Customer Reviews

Violet

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First of all, a little history of how I discovered this group. My main musical background for the past couple of years has been mostly made up of hardcore/metalcore, bands such as As I Lay Dying, Hopesfall, The Bled, Norma Jean, etc and the whole warped tour scene, such as From Autumn To Ashes, My Chemical Romance and the likes. Anyone who listens to this genre knows that it has become completely saturated. I have discovered some fairly new bands that have impressed me however, such as Bleed The Sky, and Versus The Mirror, but for the most part, my favorites are the ones of old who seem to have left their legacy behind (such as Poison The Well). So, being one who always likes to discover new and great music, I began to try and think of other musical genres that I might like. One day, while I was listening to an old favorite of mine, Type O Negative's October Rust, I decided that I would like to look into more music that was similar to it, since no other cd I owned was comparable. Of course, I came on Amazon and began using the listmanias and so you'd like to.. lists which I find really handy in situations like this. Suddenly a whole new world of music was opened to me.

I first started with Theatre Of Tragedy's album Aegis. And it was freaking incredible. Theatre of Tragedy led me to other bands similar, such as Within Temptation, Tristania, Sirenia, Beseech, Leave's Eyes, Nightwish, After Forever, Edenbridge and a ton more. I decided at this point that my favorite kind of "darker music", besides Type O that is, was mostly female fronted vocals, and my curiousity did not stop with just gothic metal bands. I eventually was led to the projekt label, and discovered etheral dreampop like music, such as Mira and Love Spirals Downwards. Then I began to collect others like Collide, Switchblade Symphony, Kidney Thieves, London After Midnight, and many others. And that is the point where I found The Birthday Massacre. I was reading a listmania and it was included. Since I had already purchased or listened most of the others on the list, I decided to take a shot in the dark and just order "Violet," which ended up being the best shot in the dark ever.

I now own both TBM albums and they are by far the best discovery I have made in my long journey to find...well whatever the heck I guess I was looking for, this being it. The music sets a dark yet calming atmosphere unmatched by anything I have ever heard. You will find yourself getting lost into the music while at the same time having an overwhelming urge to dance. The lyrics are superb and "cute" in a mischievious way. The best for me, however, are the vocals. Her vocals couldn't sound more perfect to me. I would describe them as being haunting and seductive, like a female vampire. Her seductive power makes you desire her with a passion, but you know in the end she's going to bite you. And in this case, I hope she does.

As a music collector, i'm always pissed off when I hear some one who doesn't really listen to much music or look for new stuff complain "that they don't make good music anymore" or that "there's nothing interesting", or something along those lines. If your musical exposure is along the lines of whatever the radio or MTV,etc play i'm sure your view of music is that it is incredblely boring. However acts like the Birthday Massacre are direct evidence against the idea that music is going stale. I must admit I often do wonder myself why we can't have more interesting, young, creative, and very driven acts like this out today.
Often when asked to describe the sound of the act, I tell people to imagine what it would be like if the movie "the Neverending Story" became a rock band. I"m suprised they aren't signed to a major and being marketed to the kiddies en masse, however the vibe i've gotten from the band is that they would rather remain independant and keep control rather then sell their soul to the devil. Which is good for the listener, personally I would hate to see the creativity of this act comprimised in any way.
But if you don't own this album, head to the record store, or start ordering it now here on amazon, stop reading this review and get to it.

I stumbled onto this band completely by accident. I was surfing through myspace, and happened to hear Blue. I was hooked instantly.
I grew up in the 80's and was generally a fan of heavy metal and so-called hair metal, but at the same time, I did enjoy some of the other rock and new wave sounds. As the 90's hit, I had no use for grunge music (I think Kurt Cobain is terribly overrated), and pretty much gave up on modern music. As the decade went on, and metal started coming back (but a lot heavier), I followed along and also heard a song or two by Garbage and a couple other musicians with industrial aspects to their stuff.
Having said all that....this band put a whole new spin on my taste in music. They have this 80's sound and melody but with aggressive guitars. It's not metal.... but it is really fun.
Also, check out Tapping The Vein. They also do a version of the whole dark, electronic, heavy girl rock.

