Customer Reviews

Vanity

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There's many different opinions floating around about this album among Eighteen Visions' fans. Some, like myself, consider this to be the best album 18V has crafted since their inception; some are turned off by its glammy imagery, and new sound. To tell the truth, "Vanity" combines all the best aspects of 18v's sound, without being too melodic, or too overly heavy. There's a nice balance created within the album, and each song seems to flow very well. If someone were new to this band, or had never listened to them before, then this would be the first place I would point them. Don't get me wrong, I love "Until The Ink Runs Out", but I just consider this a better balanced work, and a better representation of Eighteen Visions' style. As it stands, "Vanity" is a crushing dose of melody and mayhem, and has more than its share of change ups, keeping the listener constantly guessing on what's coming next, which really propels it into a greater territory.

There's a lot that separates this album from 18V's others. If you have been listening to this band, then you know they have never made the same album twice. "Yesterday Is Time Killed" was the beginning where the band was finding their sound, "Until The Inks Runs Out" was the full on intricate hardcore that 18v was always known for, and "Obsession" was an attempt to take Eighteen Visions' sound to a more mainstream rock approach. "Vanity" falls in the middle of "Until The Ink Runs Out" and "Obsession". At the time 18V was beginning to experiment with more and more melody, but still throwing out heavy pieces like "Fashion Show" and "One Hell Of A Prize Fighter". The diversity is what is key about the album. James has taken his voice to new levels than were previously seen on "Until The Ink Runs Out", and proves that he really can 'sing'. His charisma and attitude on the mic gives 18v a style and sound all their own. He can go from some of the most brutal screams, to beautiful melodies instantly, as seen on the title track "Vanity" and "A Short Walk Down A Long Hallway". Keith and Brandan have taken a different approach to writing guitar parts this time around. Their style isn't nearly as intricate and complicated as it was on UTIRO, but it's much more melodic. The guitars seem to weave better together on this release than they do on the first album. Mick and Ken give a great performance as the rhythm section, Ken's drumming is especially worthy of noting, as it's the best he has done thus far for the band. You won't really find yourself getting bored with the album because it has such a great range. It has heavy ones like "The Critic" and "One Hell of A Prize Fighter", middle of the road, heavy yet melodic pieces like "Vanity" and "You Broke Like Glass" and more melodic approaches like "Gorgeous" and "Sonic Death Monkey". As far I can tell this new 'enhanced' version is no different from the original pressing, except that it corrects the track list (which on the original is messed up) and has the video for "You Broke Like Glass", so if you have the old one, there's really no need to shell out another $15 for this one.

In the end every time I listen to "Vanity" I'm pleased. It's definitely my favorite album by the band, and their essential recording. Like I said diversity is key, and this album has plenty of it. While "Obsession" would abandon a lot of the trademarks the band established on this album (although it was an ok album), and "Until The Ink Runs Out" might be a little too heavy for casual fans' taste (but it's still an amazing album), "Vanity" lands right in the middle. It offers you the best of both worlds, without leaning too much towards one side. If you like the band or have never listened to them at all, this should still be your first introduction to the band. After that I would head to "Until The Ink Runs Out", and then to "Obsession". Nothing can really take anything away from this album, which is why it's so good. Check it out.

Alot of people give this album a bad reveiw or make fun of the band for not playing the same crap over and over. Unlike purists, I like musical progression. This is a good album but it has its flaws.

The new cd from Eighteen Visions finds them adding new elements to their stuff, while still staying true to the original sounds that got them here till now. Get this on the sticked we had another 'Poison the wellish' stick that said "Blisteringly powerful yet melodiously catchy music for fans of: Stone Temple Pilots, Slipknot, Vision of Disorder". But you know what's funny? It's all there! Sounds and styles from all those bands seemed to be blended and intertwined with 18 Visions already chaotic sound. THis record finds them cleaning up their mix a bit, but still managing to keep their nasty pounding sounds. Lots of guest singers on this cd. Corey Darst(ex-zao) and Howard Jones(Blood Has Been Shed, new-Killswitch Engage) add great extras to James' already awesome sounding vocals! The Guitars still have that heavy sound, as does the bass, but this time they seem to be taking a more melodic touch to the lines. The drums are just as good as ever, and Ken even has a whole song he did by himself! It took a while before I could take "I don't Mind" seriously, at first I did think it was a joke song, the chorus sounded way too radio friendly at first, but after a few listens it all sunk in. Want more of a reason to buy this disc? Incredible artwork, and there's a song called "Sonic Death Monkey"! This cd does show some progression, which might have scared off some long time fans at first with "I don't Mind", but the rest of the record is a lot heavier and definetly makes up for it. My only complaints are too many guests and the tracks are labeled incorrectly on my cd, there are 13 tracks total, but only 12 are listed and they are kind of out of order. I think they forgot to put track 5 down. I like this cd a lot, and think this cd will definetly bridge a few gaps they had between what they've been doing and what they might do a few years down the road. I give this one a 5. Oh yeah if anyone accuses them of selling out, let me tell you something, I had to go into 8 stores before finding this cd, so if they sold out, they didn't sell out very well!

