1. On Sight
2. Black SkinHead
3. I Am A God (ft. God)
4. New Slave (ft. Frank Ocean)
5. Hold My Liquor (ft. Cheif Keef & Justin Vernon)
6. I'm In It (ft. Travis Scott)
7. Blood On The Leaves
8. Guilt Trip (ft. Kid Cudi)
9. Send It Up (ft. King Louie)
10. Bound 2 (ft. Charlie Wilson)
Genre: Rap
For Fans Of: Kid Cudi, Frank Ocean, King Louie
1. Yaya (Skit)
2. Razor Blades & Steak Knives (ft. Hemi)
3. Life In the Jungle
4. Don't Act
5. Big Rube Interlude
6. Dreams
7. The Way It Goes (ft. Planet VI)
8. Cadillacs & Chevys
9. Heart Attack
10. My Adidas
11. Smells Like (ft. R.A. the Rugged Man & Mic Buddah)
12. Even More No Homo (Skit)
13. Bully (feat. Vinnie Paz)
14. I Deserve It
15. Go Off (ft. Hopsin & SwizZz)
16. We On (My Own D*ck) [feat. Dizzy Wright & Pounds]
17. PBR & Reefer
18. Oj (feat. Elz Jenkins)
19. My Grandmas Basement
Genre: Rap
For Fans Of: Hopsin, Dizzy Wright, Swizz
After releasing two great mixtapes, and making a name for himself, Jarren Benton managed to write a debut album. In it he spits some of his best raps to date! There literally is no limits on this, and he does spit some pretty nasty stuff. Jarren’s two mixtapes were a great start for his career, but this album takes it to a whole new level in his career. Some of the features on this album are Crazy, Hopsin, Swizz, Dizzy Wright, and Hemi! There's more, but those are the ones that stand out pretty much the most. The other few come close to Jarren in skill, but some of them aren’t that great in my opinion. All the features Jarren gets are really impressive and somehow they all manage to stay with his beats, and add twists to his verses. One feature I saw on here was Elz Jenkins, and if you can guess already, he’s on an offensive track. It’s a humour track, oh and not to mention, Jarren hasn’t really changed from his other two mixtapes when it comes to meanings behind his songs. It’s all about having fun, and making people laugh while spitting some nasty raps. Offensive or not, if it’s good and he’ll spit it with no care in the world. A few songs that stand out on this album would be, “Yaya (Skit), “Razor Blades & Steak Knives Ft. Hemi”, ” Life In the Jungle”, “Cadillacs & Chevys”, ”Even More Homo (Skit)”, "Bully Ft. Vinnie Paz”, “Go Off Ft. Hopsin & Swizz”, "We On (My Own D*ck) Ft. Dizzy Wright & Pounds”, “Oj Ft. Elz Jenkins”, and “My Grandmas Basement”. “Yaya (Skit), isn’t really a song, it’s a 6 second intro, and if you can guess it’s Jarren's grandmother hoping you like her grandsons album. You probably will if you’re a fan of Jarren’s older stuff, and a fan of FunkVolumes artists. “Razor Blades & Steak Knives Ft. Hemi” is the first song on the album, and I have to say that for the first song, Jarren went on the offensive side. He even kind of takes a swing at Tyler The Creator with this line, “You faggots stop comparing me to Tyler The Creator I’ve been on this before you was allowed in the theater of an R-rated movie, and your dad was wearing gators and your mom was just a before a whore, before your sister wore makeup, you was just a little bitch, before you morphed into a hater”. What a line! It clearly shows that Jarren doesn’t care about anyone, and he isn’t afraid to call out someone if it’s needed. Now, I don’t really know if the whole thing was aimed at Tyler, it may not be, but I’ll go ahead and say it probably is because he says his name and then the line. “Life In the Jungle”, is one song on the album that has a rather different meaning. It sounds like Jarren kind of explains his hardships in the “jungle” (the rap game). I have to say that I really did enjoy the song, and that I hope Jarren raps more about his hardships, and how hard he tried to make it before Funk Volume picked them up. “Cadillacs & Chevys”, was actually the song that got me into Jarren and got me hyped for this album. I mean it has some nasty raps, and Jarren has some a sick flow on this track. The best line on this song is “By the way, I finally sucked my own dick” I don’t know what it is about that line in the song, but it cracked me up the first time I heard it. The beat on this song is also something that makes it sound better too. The producer definitely did the song some wonders! Now for “Even More No Homo (Skit). If you remember from “Freebasing With Kevin Bacon”, there was a skit with two guys talking, and the one that kept saying “No homo” when he clearly is acting a bit “homo”, and the guy he’s talking too just wants to basically hang up, and not talk to the guy anymore. It’s back on this, but the guy actually hangs up on him this time. The skit is definitely funny, and stood out a lot on the album. It will make you laugh! “Bully Ft Vinnie Paz)", Vinnie definitely killed this track in a good way; his raps are nasty and I’m definitely digging his flow. Jarren had a good idea to get him as a feature, and it definitely did the album some good! Vinnie didn’t have just one verse, he’s somewhat in the song the whole way. He just doesn’t have a full verse. “Go Off Ft. Hopsin And Swizz”, yes, Jarren managed to get his label mates on a track, and one of the sickest songs on the album if I do say so myself. Hopsin and Swizz are a couple of my favorite rappers, and I’m pretty happy that Jarren got them on a song together. I wish Dizzy Wright was on this track as well. If he was, this song would have been the sickest rap song to come out this year. Swizz definitely up’d his game a lot, and you can tell he did with his verse. I’m still waiting for him to drop an album! Hopsin also had a sick verse, but everything he spits is great, and worth the listen. “We On (My Own D*ck Ft Dizzy Wright & Pound)", Of course when you get Dizzy Wright on a track, the beat has to have a stoner flow to it, and this definitely does! I’m hoping I see a song with all of Funk Volume (besides the songs they do at the beginning of every year). When they do, It’d be legit, and something worth the listen. Dizzy Wright, if anything, reminds me of Wiz Khalifa in a way. Their raps are similar, and they look somewhat alike. I’ve never heard of Pound, until today. But he did the song some good, and I’ll have to definitely check him out more! “Oj Ft. Elz Jenkins”, alright, I’ll be honest, I became a fan of Elz through Jarren, and I have to admit that he still impresses me. Jarren and Elz are two sick rappers that should collaborate a lot more. This song sounds like it could be about the infamous Oj Simpson (not too sure). If it is, Jarren may start some convtreversy with the track meaning. The beat, and his flow are spot on though. I definitely want to hear more like this, expecially with Elz. “My Grandmas Basment”, is the last song on the album, and the title track. It has one of the loudest beats on the album! This may be a favorite to some people, and some people may also hate it. Either way, I give the beat maker some serious props! Jarren's raps on this song are nasty, and he fast raps on this a few times. Breakdown: Cleans: Jarren’s improved a bit with his vocals, and he definitely got a lot better with his fast raps, where he talks really fast to the point where you can’t hear him rap. Jarren’s flow is also improving in places where it lacked. I definitely can’t wait to see him perfect his vocal style, and sit on top of all these other rappers. I feel this happening in his future. I hope so! If anyone, I’d love to see Jarren become bigger than Lil Wayne. He definitely has the skills! Beat: The beats on this album are just sick, and I don’t even know how Jarren could find beat makers better than the ones used on this. There’s a few that are definitely the stoner type of beats. (Like in the song with Dizzy Wright.) and you can feel it in the beats. Some of them are some “bangers” for sure!
