriting and I can't wait for his second outing. Peace!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As a huge Slipknot fan since 2000, I was contacted and notified of a new album coming out from Shawn (the Clown)'s other band, To My Surprise. But before I knew about the album release, I've heard TMS through their hit song 'In The Mood'. It was avaliable for download on a website, so I downloaded it and fell in love with it. Soon, I found myself watching the music video for it. I went out and bought the album and loved every track of it! It is defiently not a surprise that TMS is an awesome band, considering it has an awesome precussionist in it; Clown. The sound is defiently different - but that doesn't mean it's not good! TMS has surprised many Slipknot fans around the world. Although some haven't appreciated the music, I do. And I hope you will too--buy the album, visit the website www.tomysurprise.net, or the biggest TMS fansite, www.theworldstoosmall.com.

In a music climate of cookie-cutter rap-metal bands and cheesy bubblegum pop, "To My Surprise" really stands out as something totally different and fresh.

I didn't know what to expect from this side project from Slipknot's "Clown". I've been a casual fan of theirs, not considering myself a "Maggot" by any stretch. After listening, I must say that it is "surprisingly" good, and very different. The members of "To My Surprise" cover a wide range of style and influence with rich, deep sounds and catchy melodies. One minute you're listening to what sounds like modern age "Beatles-esque" harmonies with smooth vocals, next moving on to the quirky off-beat riffs of Beck, then switching to an almost punk, hard driving rock with raw guitar and driving drums.

Overall it's definitely an eclectic listen, and very interesting if nothing else. Die-hard Slipknot fans expecting the usual may be disappointed, but I think many other fans of diverse music will be pleasantly surprised.

The reason To My Surprise has such an unusual name is clear: any description of their self-titled debut will inevitably overuse the word "surprise." Observe:

SURPRISE! The scary clown from Slipknot (M. Shawn Crahan) has a side project, and it isn't metal, nu- or otherwise. In fact, To My Surprise is a power pop band that sounds like a combination of the Beatles, AC/DC, and Soul Coughing. Why, it's a SURPRISE that Roadrunner Records, the most "metal" of all mainstream labels, even released this album at all. Even more of a SURPRISE is the mood of this record. Those looking for the angsty nihilism of Slipknot will be quite dissappointed; even the most aggressive track ("In the Mood") is centered around an insanely catchy pop hook. The biggest SURPRISE, however, is that, despite being incredibly weird, this album is also really good. The group has an excellent pair of vocalists in Crahan and Brandon Darner; Crahan's unusual twang complements Darner's more traditional delivery well, and the production is top-notch, if a bit experimental.

Basically, if you can accept that this side project doesn't sound a thing like Slipknot (and that IS the purpose of side projects, right?), TO MY SURPRISE will probably end up getting regular playing time in your stereo. SURPRISED?

This record will get pigeonholed as a Slipknot side project, because To My Surprise is the creative brainchild of Shawn Crahan, alter ego of the pentagram-faced percussionist, Clown. Calling this band a side project isn't really fair. To My Surprise is a distinct departure from Slipknot, sounding more like a cross between the Beatles and bands like The Vines and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, with a dose of Mike Patton's Mr. Bungle thrown in for an off-kilter spin on the sound.

Unlike Stone Sour and the Murderdolls, the other Slipknot "side projects," To My Surprise packs a Pop punch, which should find them sneaking their way onto the charts across several musical genres. Even as the band claims to "ruin the melody," on songs like In The Mood, they combine power-pop chords with catchy melodic vocal progressions you can't help singing along to. Bouncing Beatles riffs and sixties pop vocals in songs like Who's To Say, Sunday, and Come With Me, juxtaposed against more aggressive numbers like Easy or Not and Get It To Go will keep you listening to this album for months to come.

First of all, you've got to forget about Slipknot. Come at this release from a different perspective. A recall of 60's pop and psychodelica. Not pop like bubblegum, more of a drifty, melodic, sometimes truly weird, which is great.

