Customer Reviews

Welcome

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(23)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

This CD is filled with deep, melodic, emotional, and hard rock music that will leave you in the dust. "Welcome" is one of those CD's you can just put in and let run from top to bottom. From the metal sounds of "Dreams" to the soft personal touch of songs such as "Like", this album will take you on a ride you won't soon forget. The CD's single, "Poem" is an in-your-face metal song with emotionally charged lyrics backed by a massive chorus that seems to leave you in awe. It's so rare to see a band acknowledging that they are actually singing a song, "This song is a poem to myself" exemplifies what make a song a song, without music it's just a poem. Taproot seemed to surpass the expectations put forth by "Gift." You can look forward to great things from this band if they keep turning out albums like "Welcome" in the years to come. Without a doubt, worth the price of the CD.

I LOVED Gift, in fact i still love it. After hearing Again and Again, I was sold. Gift is one of my favorite cds. Very Heavy, however Gift had alot of "mindless heavyness". Dont get me wrong, I love heavyness, but the songs on Gift were so similar, even though most songs rule, the cd is quite repetitive. Now I was expecting more of the same heavyness from Welcome, but I still didnt know what to expect. This cd is similar to Korn's Untouchables because the music was different than the previous cds, but it takes time to get used to. Thats how Welcome is. I found that Welcome became better and better with each listen. Indeed its more melodic than Gift, but its good melodic, not Pop melodic. Thank god Stephen Richards still screams...that rules. Basically, I think most Taproot fans will eventually enjoy this cd, you just need to give it some time to get used to it and listen with an open mind.

After being skeptical when hearing "Poem" on the radio 10,000 times, i bought this for the hell of it. Just thinking there may be something i am missing. I was right! This album is absolutely beautiful. Just listen to Fault, Breathe and Sumtimes. Perfect levels of heaviness, depth and emotion. I adore this cd. Too bad the follow up was so blah, because they were onto something here...

I completely disagree with those that don't like this CD. I didn't like it at first and thought it was way too mellow for my taste, but after listening to it a few more times, I really love it. These are extremely good musicians, and that most definitely includes the singer. It doesn't hurt that the lyrics are well worth listening to as well. I'm glad I paid no attention to the negative reviews posted here.

I loved the song "Poem" it was the best one of all that music video played mostly in the morning time's on MTV. I didn't hear the song play on the radio that much. I wish the ablum was more recognized on television comercials. The ablum was release October 15 2002.

I'm not going to judge Welcome in comparison with Gift.Each album has it's own good and bad elements, Gift was hard hitting and heavy, Welcome was more mellower and contains very catchy choruses with a lot of the heaviness we came to know and love in Gift.I'm very glad I bought this cd, it comes to show how much Taproot matured, musically.This is my review for every track:

1.Mine-Second single and great intro song, heavy chorus and nice verse line, the verse keeps getting heavier and goes into the point of screaming in the chorus.10/10

2.Poem-First single,awesome song, I didn't think it was better than "Mine" but nonetheless awesome riffs and extremely catchy chorus.9/10

3.Everything-I like this song, depressing, semi-moody song.Best part of the lyrics(Look at me now, I hope your proud, your everything to me.)9/10

4.Art-Probably the second most moving out of all the songs, this might bore some people, I love how they use some classical instruments such as violins and the bridge riff is awesome with Stephen screaming.9/10

5.Myself-The intro starts out heavy with start-stop riffs then goes quiet, the verse is nice, chorus is hard-hitting and heavy with an Alice in Chains sounding second vocals singing and a scream to be mixing in.A really nice ending after the pause.10/10

6.When-A song about frustration,depression, and hopelessness. The chorus riff is ,in my opinion, awesome as hell.Stephen growls near the end of the song, giving it a powerful feel to it.8/10

7.Fault-Starts off with an awesome riff you can jump to just a great riff.The chorus is alright.8/10

8.Sumtimes-Intro riffs for this song is...so, so.Usual Taproot verse. This song isn't that great,still heavy and the lyrics are uplifting.7/10

9.Breathe-I haven't listened to this song much. The chorus is very powerful. An okay song.8/10

10.Like-The only acoustic song and the MOST moving song throughout the album.9/10

11.Dreams-Awesome riffs starts this off, a very good song, sad though, the guitars goes heavy near the end and pauses. An all around heavy song.9/10

12.Time-One of the best songs on the entire album.Great lyrics, catchy, melodic chorus, and heavy guitar riff during the verse.The bridge guitar riff is ingenious. Stephen makes some sort of weird singing voice at the end, I found it very funny.-10/10

I had decided to check Taproot out after hearing their vocalist, Stephen Richards, appear on Linkin Park's `Reanimation' on the track "P5HNG ME A*WY." The vocals and lyrics that he provided for that track are stellar, and so is his work on his band's sophomore album, `Welcome.' From the get-go, the album grabs you and doesn't let go. "Mine" is a powerful song that combines amazing soft vocals with intense screaming in the chorus that goes right back to soft vocals. "Poem," the first radio single off the album, is one of the best songs on the CD. A lot of people can't figure out why he sings "in case of fire / break the glass" in the chorus. A lot of people think that it's because it sounded cool. Well, it's quite the opposite. It's about fixing your own problems instead of worrying about getting other people to help you. In fact, all the lyrics on this album are amazing, heartfelt and deep. The guitars on this album have a very distinct sound and the drumming pulls the album together. The singing/screaming on this album is very well placed and ties the music together with the lyrics amazingly. The production on this album is absolutely amazing. None of the songs sound the same-they all have their own uniqueness to them. "Art" is by far the best song that Taproot has ever recorded. It has a melodic beauty that no other songs can match, except for "Like," which is completely soft. Two songs not included on the album, "Transparent" and "Free," fill in some gaps on the album, such as the sudden and abrupt ending to "Mine." If you were to put "Transparent" right after that, the sudden ending seems to disappear. Purchase the "Poem" CD-single if you want those tracks. All-in-all, this album was my #2 of all of 2002. The vocals on the album are great, the guitars are very distinct and unique, the drumming is amazing and the lyrics are something you don't usually hear from a rock band-they're deep and heartfelt. Their first album, `Gift,' was recorded in just 6 weeks. They rushed that album so that they could get on OZZfest in time. However, they actually had time to work on this album and do exactly what they wanted to do, and it paid off big time. The songs I'd recommend to check out are "Mine," "Poem" and "Art." You won't regret it.

When I first heard "Poem" I was immeadiately drawn to Taproot. The CD, in a word, is awesome. They're SO talented and their music can't even be really accurately described with words.
I say all you hard rock lovers out there to go get the CD, it's worth it.

amazing, truely amazing. In all critical thought this album is creativly, musicly and emotionaly advanced than there first cd. And compared to the market around this is leaps and bounds over other new records. i cant get it out of my cd player. in all sense its strong yet delicate, harmonic yet distorted. This cd has everything you would need and expect for a metal/hard rock group.
everything, vocals,guitar, bass and drums are musicly advnced and there are some beautiful harmonies, strings, electronica sounds allthrough the cd.
i must say go out there and buy... given more publicity these guys have the ability to be as popular as any ... mtv star, but with the talent to back it up

Some has stated that this cd, "Welcome," does not sound like "Gift." Thank God it doesn't! "Gift" was a great album by all means, but I respect a band such as Taproot to try something new and be more creative. The vocals sound better than ever, and the music arrangement seems more mature and well organized. "Art" is personally one of my favorites. I do reccomend this album if you like change, however if you want to stay with "Gift," you are missing out on a great album in "Welcome."