Rating: 10/10
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1. Freebasing Prod By Kato
2. Billion Bucks Feat Rittz, Jon Connor Prod By Kato
3. Skitzo Prod By Kato
4. Jarron Calls Bacon
5. F ck You Too Feat 2 Chainz, Planet VI
6. Lean Prod By SMKA
7. Shut Up Bitch
8. Half Ounce Quarter Pound Feat Aleon Craft, Dizzy Wright Prod By Roc Mayne
9. Lord Knows Feat Freeway, Planet VI Prod By Roc Mayne
10. GED Feat 4-ize Laws Prod By Kato
11. No Homo Phone Call
12. Move Back Lil Jon Feat Gangsta Boo Prod By Roc Mayne
13. Turbo Ozone Feat Poodie The Byz Prod By Kato
14. Problem Feat Playboy Tre Prod By Charles Chizzy Stephens III
15. Nothing Remains Prod By Buddahdafuture
16. Sick Prod By M16
Genre: Rap
For Fans Of: Hopsin, Dizzy Wright, Swizz
Jarren is back with another humorous mixtape! This one has some funnier, offensive raps in it. This will please people that enjoy Jarren's humor, like me for example. Even though some people may not like the raps he spits, he’s still pretty good and he’s always having some fun while writing these raps! One thing Jarren does have, that many rappers don't have, is no limits. Jarren seems to not have any limits whatsoever, which might be the reason I really enjoy his raps. He has a lot of skills, and I’d be lying if I said he wouldn't go far. He will go pretty far in his career, or at least I hope he will. When it comes to rap, Jarren is one of my favorite rappers to date. There’s just something about his flow, and the beats that he uses that make him stand out in the genre. These skills help him to be a little bit better than everyone else in the genre, that I've listened too. A few songs that stand out on this mixtape would have to be, “Freebasing Prod By Kato”, “Billion Bucks Ft. Rittz Jon Connor Prod By Kato”, “F ck You Too Ft. 2 Chainz Planet VI”, “Shut Up Bitch”, ” No Homo Phone Call”, ” Problem Ft. Playboy Tre Prod By Charles Chizzy Stephens III”, and “Sick Prod By M16”. “Freebasing Prod By Kato” may seem like a dis to certain rappers, and Tupac? But that might just be the limit parts. Jarren isn't afraid to say anyones name, and this is just the first song on the whole mixtape. It really shows some crazy stuff that Jarren can spit. He did this on his first mixtape too, he showed the listener his humor, and a little bit of what to expect on the rest of the mixtape. “Billion Bucks Feat Rittz, Jon Connor Prod By Kato”, is second song on the mixtape. It's the longest song on the mixtape. It even features another rapper that I highly enjoy; Rittz! Rittz is white, and he’s laid back. He's not like Jarren at all, but he does spit some heavy stuff. “Billion Bucks Feat Rittz, Jon Connor Prod By Kato”, is probably my favorite song on the mixtape. It shows more of Jarren's raps. I’ll point out Rittz verse a bit; he raps pretty fast so you may not really catch it clearly, but that’s okay, that just means you’ll have to give the song another play. “F ck You Too Ft. 2 Chainz Planet VI”, yes... 2 Chainz manages to feature on this song. It seems like 2 Chainz is getting his name out there more than ever before. I see him featured in almost every album/mixtape that I've downloaded from the rappers that I like. I’d be lying if I said 2 Chainz isn’t a good rapper. He’s not the best, but he definitely has some skills! His raps always change in his features, which is something good for him. His style is different in almost every song he does. This might be something that gives him more of an edge in the rap genre. Other than 2 Chainz in this song, this is another song that might be another favorite of mine because of how it turned out. The beat really matches all the features flows very well, which is something that’s very good about this song. “Shut Up Bitch”, is another song that shows Jarren's humor quite well. The song meaning shows that he has no limits. The song's basically telling someone that's really annoying (girlfriend, friends, baby momma's, even your mom!) to shut up. This song really made me laugh at some of the verses! Even the intro is pretty funny, and I definitely give Jarren props to be able to write a song that’s funny and have a meaning that many rappers wouldn’t do. It clearly show that Jarren has NO limits whatsoever. The whole mixtape does! However, this is one of the songs that shows it more. “No Homo Phone Call”, is basically an interlude that is seriously funny. It’s a phone call between two guys; one that’s “homo”, and one that’s straight. The ones that’s “homo”, keeps complementing guys and saying “no homo” afterwards, to make himself seem straight. Then near the end, his “homo” side really came out. He was talking about massaging his friend, with some new lotion that he got. Then to end the interlude off with a bang and to make it even more funny, he starts talking about an NFL player's dick that he saw, and he says it’s really “packin'". That really made me laugh. Throughout the song, you’ll hear a rather old song, but it’s definitely making the interlude funnier. The song is rather nice… I mean if you’re into old love songs. “Problem Ft. Playboy Tre Prod By Charles Chizzy Stephens III”, is a song that features a lot of rappers I didn’t know until I heard this song. Playboy Tre, has a pretty sick flow, I’m not going to lie about that. I may look into him more. The song overall, is pretty great. I wish it was a song you could've heard earlier into listening to this mixtape. It would have been a bit better, but either way it’s still pretty good. “Sick Prod M16”, is the last song on the mixtape, and this is the one that the “stoner” listeners may like more than the other fans, because the beat is something that could be considered trippy at it’s start!
