Customer Reviews

What Doesn't Kill You Will Make You Stronger

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

With the exception of a few ignorant people, those who have listened to Candiria know that they're a uniquely brilliant band, and "What Doesn't Kill You Will Only Make You Stronger" offers plenty of this band's bizarre genius. But coming off their best album to date, the mighty "300 Percent Density," the guys from Brooklyn have made some major variations on their trademark hardcore-jazz-hip-hop-prog rock sound. Every Candiria album takes a while to get used to, what with their unconventional song structures and seemingly random genre-mixing, but their are some really big changes here to assimilate. None of their albums really sound alike, but to paraphrase George Orwell, this one is a bit more different than the others.

The first song, the "Dead Bury the Dead," certainly doesn't betray any signs of change. In the best Candiria tradition, it's an infectious headbanger filled with complex rhythms, furious drum blasts, and the almost inhumanly harsh vocals of Carley Coma. It's on the next track, "The Nameless," that the band throws a major curveball. What's that thing Carley's doing with his voice? Is that...no, it couldn't be...singing? On a Candiria album? Yes, it is, and it shows up again two songs later on "Remove Yourself" and two songs after that on "Down." It's not just the singing that struck me as out of place at first, either. These songs are all considerably more accessible than the typical Candiria fare, featuring simpler riffs, straight drumbeats, and even, you guessed it, verses and choruses instead of the "chapters" into which their songs are generally divided. At times they're even somewhat reminiscent of (eek!) nu-metal.

Now, much as I try to be open-minded, I'll admit that my initial reaction to the introduction of the mainstream elements described above was an intense desire to eject this CD from my stereo and put it in one of my cats' litterboxes. However, I listened, and listened, and listened, and after letting the album play through for three days straight, I found myself liking this "new" Candiria sound almost as much as the old one. For one thing, Carley's a damn good singer, and even on this album's more melodic offerings he does an excellent job of mixing up the singing with some harsher vocal intonations, apparently to ensure that Candiria's more ardent fans aren't completely turned off. Just as importantly, these songs still display the band's top-notch musicianship, and they're mighty catchy to boot. The anti-materialism anthem "Remove Yourself," especially, has the most captivating chorus I've heard in a while
(I actually think materialism gets a bad rap, but this isn't the place for a discussion of my sociopolitical views).

Besides, the singing doesn't pop up that often. Much of this album is vintage Candiria, meaning it's relentlessly original, eclectic, and extremely heavy. "Blood" and "1000 Points of Light" are prime examples of Candiria's brilliance, the former briefly interrupting its hardcore fury with a spacey atmospheric interlude; the latter achieving a fusion of metal and hip-hop elements that would embarrass bands like Limp Bizkit (come to think of it, they have a lot to be embarrassed about anyway). Perfectly synthesizing the old and the new, "I Am" alternates rampaging aggression in the verses with a sweeping melodic chorus for a brilliant dynamic effect; this may well be one of the best Candiria songs ever. And the anthemic "Vacant," led by Carley's in-your-face mantra of "I Will/Rise Strong/Your lies/Inconsistent," isn't far behind. Concluding the album is the jazz fusion piece "The Rutherford Experiment," which finds Candiria exploring even more new ground. Mixing searing guitars with trippy Moog synthesizer work, this instrumental should bend minds as easily as it bends genres.

In all, while I can't recommend this album quite as heartily as "300 Percent Density," it's still a more-than-worthy addition to the catalog of one of the best bands going these days. These guys could've made another "300 Percent Density" and I wouldn't have minded, but they deserve credit for trying something different and challening their fans a little. I would've liked at least one jazz song, but hey, you can't win them all. So if you don't like "What Doesn't Kill You..." at first, try, try again. The payoff will come eventually.

I respect candirias decision to venture into a "simpler sound" (a good euphamism I think) but you can turn on the radio and listen to played out mall-metal and it would be equivelent to this album. i'm not going to say that they sold out, after all, they've tackled most every style of music, sometimes unsucsessfully (there's a trumpet solo on the coma imprint that would make clifford brown roll over in his grave.) but i just think they should have chosen a more interesting style to experiment with instead of the tired sound of linkin park. they have ceased to be a V.O.D. and are now a P.O.D.

Just saw 'em live at Irving Plaza. I never thought I'd see the day when Kittie out-pummels Candiria. Their new material is like MTV emo-nu-metal. Worse, they water down their older stuff -- played slower, with death metal and hardcore vocals replaced by rapping.