I think,Vanity shows it's actual beauty after several times of listening.I'm talking about that this lp has something,that calls "shell".this shell hides an amazing energy of record.it sounds hard,but it ain't too hard.just like movies by Takashi Miiko(Visitor Q,Audition,Ichi the killer):from one side it's crazy and brutal,from another-it has THE LIGHT,PASSION,EMOTION,BEAUTY,and..connectiion to GOD!!!My personal opinion:eighteen visions will never create such powerful and mystical,beautiful and essential record,as Vanity.
Being grunge and emo rock fan,I couldn't even imagine that my heart will be in this album!!!This Lp's crushing down borders between musical styles just to show us that we can be better,stronger,and LIGHTER.It doesn't matter how it sounds,but there's another so so so ipmortant thing:it matters,WHAT we're feeling during listening to VANITY...

Ok, older 18v is better but Vanity is by NO means a bad album! This album gets a pretty bad wrap by metalcore purists and well it's just because 18v experimented with different sounds on this album, and in my opinion it works. 18v is no longer the raw sounding, brutal, and technical band they once were, but this is still incredible. I really like the acoustic love song the critic, it's mad ill! oh and the track listing got like really messed up so yeah. This is a great album though so if you were thinking of getting it, then get it.

Yeah, e.v. has all the great sounds of v.o.d blending some melodicism of s.t.p. making an album that sounds out of this world. All the tracks are onpoint and if you're having any doubts about buying vanity by e.v. just stop with the doubts and simply buy this... Beautifully haunting & chaotic disc! From the beautifully haunting acoustic sounds of gorgeous to the intense sounds of the title track vanity e.v. brings you that album with an edge to it, yet great lullaby anthem! Be sure to catch e.v. up in hellfest this year ok ? Catch ya'll there!

Vanity is not a terrible album in my view but it was a stepping stone torwards 18v completely loosing their minds. Compared to albums like the best of and "Until the ink runs out"(their best work in my view) vanity doesnt compare. Fashion Show is the stand out track on here to me since its one of the only songs that reflects their old style. If you are a huge 18v fan pick it up but i suggest their earlier stuff.

I had never heard of Eighteen Visions until i heard this cd, and all i can say is that it blew me away. Some of the riffs and breakdowns in this album are just absolutely insane. Another thing that cant be denied about this cd are the amazing vocals, some of the best melodies i have heard from any heavy band. some people like to call this fashioncore, but i think a label like that is useless, people need to find something to do other than make up a useless label like that, but any way, this cd is metalcore the way it should be played. This is guaranteed to kick in your skull

I'd long been impressed by 18 Vision's ability to make some of the heaviest and harshest sounding metalcore, but at times it began to wear thin. It seemed as though they were a band that could only produce the same old moshy records over and over, something a majority of bands tend to do these days. With Vanity, these Orange County rockers prove they still have the songwriting chops to make the heavy stuff, but also show off their ability to infuse their songs with melody. It works a lot better than Id expected. The hooks and mellow spots grab you and stay in your head for days (the title track Vanity in particular). The band is so tightly woven that they can pull the changes off masterfully, the guitars switching from thrashy riffs to melancholic accoustic strings as vocalist James Hart changes his screams to a beautiful singing voice. Hart seems to be a tad more open to taking us on an emotional rollercoaster, as the lyrics weave from anger to depression to heartbreak. I recently saw these guys play here in town with Every Time I Die, Hopesfall, and Norma Jean, and they stole the show, playing the songs to perfection. Be sure to check this album out, its one of the year's best, and certainly one of the best hardcore releases in years.

In my opinion, this is the best record Eighteen Visions released in their brief career. Their older material was heavy, which means that it attracted a lot of meatheads who cried and whined when Vanity came out. Why? Because it actually has hooks, memorable songwriting, and order. Sure, there are some chaotic moments on the record. And those are great. But their earlier works were nothing but that. Chaotic. I would best describe the older songs as mashups of odd time signatures (just for the sake of being odd) and heavy riffs (just for the sake of being heavy) that don't go together. It lacked cohesion and order and was just boring to listen to. With Vanity, the band found the perfect balance between chaos and beauty. This record is heavy but beautiful, which is really what the band did best.