Breakdown:
Cleans: Jarren's vocals are unique, and have improved a lot from his first mixtape which is something I noticed right off the top. I enjoyed it right away. I love seeing how Jarren is changing, and improving. I cannot wait for his next mixtape. Or maybe even an album? On a label? That’d be pretty neat to see Jarren boost up in his career! I’ll keep listening to Jarren, I have high hopes for this man!
Beats: The beats were definitely different, and they fit with every song on this mixtape. Some of them even had some spice to them, and sounded way better than the other ones Jarren had used before. I’d like to see him use different beats on his next mixtape. Maybe more unique ones, with some twists? It’d still be neat to see him freestyle a bit, maybe as an interlude.
Rating: 9/10
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1. I Will Not Lose
2. DJ (Skit)
3. Get a Load of Me
4. Justin Bieber (Ft. Elz Jenkins)
5. Ima Murder
6. A Spacesuit & Parachute (Ft. Aleon Craft)
7. Most Interesting (Skit)
8. F#ck That Sh!t The Drinkin (ft. Tom P)
9. Nostrils Full of that Eddie Cane
10. 30K Feet (ft. Elz Jenkins)
11. Losin It
12. No Lie In The Verses (ft. Kid Daytona & Big Remo)
Genre: Rap
For Fans Of: Hopsin, Swizz, Dizzy Wright
This is Jarren Benton’s first mixtape “Huffing Glue With Hasselhoff”, and this is the mixtape that gave him a name in the rap scene of music. He’s one of my favorite rappers if I do say so myself! He’s pretty crazy with his rhymes and he really doesn't care who he offends. I have to give Jarren some props for some of his raps, because they’re usually always funny in some way. This mixtape gave him a name, and a good name for that matter. Jarren may not be for everyone who likes rap, because of the way he spits his raps. His lyrics aren't always nice, so some of them might be offensive to some people. A few songs that stand out on this mixtape would have to be, “I Will Not Lose”, “Justin Biebier ft. Elz Jenkins”, “A Spacesuit & Parachute ft. Aleon Craft”, “F#ck That Sh!t The Drinkin ft. Tom P”, and “No Lie In The Verses ft. Kid Daytona & Big Remo”. “I Will Not Lose”, is the first song on this mixtape, and it’s basically the intro to the mixtape, and what could be Jarren’s career. Jarren shows off his skills quite well in this song, and he does show off his skills pretty well on this track. “Justin Bieber ft. Elz Jenkins”, is a song that really shows off Jarrens humorous side since this song was pretty much focused on the laughs, or at least that’s what it sounds like. There’s even a comparison to Justin Bieber; Jarren gets girls just as well, and as easily as Justin Bieber does. Jarren does have a pretty sick flow on this song, and that’s one reason I enjoy this song more than the rest on the mixtape, it’s pretty freaking funny. The featured rapper, Elz Jenkins’s verse on this song was pretty sick as well. I haven’t really heard much from him, but after listening to this I listened to some more of his songs. He’s not one of my favorite rappers, but he’s another rapper I can actually stand. Jarren Benton is my favorite rapper, because he seems like he doesn't care how he sounds as long as he’s having fun, and as long as his fans like his stuff. “A Spacesuit & Parachute ft. Aleon Craft”, was another one of my favorite songs on this mixtape. It’s another song that seems to have some humor behind it, which is pretty nice to have. It shows that he has some fun in the studio, and when he’s writing things for his songs. I've honestly never heard of Aleon, or any of the features on this song, but I’d have to say that they fit Jarren’s style pretty well. Their flows fit perfectly in each song, and that really counts. I’d rather hear a feature that fits perfectly, than one that only fits a tiny bit. “F#ck That Sh!t The Drinkin ft. Tom P”, is one song that really would fit in the “clubscene”. Where you’d hear this song is beyond me. Maybe at some nightclub? I’d have to say that the beats on this song are pretty good, and you can tell Jarren’s flow comes from the beat. If you noticed, every song I’ve said that stands out on this mixtape, have some type of humor behind it. This one seems to point at certain people, not rappers, but how people act in general. Tom P, I've never heard of him, and I can say that his flow is a bit faster than Jarren’s, but it still fit with the song. It definitely made the song a bit more interesting to hear. Almost every song on this release has a pretty sick beat to it, and Jarren’s flow really made the songs come alive. Now for “No Lie In The Verses ft. Kid Daytona & Big Remo”, I've read that this is a bonus track, however, it seemed like no matter where you’d get the mixtape that it would be there. So, I don’t know what makes it a bonus track. It must not be on the physical copy (if they ever made those for this). It’s the last song on the mixtape, and it goes all out in order to end this mixtape off with a sort of a POW! It’s a bit of a soft song, and the beat isn't that loud either. But it still really makes the song stick out a bit. Both of the features on this song, make the song interesting. I’d like to see them do this song live, if they ever do a tour, or a show together. The only thing that’s a bit different on this song, is that you don’t hear Jarren until the end of the song. Which, I guess was a good thing, because you get to hear more of both of the features first. One of my favorite lines on this song, and one that I found hilarious was “You know how I know we going to have sex tonight? How? Bitch, I’m stronger than you.” I don’t know what it is about that line, it was just unexpected and it was pretty funny the first time. It basically shows how dark Jarren’s humor is.