To put the sound here in reference (albeit a reference that nobody will get), this release sounds sort of like Gibby Haynes And His Problem and sort of like Lusk's Free Mars. Only this has more pianos and a little less weirdness. If you like To My Surprise, then I strongly recommend those two albums.

its deffinatly different from slipknot... just because one would love slipknot, they dont neccesarily need to like the side projects they have.... but when it comes down to it, TMS has taste, and substance... Oliver Ignatius, why would you waste your time reviewing a band you dont like.... things are never one-sided....

just got this cd today at first i thought it was ok the 2 tracks i heard before get it to go and in the mood are great songs but i really was'nt feeling the rest of them then i gave it another listen wow!! i love it now this is a cd that may take a few listens to get used to if your a fan of slipknot and think this is anything like the other members side projects forget it it's not really metal at all sounds pretty original the only group i could say they kinda sound like is queens of the stone age but not too much and the only reason i gave this cd four stars is because track 5 is awful but besides that it's a damn good cd check it out

Side projects can be brilliant, like the Postal Service, or they can be deeply, intensely unimpressive like... well, like To My Surprise's self-titled debut. Shawn "Clown" Crahan of Slipknot tries a foray into power pop that ends up sounding fragmented and forgettable. You've heard it all before, and it was more fun when the greats did it.

Crahan and his bandmates are certainly shooting for a more eclectic pop sound -- there are stretches of filler between semi-listenable songs, which bring to mind classic bands like the Beatles, Pink Floyd, a bit of the Doors ("This is the end, this is the end/my only friend, the end" -- paging the Lizard King), a trickle of glam-rock and so on. Not a bad selection of influences, when you think about it.

Alas and alack, the album doesn't gel. Crahan has plenty of influences, but it feels like he just grabbed a bunch of the best bands' best songs he could find and tried to make his own versions with a poppier twist. As a result, the songs that stretch into mild rock or psychedelic pop feel derivative and strained.

The songs that DON'T feel derivative aren't much better -- they tend to be fillerish. "This Life" achieves a certain distant eerieness, gained with odd echoing effects and a driving piano melody, but more often the sound is generic powerpop, complete with "Turn It Back Around's" bassline that goes on forever without really doing anything.

Some musically mediocre bands can overcome their deficiencies by having really great songs. And To My Surprise... is not one of those bands. When they're not ripping off Jim Morrison's songs, Crahan sings bland love songs in a slightly cracked voice: "You're the only girl out there/who says it's easy to live with me/Easy or not, I appreciate the shot/And I know down deep inside that it was meant to be." Sorry -- the heartstrings simply are not stirring.

In the end, "To My Surprise" will only surprise fans of Slipknot, who expected something a bit harder. For anyone else, this tepid batch of pop-rock tunes won't serve up a single surprise. Summed up, dull, simplistic and derivative.

Being a fan of Slipknot, I was curious about this album. I knew "Clown" from Slipknot was in it and it was his project, and I also knew that it was pop-rock, but not exactly how much it was. I expected maybe Sum 41 pop rock or something like that, but I was even suprised. The songs are all extremely poppy, except for one, but it's pretty much an interlude. After listening to this you would have no idea that a member of this band would be in a band like Slipknot. The song "Blue" contains a chorus of "Blue belongs in the sky, and not on you or I." I enjoyed the opening riff to the song and the verses, but that cheesy ass chorus just ruined the whole thing for me. "In the Mood" contains very odd verses with bizarre rhymes like "For being a loon with a toon" and other annoyingly catchy blurts. But really, if you are a Slipknot fan, I BEG you to find some way to sample this CD before buying it. I was not disappointed because I was ready because I had heard of its poppiness (even though I had never heard an actual song yet) and have only listened to this CD...maybe, twice? Since I got it. A band I can compare this to is Fountains of Wayne...ew...