Anyone who knows and respects Candiria knows that they are, quite simply, one of the most unique and original bands to ever exist. Their free-form (but immaculately blended) fusion of jazz, metal, hardcore, rap, and any other genre they choose has always proved to be a mindtrip to listen to. Almost every piece they create is unique from each other, often in vast degrees. Anything they do is simply fantastic and refreshingly different. Because of all this, I'm sure that at least most true fans of Candiria will agree with me when I say that this is their most seminal album, the pinnacle of their musical culmination; indeed, their best album yet.

Carley Coma (vocals), Kenneth Schalk (drums/percussion, and many other things), John Lamacchia and Eric Matthews (guitars), and Michael Macivor (bass) have really outdone themselves here. No, seriously; it goes without saying (again) that this is Candiria's most unique and daring album to date, but this may well be the most original musical masterpiece you will ever listen to. As well, the band members have really outdone themselves in terms of their individual musical contributions, not just with overall structure. The guitars riff, yes, but with more than just deep chugs; there is also something else, which I will get to momentarily... Michael's bass is, as usual, complex and funky, rarely playing a rhythm that simply serves to mirror the guitars. And of course, Kenneth's drumming is a tight, furious fusion of jazz and rock/metal percussion. He also continues to play synthesizers and keyboards (and make the programming) which adds some of Candiria's trippier, more spaced-out moments and interludes (like during the breakdown after the first verse on "Dead Bury the Dead" and the majority of "The Rutherford Experiment").

On WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU..., there are some "normal" songs (and by this I only am referring to the easily recognizable sound Candiria is famous for), including the current single "Dead Bury the Dead" and "1000 Points of Light." These songs incorporate the usual bombastic jazz-fusion percussions from Schalk and chugging riffs/rhythms from Eric, John, and Michael, as well as Carley Coma's lyrical structure of "chapters." There's even a rap song on here (a frequent inclusion on most of their albums), "9mm Solution." However, WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU... also features a handful of songs that are completely unlike anything else that Candiria have ever created in their entire career.

"The Nameless King" is the first of these. Featuring (gasp!) a BASIC song structure, with verses and choruses and a bridge (oh, lordy!), Carley Coma shows a whole new talent of his off: HE SINGS! Indeed, he sings, not growls or screams, and he does very well at it! But wait, there is more... "Remove Yourself," "Down," and "I Am" all also feature basic song structures and clean/singing vocals (with plenty of backing vocals from John & Michael). There are also lots of melodies present, as well; "Remove Yourself" is full of them, to the point that the song hardly sounds like something from Candiria. However, that's not all...there are GUITAR SOLOS!! Just listen to "Down" and "The Rutherford Experiment" for John's newest showmanship with his instrument. Speaking of this latter piece, this is Candiria's first foray into a full-length and all-around instrumental piece, complete with guitars, drums, and bass, as well as some unique, funky programming. UN-believable.

Many people are going to be very disappointed with Candiria after they listen to these songs - hell, I'm sure many people will finish reading the above paragraph and be disappointed. However, as I said at the beginning of this review, if someone is a TRUE fan, they know and respect that this band is all about originality and progressing - not just from the norms of varying genres, but from themselves. So WHAT if they have songs with basic structures and singing? They're just showing off a whole new dimension of their talents, which only enhances their eclectic and original musical approach. Also, if anyone is truly worried that Candiria is changing their sound to "fit in" with any particular genre (remember, they blend many genres together), then they are not true fans of the band. Candiria is all about change, and change is good. Hell, if there's anything to worry about, it's if some greedy station gets a hold of some of the more innovative songs on this album and tries to sell Candiria as something they're not: NORMAL. Candiria was, is, and will always be unique, and the only way to do be so is to try new things out.

None of Candiria's previous albums, not even the great 300 PERCENT DENSITY, come even close to par with the mighty unique sound of WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU... This is musical progression among its finest and most unique. To think that one band could come up with all this is beyond me. Listen, and bow down to the pinnacle of music that is CANDIRIA!

only one thing gets me madder than ever...and that's when great musicians have people write songs for them. Look in the liner notes. CANDIRIA only wrote half of the songs. Maybe after their near-death van accident they were like..."we need to sell-out and get money and b*tches and a tour bus, cause then we'd be set." this "full-lenght" should have only been an EP with the 5 songs on it that count. I am thoroughly disappointed with this effort and I am glad that one guitar player left because he knew he didn't want to be a part of something so crappy. Candiria...write another "300 Percent Density" and then get back to me. THanks for making me waste my money sellouts.