Breakdown:
Cleans: Basically, Jarren’s vocals are a bit unique, and original, but that comes from his voice. The way he spits his rhymes, and is able to keep a good rhythm, is what really makes him a better rapper, in all honesty. He doesn’t seem to spit them too slow, but somewhat fast, and it kind of sounds like he’s trying to copy Busta Rythmes style. However, in full honesty, he isn't… he’s taking an idea and making it fit to his sound, which is something I found highly enjoyable.
Beats: The beats on this mixtape were somewhat enjoyable. Some of them could have been a bit better, but they all tied into Jarrens sound, and his raps perfectly. So, in the long run that’s all that matters. The fast beats that you’ll hear on the mixtapes, were the ones I found more enjoyable. That might only be for me. The slower beats just aren't really that interesting, but the one in “No Lie In The Verses”, was one I found highly enjoyable for being a slow beat. I’d like to see Jarren find someone who can make a really fast beat, and then him freestyle on it.
Rating: 8/10
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1. Lovless
2. The World In Front Of Me
3. Foudations
4. Infinity
5. Hear Me Out
6. Neverlove
7. Moving On Moving Far
8. Evol
9. Black Maine
10. The Tracks We Leave Behind
Genre: Metalcore
For Fans Of: Like Moths To Flames, Secrets, The Word Alive
When I first heard about Loveless, I was pretty excited
because I've always liked Dream On, Dreamer. When I heard the single for
Loveless’s “The World In Front Of Me”, it had me super hyped for the album, and
I could have sworn that it was going to be a good release from these guys. Once
I heard Loveless fully… I was kind of disappointed. However, this does not mean
I won’t support Dream On, Dreamer. But I
really didn't think the album would sound like this. The album is great, and everything
is there, but the production straight up made the album sound bad. I know the
guys in Dream On, Dreamer put all their effort into this release. I can hear it
when I listen to the songs. It’s just that the production of the album isn't
the best, and it kind of messed up their sound a little in some of the songs. I’d
have to say that the biggest downer with the production would have to be the
vocals. The way they’re layered, sounds a bit out of place. Also, they have the
same bit of production on every song, so it doesn't really change much. This
kind of ruined it for me. I mean, I’d like to hear less production on vocals. The
same production over, and over again made the producer seem a bit amateur. In
all honesty, if you take away the production flaws, this album is really good,
and it really lived up to the hype it got. A few of the songs that stood out on
this album would have to be, “The World In Front Of Me”, “Hear Me Out”, ”Neverlove”,
“Black Maine, and “The Tracks We Leave Behind”. “The World In Front Of Me” was
the first single off Loveless, and it gave the album a good hype rating. The music
video was even good for the song, and definitely made the album seem out to be
the best release from Dream On, Dreamer. Sadly, once you hear the full album
this just isn't the case. “Hear Me Out” is definitely one of my most favorite
songs on the album. It’s also one of the better songs on the album. The clean
vocals at the beginning really gave this song some spice. The clean vocalist
tries to explain something in the beginning of the song, and it does some good
in my opinion. It helps the song get more of its meaning out easier, and clearer.
“Neverlove” is my number one favorite song on this album. It’s the best song on
the album too! (Well in my opinion.) It has everything an old Dream On, Dreamer
song would have; a great meaning, a meaning you can relate too, lyrics that
match perfectly, and a sound to back up the emotion towards the meaning of the
song. If you really enjoyed the old songs that Dream On, Dreamer did you’ll probably
enjoy “Neverlove”. “Black Maine” would be another song that old fans of Dream
On, Dreamer will highly enjoy. It has their older sound in the song. The feeling,
and the vibe is definitely there for their older music. “The Tracks We Leave
Behind” is the final song on this album, and it just happens to be the longest
song on the album. This song is full of great instrument play! The song is six
minutes long, and it’s enjoyable from the start, well to some people. Others
may just skip it. The production on the song kind of ruined it in a few places,
but other than that the song is great. It ends the album off on a good note. Plus,
the outro to the song and the outro to the album is just perfect. I wonder how
they’re ever going to top that in the next release? I’m hoping that the next
release is produced a bit differently than this was. I’m not going to bash the
whole album because of a few songs being oddly produced, or because the vocals
were produced the same way each time with no changes to them. But I hope that
the next album is produced by someone else, or at least whoever produced this
album learns a bit more about what they should be doing.
Breakdown:
Cleans: The clean vocals are a bit different from older
releases, but they are highly enjoyable. The clean vocalist definitely has a
distinct voice, and this makes his vocals a bit more unique in a way. The clean
vocals were actually produced nicely, and I could honestly say that there was
not a time on this album that I did not like the clean vocals. They were probably
my favorite type of vocals on this album. I hope that the clean vocalist does
more of those speech type lines that he did on some of the songs when he sings
live as well, because that would seriously make the songs a lot more enjoyable
to hear!
Screams: Well… The screams were decent, but the production
on them didn't change… much. It changed a few times to make them sound a bit
distorted, which was pretty nice to hear for a bit. But overall with the
production of the screams, they were really repetitive and sounded way to much
like the last release, in my opinion. I don’t know if the band was aiming for
that or not, If so, I hope not. The screams sounded a bit like an older guy. They
weren't bad, it just didn't fit the vocalist too well.
Instruments: The instruments production was good, and bad. There
were some places that the instrument play, and the production of the instrument
play really impressed me. But there were also places, where it didn't impress
me. The guitar play was my overall favorite instrument that was played for this
release. The drumming was great as well, but not as impressive as the guitar
work on this release. The drum play was pretty good though, so I’m going to
give the drummer his props as well as the guitar player. They’re both very
talented. but maybe on the next release, they could try to do some cool stuff
that’s new to metalcore? Something that would be new to hear, or stand out in
the genre.
