Customer Reviews

Up the Dose

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Many people think Skrape has sold out w/ the release of their new disc UP THE DOSE. Actually, Skrape is just doing what they do best...rocking out! Change is a good thing, if no one changed things would be really boring.

1. Bleach- 5/5: A great opener for this cd; really agressive, and really improved vocals by Billy.

2. Stand Up-4.5/5: A good song, a big change for Skrape. Its more of a near ballad, but it holds its own. I really like the verses in this song.

3. Up the Dose-5/5: Skrape returns to their old song but w/ a vengeance. Extremely aggressive guitars trailed by pounding drums from Will. Great lyrics...its some to scream along to.

4. In the End-4.5/5: Another great example of how awesome change can be. This song has really nice verses and some intriguing music to back up the vocals.

5. My Life-4.5/5: This song is the only reason why the cd has a P.A. I dont know why the label puts the sticker on the cd for one cussing song. Besides the cussing, which is kinda abruptly used, its an awesome song.

6. I Can't Breathe-4.5/5: This song really caught my attention. Billy vocals in the beginning really stand out. It almost has a haunting feel to it.

7. The Ocean-4.8/5: The Ocean is Skrape's signature sound mixed in w/ nice singing. Its still a really agressive song, i love the guitars and bass in there.

8. Searching For Home-4.5/5: A slow-paced ballad. Its good though, another pretty haunting track. Its not too special, but its a good song.

9. Syrup-4.5/5: Syrup is a hard hitting song. Its got really nice riffs on it, but the lyrics are a bit ify. But all around its a good track, something just bugged me about this one.

10. Habit-4.5/5: Habit's a better song, it has some nice verses to it. Skrape hasnt lost their style, therefore they never sold out. Habit is an example of how Skrape is still Skrape.

11. No Respect-5/5: Just another awesome song, extremely aggressive guitars blended w/ some screams and great singing. just another awesome track, a nice closer.

All around, Skrape's new cd doesnt disappoint me. Check it out If you liked New Killer America.

Skrape is an amazing band! Although this album isn't as heavy as their debut, it still is heavy and it still sounds like Skrape! Its just more melodic and sounds better overall! I would definitely recommend buying this cd!

I'm reading all of the reviews related to Skrape's new CD, and I can honestly say that I'm disgusted! People are harping on the fact that this CD is pale in comparison to their debut CD, New Killer America, and I'll be honest, that's completely true. I'll even go as far as to say that I prefer the initial cd as opposed to the latter, but to lump these cat's in the same catagory as a Staind, or Limp Bizkit for that matter, is preposterous. If the narrow minded individuals would stop to take a serious look at what it means to be a musician, and a band as a whole, opinions would begin to change rapidly. Isn't a driving force in relation to being a musician, change? Change makes everything better, no matter how you look at it. If things didn't change, we'd still be listening to the dreary tunes of "Franky goes to Hollywood," or even worse "Pat Benetar!" I give musicians the utmost respect. They use their creative outlets to their full potential, without regard of opinion. And in my opinion, thats what this whole business is about. Not everyone is going to enjoy the music you make, but they should respect that they're out there "doing it," while the headphone jockies kick back, sip on their pepsi's and clown everything that is released. Skrape is every bit the same band that they were when New Killer America was released. They've just taken what inspires them, and spun it into an album completely aligned with their attitudes. Instead of mocking the attempt they've made with "up the dose," I congratulate them on a very well made disk. Maybe the rest of the haters should take a step back, and reconfigure your thoughts and idea's!

For me this CD is my breaking point. I am a fan of almost all genres of rock and metal -- I am even fond of some nu-metal. But these "new" metal bands are just killing me! Bands like Skrape release a debut CD that is generally powerful, creative, marginally original, and most important, full of satisfyingly crunchy, heavy music. With this, they build a base of fans who enjoy the product that the band has created. THEN, they release their 2nd (or maybe it takes until their 3rd) CD and those fans are left with their jaws hanging open and thinking "What the f*** happened?". These bands have not "sold out"; rather, in their words, they have become more "melodic". It is very similar to the tidal wave of power-ballad bands that arose in the '80's. Is this a new phenomenon specific only to metal? No, bands of all genres have been selling-out for years. The only problem is that if a band is "selling-out" the product has to be good enough to initiate the "selling".

Skrape have unfortunately fallen under this weepy hard-rcok spell like so many others. Whereas their 1st release, the amazing "New Killer America", was full of raw metallic power, creativity and energy, "Up the Dose" seems to drone on and on in the Aaron Lewis-inspired nether world of subdued sadness and hope. Lacking any real spark (with the exception of the title track), "Up the Dose" is destined to be quickly forgotten and ultimately will be relished to the discount and used CD bins of America.

How many recent or "nu" bands have chosen the Staind route to success after powerful early albums? Plenty. Some have done so successfully (from both a musical and financial perspective) while most have fallen flat on their face. To name a few...
Static-X "Shadow Zone", Cold "Year of the Spider", Systematic "Pleasure to Burn", Nothingface "Skeletons", Slaves on Dope "Metafour", Endo "Songs for the Restless".
I hope that these bands have found what they were looking for because I sure the hell didn't.

I'll start with this: I liked New Killer America (I probably would've given it 3 or 4 stars). But this new one is just plain boring. The songs are typical nu-metal: softer, melodic verse and then yell in the chorus, with mid-tempo, down-tuned sludge rock chugging. The old album was similar in style but had more original riffs, better singing, catchier songs and felt exciting. This new one feels dead and uninspired.
Guess they only had enough in 'em for 1 album. Too bad.

Skrape's debut "New Killer America" was a surprisingly solid debut album, but their follow up "Up the Dose" just screams the word generic almost the entire way through. While the band still has a heavy vibe with some killer grooves, most of the songs just have a feel to them like "I've heard this before, and heard it done better". I saw these guys live on the Extreme Steel tour a few years back, and I felt they had the energy; and judging by they're debut album, the potential to be the next Pantera, but with this lackluster release, I'm wondering when Skrape will show their true colors.

UTD is a fantastic album which showcases Skrape's songwriting skills. Don't get me wrong, NKA was awesome, but UTD is definately a step up as far as musicianship, vocals and songwriting ability. Skrape still maintains their heavy sounds with songs like Up The Dose, My Life, and No Respect, but there is way more to this album than their past release. I highly suggest you pick this up!

All I have to say is that this CD gets a little boring after awhile. The band needs to take a different approach in their sound. The bass was the real problem I had in this CD. The bass drowned out all dynamics of the audio and killed anything worth "JAMMING" to.

skrape is one of those bands that just didn't get noticed on the slimming nu metal radar but their material improved from their last cd drastically.i enjoy billy's voice-not his screams.will's addition of double bass is nice as well.the first five cuts are outstanding, with "up the dose" and the melodic "in the end" being my two favorite tracks on the cd.the single "stand up" doesn't give a good representation of this whole cd, as it is heavier than the aforementioned track.if you have the extra money, go for it.not bad at all.for fans of switched,v shape mind,and sloth.

Skrape really threw it all away on this one. Their debut was strong, with heavy guitars overshadowing vocals (in a good way). Here, the vocals take center stage and the lyrics are quite a step backward.

I'm just glad I only spent 8 bucks. This one is headed for the trash. Stick with "New Killer America".