Beyond Reasonable Doubt and The Process of Self Developement were life changing albums for me. Their unique sound was a pinnacle of a new genre forming. When 300 Percent Density was realeased, things were still going great. Then BOOM!!! Candiria almost dies in a car accident. The band claims(hence the title) "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger". In my opinion, for these guys, what doesn't kill you makes you softer. Candiria have always been known for pushing the boundaries in music, combining metal, jazz and hip-hop in a non-conventional form. With influences of everything from Bitches Brew to Contradictions Collapse and Tical to Certain Kind of Blue, these guys were pioneers forming a new genre. But what happened? This accident seemed to have really f*cked these guys up. It's almost like they realized "life is short, we better start making some money because this pioneering new, original genre [...] ain't payin at all! We better start sounding like everything else out there to make more money, because you know how closed minded the majority of society is nowadays!!" Candiria sold they're originality, period. Carley CAN'T sing, he sounds like Max from 40 Below Summer when he does. Oh well, I guess this is the story of society.

IS THIS A RECORD COMPANY MISTAKE DID THEY PUT A CANDIRIA LABEL ON SOME OTHER BANDS DISC.BECAUSE THIS CD IS RIDDLED WITH CHEESY VOCAL HARMONIES AND GAY GUITAR RIFFS FROM WAY BACK YONDER.CANDIRIA HAS BEEN THE MOST HEAVIEST AND BRUTAL INNOVATORS OF HARDCORE&METAL IN THE PAST RECORDINGS....BUT REALLY ,AND ALSO THIS SHAGGY MET CARLEY IN SHABBA RANKS BASEMENT RAP RAGGAE SONG A POOR EXCUSE FOR ENTERTAINMENT IF I EVER HEARD ONE.THIS IS A DISSAPOINTMENT .

If you're a fan of all other Candiria albums, I'm sorry to say, you'll be disappointed in this one..definitely their weakest album yet. I don't need to write you 4 paragraphs on why this album is good/bad like the previous users....bottom line is:

This CD sounds almost nothing like any other Candiria album before it (and that's not a good thing). A lot of clean singing/choruses, very melodic, not very heavy. Some parts here and there get back to that nice groove-laden heavy candiria sound, but those are few and far between. I'm a huge fan and am sorry to say I'm disappointed in this album.

Most of the reviews here berate Candirias use of more ear-friendly musical forumulas on What Doesn't Kill You..., but I'll come out praising them from both a listener and musicians standpoint from the get-go.

First, Carley Comas voice is smoother on this release. While he does retain his signature screech on some songs, he seems to have quieted down his vocal cords a little bit making the lyrics a bit more decipherable (And they're good lyrics too) and just overall his performance is more attractive this time around, and he's defintely improved on the singing part.

Second, as for the "nu metal emo mtv garbage" that populates this album, all I have to say is that anyone who thinks even the simplest songs on this album are anything but phenomenally put together simply doesn't know how to play an instrument, and is one of your typical Yahoo Chat armchair rockstars. Candiria has taken odd time signatures, jazz inspired and complex guitar lines, and put them out in a format that is easy to digest. Sonically, this is indeed Candirias most accessible album by far, but technically it ranks among their most astounding, I'd say the chops it takes to play this album rank no lower than any of their others.

So if your definition of "mtv crap" is anything that doesn't constantly grate on the ears (for better or worse) just skip this album. You're too deep in your own musical snobbery to appreciate good music when you hear it, and would rather use it as a way to bitch along with your fellow faceless sad little metalheads who could never cut it in their own band, and have resorted to insulting others who don't follow your preconcieved notions.

Now that that's over, let's continue.

This album flip-flops, quite literally, from older-styled Candiria to this newer styled one. The opening track, Dead Bury The Dead, is one of their coolest songs and has some great drumwork, and sounds a lot like the band on 300% Density, but the rough edges that always graced their albums seem to be smoothed. The next track (where pretentious music snobs generally stop the CD) shows a more cohesive Candiria than ever before with Nameless King. It's still good, damn good.

Short and simple: This is not 300% Density part II. If you've been a fan of the band for a long time then you'd recognize this as simply the next step for them, their blending of so many musical styles and playing patterns is finally reaching a homogenous mixture, as opposed to a scattered, mishmash of the past. Everything Candiria has ever done here is still present, but the way it's put together shows maturity, and the way it's all incorporated with pop elements is fantastic.

Still a deep album, not quite as good as 300% Density (Their best album, by the way), but it's damned good and better than most of these one-stars you're seeing. When you pop this album in and hear it a few times, you'll realize Candiria has and still will define their own sound. It's rare we get bands with this much talent, ability, and far-reaching influences, and it's a shame so many people dismiss them simply because of the fact it's not as heavy as they want it to be.

This album is pure brilliance. For people who love original music this is perfect. Combining the best elements of metal and rap they create incredible music. And they are excellent at both styles. Great album for any person who appreciated hardcore rock mixing screaming and melody. The track 9MM Solution is the only song that is all rap but it is an excellent track. The best tracks are Remove Yourself, Nameless King, Down, and 9MM Solution.