Rating: 7/10
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1. Young & Awake
2. My Life As A Frequency
3. Dead Right
4. Time Alone
5. Peria
6. Crazies
7. Dead Permanence
8. Beautiful Friends
9. Safe Place
10. Skeletons
11. 21 To Life
12. Sincerely
Genre: Post Hardcore
For Fans Of: Travelers, Us, Ghosts, Awake And Create
Every once in a while, you’ll listen to a band that changes
up the game for their genre. I’d have to say that’s just what Restless Streets
did for the post hardcore genre. I know
there are a lot of post hardcore bands coming out with their debut single, or
debut album, and are trying to make a name for themselves. A lot of them go
un-noticed for the wrong reasons; because they aren’t big, or don’t have many
fans. Now, that may be Restless Streets case. They’re still a fairly small band
to hit the scene, but they have everything they need to make it big, and to
make a good name for themselves. “Sincerely” seriously helps them out a bit to
make a good name for themselves. The vocals are perfect whether they be cleans,
or screams, they make you have chills, or they make you cringe in some areas. Now,
I don’t mean cringe in a bad way; I mean it in a good way. The vocals are just phenomenal,
along with the instrument play that you’ll be hearing throughout this album. A
few songs that stood out on this album would be, “My Life As A frequency”,
“Time Alone”, ”Crazies”, ”Beautiful Friends”, “Skeletons”,“21 To Life”, and ”Sincerely”.
“Young & Awake”, is pretty much an intro track to the album. It leads right
into “My Life As A Frequency”, which is pretty nice because I’ll be the first
to admit that “Young & Awake” was a beautiful intro, and I definitely
wasn’t expecting that the first time I gave this album a play. “My Life As A
Frequency” might be the first actual song on the album, but it’s definitely my
favorite because of the meaning behind it. It just has something that’s pretty
relatable, and nice to hear. The instruments on the song are pretty clear, and
you can hear everything perfectly. To be completely honest, there are no flaws
at all. “My Life As A Frequency”, is also perfectly timed; not too long, or too
short. It’s perfectly timed at just four minutes. “Time Alone” caught my
attention because of the guitars at the intro of it. The tuning used was great,
and it just really caught my attention quickly leading me to listen to the song
fully. Listening to the album to the point of “Time Alone”, will make you
wonder if the guys in Restless Streets could write a bad song. I’d have to be
honest, I asked that as well. None of the songs on the album are bad; they’re
all either decent, good, or downright perfect. Each song has a meaning behind
them, and you can relate to them a bit. This is the key element to any good
album that comes out today. It needs to have songs that have a good meaning,
and a meaning that many people can relate too. “Crazies” was the first single,
and the first song that I had ever heard from Restless Streets. Within thirty
seconds of this song, they got me hooked on their music. “Crazies” would have
to be my all-time favorite song from Restless Streets. The song isn’t too soft,
or too heavy; it’s perfectly written. And yes, if you can guess, it has a
pretty relatable meaning behind it. “Beautiful Friends”, is one of the softer
songs on the album. I mean you didn’t expect this whole album to be heavy,
right? This song has some of the better clean vocals on the album. The clean
vocals kind of match the emotion towards the song, which gives the song the
edge in order to be one of the better soft songs on the album. “Skeletons”, is
another song that had some guitar play that impressed me quite a bit. The
screams also impressed me, and gave me some chills when I first listened to
them. “Skeletons”, is sadly the third to the last song on the album, and when
you’ll listen to this song you might get a bit upset knowing that this
masterpiece is about to end. “21 To Life”, was the second single to promote the
album. It’s sadly the last song on this piece of art. The song ends the album
on a rather heavy note. Also, if you listen closely to the intro to the song,
you might be able to tell they were probably trying to grip the whole concept
on the song. The intro was a necessary thing, and it gave this song its bang. “Sincerely”
is not only the title track to the album but also the last song on the album. “Sincerely”
gave the band a bang to end off their album and impress everyone. The screams
and cleans both have a style in this song to impress someone. Restless Streets
are very talented, and will (hopefully) make it big in this scene of music.
Breakdown:
Cleans: The clean vocals are definitely new to hear a bit.
The style isn’t used as much, and all the production on them make them sound a
bit raw. This is something that people can enjoy, and will do the band some
serious good towards the critics. The clean vocalist can hit some semi-high
notes, and some low notes. The clean vocalist is very talented, and knows his
vocal cords pretty well. I’d like to see him improve, to make his cords sound even
better on the next release!
Screams: The vocalist is also a screamer and is pretty
talented, and he does know his vocal cords. The screamer has some of the bone
chilling type screams in some of the songs. Just not in all of them. The songs
that have him screaming along with his cleans, are some of my favorites. His
screams really impressed me on the first two singles, and even more on this
release.
Instruments: The instrument play on this album is either
decently good, or great. In some songs it lacks a bit, and could have been
better. But in other places, it’s perfectly timed, and perfectly placed. The
guitar player definitely knows how to play his instrument, and how to make some
interesting noises from it. I do give him that much! The drummer is great as
well, keeping attention of the listener is difficult sometimes, but he did that
perfectly! The bass player (yes you can hear the bass a little on this), did some
good for the album as well. The places where you can hear a bit of bass, are
the parts that all the instrument sound amazing together.
Rating: 9/10
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1. My Compromise
2. Obstacles
3. In Focus
4. Delusionist
5. Voltage
6. Hope
7. Broken Ocean
8. Vice Versa
9. Guns And Girls
10. Griever
11. Mj Returns
Genre: Post Hardcore
For Fans Of: With Oceans Below, Darkest Before Dawn, Adestria
Kingdom Of Giant released their debut album “Every Wave Of Sound”.
Kingdom Of Giants, is one of my personal favorite un-signed bands today. They
never really let me down with anything they release, which is pretty good for a
band to do. Almost every release of theirs, is as great as the last, if not a
bit better. Which is something I wondered with the release of this, but after
listening to it I can tell you that Kingdom Of Giants wrote one of the better
albums to come out this year. I definitely think this release may be talked
about for a while, at least until they release another ep or another full
length. When they write another full length, I wonder how it’s going to amount
to this, and if it will even amount to this. Kingdom Of Giants made a name for
themselves with their ep, and they just bettered their name with this release,
which will do them some serious good in the long run of being a band. I’m
always stoked to see what this band does, and I really hope their next move is
signing to a label, and playing some bigger shows. I’m pretty sure they landed
on warped tour this year, which really excited me. I hope one day they get to
play the whole tour, and not just one show. A few songs that stood out on this
album would be, “My Compromise”, ”Delusionist”, ”Hope”, ”Broken Ocean”,
”Guns And Girls”, and ”Mj Returns”. “My Compromise”, is the first song on the
album. It’s the song that really gets the listener hyped and ready to listen to
the rest of the album, not only because it’s the first song, but because it has
the full power of Kingdom Of Giants. It does this release some serious good.
