Customer Reviews

Phoenix [Explicit]

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

 

 

I was a little disappointed with Broadcast to the World, it was a good cd, but it wasnt something I needed to listen to over and over, like MFZB and Playmate of the Year were to me. But this new album is a nice balance, of new and old and is easy listened to again and again. If you are a Zebrahead fan then it should be a no brainer.

I am not much of a fan of rap metal or rap, but being zebrahead fan since playmate of the year, i've grown to like them more with each album. For this latest album, it is awesome. I am sad to see that they do not get much recognition since a lot of bands are not as innovative and original as zebrahead. However everyone would know zebrahead, right? anyways highly recommended that you get this album if you're a fan of zebrahead, or just another person who wants to blast this album and broadcast this to the world!

To start off, I have been a Zebrahead fan since their initial independent release. They have been one of very few bands who have been able to mature in sound while staying true to their roots. That being said, I was skeptical when lead singer Justo left the band after their then best effort, MFZB. I was curious to see just how much the transformation would affect Zebrahead's music. Broadcast to the World in my opinion (although a great album) was almost a redo of sorts, as if they decided to pretend MFZB never happened. It was an album that in a way revisited a lot of the sounds and style explored in Playmate of the Year, with the catchy lyrics and energetic sound. I loved the cd, but wished they would have incorporated some of the break through sounds they used in MFZB.

Then came Phoenix, Zebrahead's latest effort, and although I greatly anticipated the album, I had no idea what to expect. What else can I say? It is fantastic. It is their most complete and entertaining album to date. The album maintains the style used in Broadcast to the World and incorporates influences from their previous albums, including a few from Waste of Mind which should satisfy my fellow old school Zebrahead fans. The sounds range from hardcore (HMP) to pop and catchy (Mental Health, also their first single) and everything in between. Ali sounds better than ever with his rapping, while Matty's vocals have made dramatic improvements from Broadcast to the World (still not quite as good as Justo's were but pretty darn close, at times you cant tell the difference), creating the balance between rap and rock that nobody does better than Zebrahead.

Overall, it is in my opinion their best effort so far. It is obvious that the band put forth a tremendous effort to construct this album, and hopefully they are rewarded by finally breaking through the barrier to become and A-list band. If you have ever enjoyed a Zebrahead album, it is my strongest recomendation that you purchase this cd. You definitely will enjoy it, and it could go down as one of the best cd's of the year.

I have been a fan from the beginning, and the last two albums just didn't do it for me. I am not a fan of this Matty guy, but I could get past it if it wasn't for the fact that EVERY song sounds the same. The things that made Zebrahead so orignal and refreshing on their first three albums were:

- upbeat, positive vibes
- rap mixed with high pitched, melodic vocals and EXTREMELY catchy harmonies
- humor
- diversity

Those are all gone. They've turned themselves into Good Charlotte meets Linkin Park meets All American Rejects meets Fall Out Boy's song titles. IN fact, the humorous song titles are all that's left of the humor. The songs for the most part aren't terrible but they just sound like everything else. A once-great band that was original and fun, and GOOD, has turned into a bad pop rock band.

The one highlight to me is Hit the Ground - although that sounds just like Linkin Park so I can't even give it credit for being a great Zebrahead tune. It's 'What I've Done' with slightly higher pitched vocals...

A shame.

I absolutely love Zebrahead's MFZB which I think was their best album by far.

This time around, Phoenix does NOT disappoint, but after a while the songs start to all blend together. I think there are just too many songs on this album, so much so that they all start to blur together after awhile.

Don't get me wrong, these songs are still awesome, but still it does get repetitive.

Good tracks: Hells Yeah, Juggernauts, Mike Dexter, Brixton, Two Wrongs.


Two Wrongs is by far the best song from this album. It was lots of energy, the lyrics are funny, and it really just makes you want to jump up and start dancing.

Good effort by Zebrahead, but a little too poppy and formulaic for my tastes.
I prefer MFZB and Broadcast to the World

I'll make this brief, 'Phoenix' is definetly a step above 'Broadcast to the World'...my top 3 songs would have to be "Death By Disco", "The Juggernauts", & "Hit The Ground"...(and of course the single "Hell Yeah!")

Ive been a fan since 2000 and this band keeps spitting out great albums and great songs. Basically every song except maybe 2 tracks are awesome. Very catchy choruses, great riffs, another excellent album.

I picked up this album when it came out because I honestly liked the cover of it. I had heard of Zebrahead before with their single "Playmate of the Year."

I could never find any of their other stuff until now. So, I guess my opinion probably won't match up to anyone else who has been listening to them for a long time but I'd like to share it anyway.

I was actually turned off by the beginning of the first song and I put the cd down because I thought it was all going to sound like that. But, a few days later I picked it up, listened to it straight through, and then repeated that process at least 10-15 times so far. Songs 4-14 are perfect to me.

I love the rap/rock genre. It's like 311 but with way faster guitar/drums and just everything in between. It has the rap to start the song out and then it goes to the amazing singing for the catchy chorus.

Like I said, I just now started to love Zebrahead but they are one hell of a good band. I really enjoyed it and now I'm going to try really hard to get the rest of the bands albums.

Favorite track is Ignite by the way. A very solid band, very solid album.

Why doesn't Amazon use half stars in its rating system? Anyway, I give this cd 2 1/2 stars. I am a big Zebrahead fan, but unfortunately, I think that this is their worst cd. It's not bad by any means, just disappointing to me. A few things were different on this cd than on their previous efforts, and I felt it was problematic:
1) I think this is by far the fastest cd they have ever put out. Normally that would be a great thing, and I love fast music, but I also think Zebrahead is great at mixing up the pace and making all speeds of music sound great. But since they don't do that on this cd, as a result, all the songs sort of sound the same and blend together. Although I don't really dislike a single song on this cd, there isn't a single one that I really love either.
2) Matty is lost in the mix on this cd. Ali does by far the most singing, and Matty is left to do the single, short, repetitive chorus on each song. They keep this same formula on almost every song.
3) Most of the humor has gone out of their lyrics. The most "fun" song on this cd would probably have to be their first single, "Mental Health." Their lyrics still are decent, but it seems like they are taking themselves too seriously these days.
Overall, again, it's not a bad cd, but it's nothing that you can listen to over and over again. And you have to be a big fan of the rap vocals and care less about the melodies and be more into speedy punk music with hip-hop vocals. And if you are, you will likely love this cd. But I prefer the more melodic style of MFZB.
Also, the dvd extra is nothing special. There is a lot of stuff on there, and occasionally some good stuff like their music videos that you would likely never see anywhere else, but their home footage is for super die-hard fans only. It's boring, redundant, and there is no point to it.
Bottom line: if you like all of their previous efforts you will probably not dislike this; but it will also probably be very forgettable.

I love track 15, "All for None, And None for All." It has a pumping rhythm and you just want to crank it up. There are a lot of songs on this CD. Ali and Greg are masters of their talent. I think some of these songs will soon be discovered and make it on XM Radio, movie soundtracks, just wait and see!