Just when my interest in goth-rock had begun to flag thanks to a glut of awful Marilyn Manson derivatives, along came this album to completely renew my faith in the genre. The Birthday Massacre may *look* like a cross between Manson and Orgy, but they sound like a harder, more electronic Sisters of Mercy infused with elements of Switchblade Symphony, Gary Numan, Missing Persons, Zeromancer, and the soundtrack to _Nightmare on Elm Street_. Their guitars are gritty and heavy as ten tons of rusted rebar, but their melodies are a strong and smooth as spider-silk--which is a rare thing to find in these days of awful production and bland, hookless songwriting. The Birthday Massacre will stick in your head like a chunk of shrapnel and completely revivify your love for a fading musical heritage....Hell, if they keep going in the musical vein they're currently pursuing, they may actually keep goth-rock ALIVE.

Coming out of the Canadian EBM scene, The Birthday Massacre managed to do accomplish something that a few other interesting acts out of Canada has done - they built a steady following by dropping a really rare disc, followed this up with an EP, put out "Nothing and Nowhere," and then put together one of the best albums I've heard in quite a while. They've since joined Metropolis records and have been touring lately with a few different acts, and having seen them on tour made me realize just how talented the band really is. When they take the stage they really do take the stage, building a mixture of really cryptic sounds and really beautiful tones, taking a montage of emotions and delivering them in a way that not only sounds great but hat also manages to hold one's attention with thoughts of "that was different."
Considering the amount of music that is circulating these days, that seems a bold statement to throw to the wind.

This is really evident when you listen to many of their songs, and especially when you plug in some of their "better knowns." The single "Blue" really managed to get a lot of attention when it was released, and was followed up quickly by a series of people singing the praise of "Happy Birthday." Personally these are some of my favorite songs on the album; Blue has this almost surreal ambiance that makes me think of the Alice in Wonderland picture on the front of their disc, only the rabbit isn't quite so friendly and has a mouth filled with teeth. When you listen to it you can also tell the type of range you get with your lead singer - one minute she sounds like she's an innocent bystander in a room filled with tragedy and the next she sounds like anger personified.
It really is worth the listen.
Happy Birthday is the same way; it talks about a little foray into something horrific, mentioning "sticking (it) in the back of her head" and other things that make you think of the song's namesake.
It's also a fun listen.

Video Kid, Violet; it really is hard to find flaws in the album and makes my "best of" for the last few years because it is so easy to listen to. It works for fans of electronica, fans of music with sublime undertones of horror, people who enjoy the new wave of sounds that are coming out of Metropolis these days, and many other people. If you want to know more about them, check out Metropolis-Records and listen to everything the band has to offer. Also, September 2007 brings another release from the band, Walking with Strangers, and it sounds like it The Birthday Massacre has another hit on their hands.

I'm not an expert on this band, but ever since I heard "Violet" on a website I've been addicted to them. It's so great to have music like this released now a days. I personally find their music to have everything to be qualified as goth rock, but the splash of upbeatness makes it differnt, in a good way of course.
I enjoy the vocals alot too, wonderful voice.

And I'd agree with what the other person said about them going hand in hand with LAM. When I first heard TBM
they were the first band that I could consider comparing them too.

So, all in all, this cd is definitly a great buy.

I can't say enough good things about The Birthday Massacre. Describing themselves as an audio/visual project, they provide lots of mental stimulation and can conjure strong images & feelings through the music. This album contains a strong mix of retro gaming noises, spooky synth and produces the most innocent, playful sound which can suddenly change into something chilling and almost evil. Powerful lyrics are carried throughout by a most distinguishable & varied voice, often dressed up with electronics to add to the atmosphere. Onto the songs themselves:


-Prologue- Eerie intro music, leads well into...