The song not only has the power of Kingdom Of Giants, but for older fans of the
band they can see how they've matured and how much better they've gotten with
their music. “Delusionist”, is probably my favorite song on this album. It has
what almost every Kingdom Of Giant song has; it takes no time for them to get
into the song, and they basically go straight into it with no holding back.
That is something that Kingdom Of Giants is known for. “Hope”, is sadly the
shortest song on the album, and it’s basically kind of an interlude in a way.
Throughout the song, you’ll hear a speech from Charlie Chaplin's movie
"The Great Dictator" . This did the album some serious good, and it
kind of showed that Kingdom Of Giants wants to help people no matter their
gender, race, or how they look. This is something more bands are preaching, now
it’s not a bad thing that bands or doing this. It’s actually quite nice, and
I’m glad that there are more people out in the world that want to help others,
instead of harm them. “Broken Ocean”, is another favorite of mine on this
album. The guitar on this song just sounds so good, it makes me drool a little
bit. Some of the drum play on this song, is as drool worthy as the guitar play,
but only in some places of the song. “Girls And Guns”, was on their ep, as well
as this release. This kind of made me happy. “Guns And Girls” not only one has
one of the best song titles on the album, but you can definitely tell Kingdom
Of Giants likes the two G’S of life! “Guns And Girls” isn't only a funny name
for a song, but also one of the better songs on the album. It’s third from last
on the album, and you can tell they’re trying to end this release off with a pretty
big bang to get people stoked for the next thing Kingdom Of Giants brings to
the table. In “Mj Returns”, there’s a special guest in this song, Stephen
Rezza! You can hear him pretty clearly, which is something many guest vocalist
spots don’t have. However, it’s always good to hear the guest clearly. I’d have
to say that adding a guest vocalist to this song, really gave it its edge. It
seemed like Kingdom Of Giants wanted to end the album off with a bang, and they
definitely did end it with a huge bang. This lead to giving their fan base
something really great to listen too!
Breakdown:
Cleans: Yes, there still are clean vocals in King Of Giants. I
honestly think the band needs to have clean vocals, because that’s one of their
elements that makes them the band that they are, and without them they wouldn't
be the same. However, the clean vocals aren't really the same as they were on
the ep, and some older fans might not like that, but change is good? Right?
Well in my opinion, the change was a good move for the band. It didn't really
make their music any worse, if anything it made it better to listen too!
Screams: The screamers vocals are original like they were on their
ep “Abominable” but they've improved to give it more of a post hardcore /
metalcore feeling to them, which isn't a bad thing if anything it kind of
impresses me with their talents a bit more. I’d really like to see these guys
hard work pay off sooner or later. I feel like they could change the post
hardcore scene and give other bands some light to their music.
Instruments: The instrument play on some
of the songs on this album is definitely something to hear. The guitar, bass,
and drummer are definitely talented, and know how to play their instruments
very well. Some of the playing kind of sounded a bit new to me, but really did
some good for the album, and the band. I love how you can hear how the band
changed compared to their older stuff. That really made me happy, since I've
been a fan of these guys since they dropped their ep “Abominable”. It was
seriously great to hear how they changed and improved in the places that
lacked.
Rating: 9/10
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1. Who Is The Better
2. Have I Told You?
3. Eleven Hundred Years
4. Have You Ever Made A Movie?
5. You Better Never Mess Around
6. New Rock Song
7. A Lot Less Philosophy
8. The Buning Of Oliste's Place
9. Turn Back The Hnads Of Time
10. Dance Of The Milleners
11. I Remember You
12. Farewell Arigemon
Genre: Rock
For Fans Of: Beetles, Stones, King Crimson
This album is somewhat out of my area of preference, but I’d
have to say that The Meldavians are respectable, and some very talented musicians.
Their genre is somewhat of a blue grass, jazz and rock mixed together. Now I’m
not the biggest fan of blue grass or jazz, but I’d have to say there’s just
something about The Meldavians that I do happen to enjoy. Their vocalist has a soothing
voice, and the instrument play is soothing as well. Put these two things together,
and you really have a work of art! The Meldavians has not only piano play, but
also keys which is rare for most bands to have, but it kind of builds some
touch to the music that The Meldavians write. To be completely honest here, when
I first listened to The Meldavians, I knew that this wouldn't be something I enjoyed
fully, but I gave the song I was sent a few plays, and really enjoyed it. Then
once I got the album I was like whoa, who knew It’d be out of my place in
music? I really enjoyed “Farewell Arigemon”, to say the least and I’m stoked
for the next record The Meldavians release. I hope it’s even better than this,
and that is has more than 12 songs. A few songs that kind of stood out on this
album would be, “Who Is The Better”, “Have I Told You?”, ”Eleven Hundred Years”,”
Have You Ever Made A Movie”, “The Burning Of Oliste’s Place”, and “Farewell
Arigemon”. “Who Is The Better” is the first song, and with this song you really
see how long the songs are from The Meldavians. They definitely don’t write any
short songs for their listener. Which I guess is a good thing, because if you
really enjoy The Meldavians you’ll get to hear more of them. “Have I Told You”
is the second song on the album, and my favorite when it comes to instrument
play. There’s just something about the keys, and piano that stand out on this
song to me, and makes it sound the best on the release. The vocals are pretty
nice to hear, because their vocalist hits some high notes in this song which
she does throughout the album. But some of the time, it’s not fully there.
However, she does try it a lot, and successes more than she fails in my opinion.
This isn't a bad thing, because it’s always good to hear when someone messes up
in their music to show that it’s not all edits and production that are making
it sound like something that it really isn't. “Eleven Hundred Years” is the third
song on the album, and if you notice the first three stand out tracks I listed,
are the first thing songs on the album. I didn't do that just because, I did it
with reasoning. The first three songs capture The Meldavians sound pretty well,
and they show you what you’re going to be listening to throughout the album;
which is always pretty nice to hear. I know a few bands in the genres that I like
do this, but not a lot, which is something I give props to The Meldavians for.
