Customer Reviews

Open Letter To The Damned

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Good
"Blame it on the Drugs" kicks off with thunderous riffs that roll into a chugga-chugga progression. The chorus is full of melody and hooks. "Florida Sunshine" will captivate you with its infectious groove and harmonic vocals. "Gretchen My Captain" focuses on the vocal work of Spencer Albee, as he laments about the object of his affection. What I enjoy most about his vocals is that, not only can he carry a tune, but he has just enough edge to complement the hard rock sound.

Echoed vocals meet effects heavy instrumentation to create a Led Zeppelin influence on "Wasted Youth." Albee is a sucker in love and he's not going to take it anymore on the acoustic and synth heavy "Open Letter to the Damned." "Skin the Kat" has a hard rock blues feel to it, with powerful and moving vocals. "If I Only Knew" comes off like a long lost Paul McCartney song with the distortion cracked up a bit more. Great song, great melody.

The Bad
Nothing

The Verdict
Every song is a winner! As Fast As draw on a vast range of influence to create one memorable hard rock album. I see a bright future for this band as long as someone in the industry gives them a chance.

i really enjoy this band. the only thing i went off of was reviews, had never heard them. bought it on a whim and was well worth it. first track blame it on the drugs is the only disappointing moment, really not a good album opener...really could have left it off all together and this would have been a 5 plus star album. as it stands, just barely a five. i'm sure more listens will change my mind. really dig the keyboards, they set this band up quite nicely. very cool jamish mentality, plus some southern rock. not really understanding the comparisons to weezer, but whatever i guess. vocal harmonies done w/ taste, lyrics a little bit crude. well worth anyone's time.

I found out about As Fast As after hearing their hit "Florida Sunshine" on my local alternative station, and I kind of liked the tune (especially for its rockin' chorus, which has a bit of a Southern Rock feel to it as well as some catchy lyrics). I eventually found the CD for only three bucks and decided to give it a chance since I liked "Florida Sunshine" so much, and this gamble turned out to be a worthy risk since most of the songs on Open Letter to the Damned were just as good if not better. My favorite track ended up being "Gretchen My Captain"; no idea what that's supposed to mean, but nonetheless I've been playing that song more than any other on the album. "Gretchen My Captain" is very commendable for the cool backwards beat that it starts off with, having a bit of piano in it too and then building up to a highly catchy chorus that isn't as loud as most of the album but still makes for a perfectly fine melody which definitely earns my approval. I also liked tracks #1 and #3 a lot ("Blame It On the Drugs" and "Special"), and since "Florida Sunshine" and "Gretchen My Captain" are tracks #2 and #4 this album is able to draw you in right from the start with its awesome opening four songs and hopefully keep you interested until the conclusion of track #11. Overall, Open Letter to the Damned is a good debut CD for these guys and ought to get them a solid fan-base for any future albums they release. I would give this album either four stars or four and a half stars; if I gave it four then it would be a strong four stars but if I gave it four and a half then it would probably be a weak four and a half. At any rate, it's a good album and apparently a fairly unique one too because I can't really think of any other bands that sound like As Fast As. If I recall correctly, the booklet has a section that will tell you what bands As Fast As believes their music is influenced by; it calls that section "the recipe for As Fast As" or something like that. Anyway, this band has a lot of promise and it would help to support them by buying this CD (plenty of good songs on it, I assure you).

This album is pretty good, and is loaded with catchy, radio-friendly tunes, like Florida Sunshine. However, it is missing something - personality. For better or for worse, this album makes it seem as though As Fast As (formerly Rocktopus) has shifted from being a very original indie band with a unique sound to something more palatable to a wider audience.

Basically, what it comes down to is this - if you're looking for a decent, pop rock album, this one fits the bill. If you're looking for something original and new, look elsewhere.

I JUST saw this band open for another act this past weekend, and I am in LOVE! They put on a great show, the lead singer is very talented, as are the other members of the band, clever and witty. The music is very catchy and I can't stop listening to it...I have been listening to the same cd in my car for the past 4 days and also listening to it online at work! If you get a chance to see them live, do it!

This CD is great. Songs are catchy and you want to sing them at the top of your lungs. Lyrics are amazing. Sound like the beatles but more contemporary. If you haven't checked this band out you definitely should. Live shows are extremely energetic and entertaining.

This is a great CD one of the best CDs I've ever heard. It's a must buy for your record collection. On top of that it's a great price. Buy it!

this has been played countless times since i got it.. it has catchy lyrics and melodies, a good beat, and great arrangements. i'd definitely highly recommend it. it was on repeat all day yesterday at work and might end up doing the same today.

I saw this band last week at a concert and was blown away, so I got the cd. I wasn't disappointed. It is one of those cds where every track is worth listening to again and again...

This looks like it is going to be really good because I saw them in concert when they were in my hometown of Tucson about 3 mounths ago, much better than unwritten law.