-Lovers End- One of my favourites. Lots of catchy melodies and dramatic timbre changes surrounded in the mystical synth atmosphere that comes guaranteed with TBM songs.

-Violet- Bouncy synth pop stand-out track. Lots of kinder-noise mixed in with the mightier sounds.

-Red- Another of the EP's instrumentals. A reflective, calming piece but still with lots of different sounds to be heard.

-Playdead- Strong song with blunt lyrics yet there's still a contrast of soft undertones to be had.

-Blue- Brilliant song! I love it! The most blatant show of light & dark together, working wonderfully. Jekyll & Hydes throughout. The light sections of this sound like an endearing love song, floating with soft bubbly sounds & an angelic voice. Then, the dark comes to contradict it all with an evil soaked vocal in front of an industrial kinder-horror background.

-Black- Instrumental. Another quiet moment involving soft wails, making it spooky-esque.

-Holiday- Full sounding song inducing rainy feelings of a sort of hopeless situation...

-Nevermind- ... and in complete contrast, there's this ending track. I promise you that you'll want to dance to this. More bubbles & loud guitars frame this much more hopeful song.


I strongly recommend this album. And the band for that matter - intelligent, mystical, sugar synth pop at its best.

It's hard to really pinpoint a genre for this band; the closest I've come, after listening to what others have had to say, is neo-Goth electropop. It's definitely new, it's definitely Gothic (but not in the way you'd expect), it's electronica and it's pop - but it's useless to put words to a band like this, a band that begs you not to classify them, not to overthink them, but simply to listen to them.

VIOLET, The Birthday Massacre's debut album, comprises six young individuals who were apparently put on the earth to make your feet move. Their sound is unique and lovely on the ears: upbeat, almost innocent keyboard riffs, underlined in bold with heavy guitar and a mediocre metronome of percussion, crowned with the girlish but at times haunting and frightening vocals of Chibi. The name of the band describes everything I've put into words already, really: The Birthday Massacre, innocent but with undertones of darkness seething just underneath.

Chibi's harmonious and eclectic voice ranges drag you from the highest cloud bathed in sun to the darkest pit of hell, often in the same stanza; and in the dark "Blue," which starts out with heavy guitar and creepy, almost childlike keyboard effects, it morphs quickly into Chibi crooning lovingly one verse or another before returning back to the edgy metal sound as she hisses "Romance is breaking every heart in two / Casting shadows in a pale shade of blue." Definitely worth a listen among VIOLET's numbers are "Happy Birthday" (with murderous lyrics like "I think my friend said, 'Stick it in the back of her head'" sung quite as casually as if it were a cliche love song), "Video Kid," "Horror Show," and "Holiday."

Definitely recommended for people who enjoy the fusion of heavy metal and electronica - which, for this band, balances so well it's as spooky as their namesake.

Metropolis Records was so smart when they signed this band to their label. I saw this band live in San Francisco and they were simply sensational. What makes them so appealing is that they combine so many different genres (new wave, goth, industrial, pop) into one explosive product, and they can reach a very broad audience.

I'd really recommend this band to anyone, they're a breath of fresh air amidst an otherwise uninspiring music scene right now.

I didn't expect myself to like this album as much as I do. I listened to a few samples on Metropolis' website, liked what I heard, went out and bought it, and it turned out to be much more than I expected. Not only are there elements of goth rock and electronica blended, but also a wonderful 80's pop sound, which was the bonus treat for me. With all the "retro" craze going on in today's music, there are really no bands I can think of that do it right. When I heard the song "Violet" for the first time, I almost felt like I was back in the 80's; a time when I looked foreward to listening to the radio, because good music was actually played. It was a great feeling. The vocals are very nice and the music is awesome. This is not a typical Metropolis Records band, though Metropolis is one of my favorite labels around, this is a lot different than most of the other bands on the label. I'm really glad I gave this album a listen, I'm almost sure that it will soon become one of my favorites. Perfect mixture of all the genres of music I love!