As I was saying about “Eleven Hundred Years”, this is the last song I think to
capture the full power of The Meldivians. The vocals are the thing that really
stand out to me on this song, which is great. If you ask me, the song sounds a
lot like a 80’s band fronted by a female, kind of has a Vixen feel to it (If
you know Vixen.), even though I don’t think The Meldavians tried to use them as
an influence in the song, the feeling is definitely there for them. “Have You
Ever Made A Movie”, is the type of song that asks you questions and then leads
into the song, but you’ll get asked questions throughout the song, and overall
it’s a very relaxed and soothing song to listen to. It’s probably my second favorite
song on the release. “The Burning Of Oliste’s Place” is the longest song on the
album, and it has some of the best instrument play on the release, if you ask
me. Sure some of the other songs have great instrument play, but this is the
song with the best on the release. It being seven minutes, only makes the song more
worth listening to as well. The vocals on the song are just wow too, there are
some edits to the vocals to give them some effects, but hey? Who doesn't like
effects, to make them sound a bit different, and add background vocals! “Farewell
Arigemon” is the last song on the album, sadly. It happens to be the title
track of the album, and second longest song on the album. I wish they would
have gave it an extra ten seconds to make it a bit longer than “The Burning Of
Oliste’s Place”. This song has some background effects, to help make it sound
like it’s outside during the nighttime. This is pretty nice, and it’s another
soothing song and those effects only make it more perfect. For a last song, I’d
have to give it some major props. It ended this release off so perfectly, and
will have the listener completely ready for another play, as well as another
release from The Meldavians!
Breakdown:
Cleans: The vocalist only does cleans, so if you’re
expecting any type of harsh rock vocals, this isn't the album for you in all honesty.
At first, I really enjoyed the vocalist’s style, but there are some parts throughout
the album that I didn't really enjoy at all from her. However, overall she knows
her talents and knows how to hit some high notes, and how to make music she’ll
love. Her vocals may not be all that impressive, but she does do the band’s
sound some serious good! I think she should try to hit even higher notes, if it’s
possible for her, but I’m not going to bash her vocals at all. It may come off
that way, but to be completely honest, she has a really nice voice. She may not
be ALL that impressive, but she’s still somewhat impressive.
Instruments: Oh boy… there’s a lot of instruments in this
band; keys, bass, piano, guitar and I’m pretty sure there’s more. Overall, I’d
have to give these guys their dues. They’re all pretty talented if I do say so
myself, and I really did enjoy the fact there are keys, and a piano on the
album. Playing piano, or keys, is not an easy task to accomplish. However, The
Meldavians play very amazing keys. The piano and keys really stand out, which
is also not easy to accomplish. Most of the time, the other instruments in a
band cover up the key play; but with The Meldavians, this was not the case! These
two great instruments used together in this band was very impressive in my
opinion. I give them major props!
Rating: 8/10
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1. A Day Late... And A Dollar Short
2. Empires
3. Demoralized
4. Tyranny
5. Dead Last
6. Solitary Confinement
7. Side Effects
8. The Color Green
9. Novus Ordo Seclorum
Genre: Deathcore
For Fans Of: Oceano, Fallen Figures, And Hell Followed With
It’s finally here! 1776! Even though it had some mixing
issues, the album still came. It came with a huge bang! King Conquer managed to
write a deathcore album that kind of expresses their views in politics in a
neatly and brutal fashion. This album had some major hype to it, and it seems
like a lot of people were really expecting it to come out the 11th
of June. Then once it didn't, the majority of people were upset with them and
the label, and they didn't really like the single they released, instead of the
album, but I’ll be completely honest here, that song really doesn't define the
album at all. It’s one of my least favorites to be completely honest. “Side
Effects”, the song they released, just didn't have a full King Conquer feel in
my opinion. However, it surely made me happy that they did release something. A
few songs that stood out on this album would have to be, “A Day Late… And A
Dollar Short”, “Empires”, “Tyranny” “Dead Last”, “The Color Green”, and “Novus
Ordo Seclorum”. “Tyranny”, “A Day Late…
And A Dollar Short”, and “Novus Ordo Seclorum” were the first singles the band
released to promote the album. All three singles really helped them promote the
album greatly, and all of them were definitely pleasers to any deathcore fans
out there. “Tyranny”, was the first single that the band posted, but it wasn't
the mastered song, it was the pre-production. If I am correct, the song was posted
in 2012 to build up some hype for the band in order to release another album. “A
Day Late… And A Dollar Short”, was the first actual single from 1776, and boy,
did the boys in King Conquer do some good. From just that song, I can tell you
that they had a bunch of hype for their album. “Novus Ordo Seclorum”, was the
second single for the album, and the last song on the album. Not even going to
lie, this song is probably my favorite on the whole album, because of the
meaning it has behind it. In a way, it kind of calls out the government in the
lyrics. Which I find amusing, and It’s something I haven’t really heard, before
I listened to this song. “Empires”, is the second song on the album, and if I do
say so myself, it’s one of my favorites when it comes to vocals. The vocals on
this song are straight up killer and bone chilling. Even the breakdown gave me
some chills listening to it the first time. King Conquer really goes in hard,
and doesn't leave without getting harder! I mean, the second song is still as
heavy, if not heavier than the first song. And then the third is even heavier. They
really wanted to write an album that causes a lot of suspense to the listener. “Dead
Last”, is one of those songs that has a lot of growling, and really shows off
their deathcore elements In a brutal fashion, in my opinion. It just so happens
that “Dead Last”, is the second longest song on the album, which is rightfully
deserved. I mean, it’s one of the heaviest songs on the album. “The Color Green”,
is the longest song on the album, my second favorite song, and the second to
last song on the album. This song really brings in the heaviness, and the anger
of the band into 3 minutes, and it ends up doing the band some serious good,
even though the album got pushed back awhile. I’d honestly have to say that songs
like “Dead Last”, and “The Color Green”, will honestly make it worth the wait
for the album. Seriously, both songs are so heavy that it’s face melting, bone
chilling, and some of the better breakdowns for sure. But the one thing I really
didn't like about this album was that it only had nine songs, I mean, it’s
understandable but It could have been better if they would have gone for ten,
or eleven songs to give the fans the full King Conquer vibe. Other than that,
there are no more complaints about this release. It’s definitely one that’s
worth the wait.
Breakdown:
Screams: King Conquers vocals were flat out phenomenal, in
my honest opinion. The growls were really something else to hear, and really
gave them the edge in the deathcore scene. I really have to say that from
listening to King Conquer and some other deathcore bands, that deathcore is definitely
a genre that has some unique and different vocal styles. There really isn't two
of the song vocal styles, and none of them sound the exact same. So that’s
definitely a plus for the genre, and for the bands that follow the genre. King
Conquer’s vocal style is impressive though, and I do give them a lot of props
for that. Some of the vocals I’d really like to see them do live, and match
them up, because if they can pull them off live like they did in the album then
King Conquer may land the title of a deathcore god and a big shot, but we’ll
have to see when that comes around. Other than that, the vocals you’ll hear on
1776 are just heavy, brutal, you pretty much name it and it’s probably there in
the category of face melting. The vocalist did some serious work on this
release, no lie there, I’m stoked to see what he does next vocal wise.
Instruments: Some of the instrument play is just straight
out bone chilling, and heavy. It’s some true elements from a deathcore band,
and a major step up from older music from King Conquer. The guitar play, and
drum play are the main things that kind of stood out to me. You can hear the
bass a little bit on some of the songs, but the drumming is just insane on a
few of the songs. All the instrument play on this album is insanely
mind-blowing. It really did the release some serious good. The mixing on some
of the drum parts were spot on, and definitely worth the money that they
probably spent on it.
Rating: 8/10
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Genre: Melodic Metal
For Fans Of: TesseracT, Textures, Opeth
I've honestly never heard of Searu in my life, but I can honestly say that after listening to “Circulate”, I’m pretty glad that I've finally heard of them. “Circulate”, is their first song ever, from what I read, and It definitely gives them a good rep from me. This song is filled with good grooves, and harsh vocals that almost everyone who likes metal could enjoy. Searu is definitely going to go places in their future. I can be really sure of that because of this song. This song has a few other elements of genres in it, which is something that does Searu some good. It has some groove elements, along with metal elements. Those are the two that stand out the best on the song. If you listen closely, you can hear some jazz influence a bit. This song definitely stands out when it comes to metal band writing music, but in a good way, not a bad way. I hope the next few songs Searu releases sound sort of like this, and different at the same time. Even though Searu is from the UK, I really do hope they make it big enough to hit the states to do some big shows.
Breakdown:
Screams: The
screams are pretty harsh, and the growls are pretty intense if you ask me. But
that, and that only, is what makes them part of the metal scene of music. I
really do like the vocalist’s growls. They kind of caught me off guard, because
at the intro I really didn't know what to expect vocal wise. I was honestly
thinking it would be clean vocals, but instead I got some harsh vocals, with
some pretty intense growls. You could probably say that I was pretty pleased.
In the next song that Searu does, I hope there are some more vocals that sound
different instead of just growls, and harsh screams. Maybe some highs? So they
can spice up the song a little bit. To be completely honest, the vocalist knows
his vocal talents, and that’s what really matters. I’m pretty stoked over the
next song to be made.
Instruments:
The instrument play is something that really stands out on the song. The
guitars are tuned perfectly. The begging guitar play, kind of remind of a Black
Sabbath song a bit. And I didn't really expect that at all when I first started
listening to the song. Searu’s instrument talents caught me off guard
completely. I honestly wasn't expecting any of it. That being said, I do
believe this band is talented, very talented in that matter. I honestly hope
that Searu ends up writing more groove-metal songs that sound like this.
Rating: 3/5
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Genre: Metalcore
For Fans Of: Emmure, Beartooth, My Ticket Home
Sylar made a name for themselves, when they released their
debut ep “Deadbeat”. They definitely keep the title of writing music that makes
you want to get up off your feet and mosh. “Golden Retreat” is definitely a
song that won’t disappoint a metalcore fan at all. It has everything that a
good metalcore song needs. Good vocals, a heavy breakdown, and some hate filled
lyrics done by a vocal style that fits. Now, I’m not going to really say Sylar
is anything new, or original in the genre, but they’re definitely something
that someone should be listening too if they’re a fan of metalcore. Sylar is a
good addition to the metalcore family. They may not bring anything really new
to the table, but they bring some heavy breakdowns to it. Sylar has matured a
little bit from their ep, and you can easily hear just that in this song. I
think they’ll end up maturing more, and become a pretty large band in this
scene if they keep writing songs like this. Sylar is one of those bands that
shows that metalcore isn't dead, nor will it die anytime soon.
Breakdown:
Screams: The vocals on this song are mainly screams or what
can be considered screams. In some places there is growling, which is fairly
common in metalcore now. Sylars screamer is definitely talented, and knows his
screams pretty well. He also seems to try some stuff on this song that you
didn't hear on the ep. Which is pretty good. It made the song a lot more
interesting to listen too. To be completely honest, with the screams on this
song though, in some places it kind of sounds like a grindcore vocal style,
which isn't too bad to add. It was just something I didn't really expect it at
first. It's definitely a good addition to the song, if anything.
Instruments: As I said about the vocal style, there are some
places that kind of sound grindcore. The instrument play on this sounds a lot
like it did on their ep, with some minor fixes, changes, and some new
techniques here, and there. Overall, the instrument play is great, and it fits
perfectly, even with some grindcore places. I can only hope they keep using
different techniques and whatnot in newer music they later put out.
Rating: 3/5
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1. Chin Up
2. Don't Let Me Go
3. Nice To Meet You
4. Nikki
5. Ritalin
6. Kick It
7. Playing With Fire
8. Count On Me (For Nothing)
9. La La Lainey
10. My Friends Save Me
11. Cross My Heart
Genre: Pop Punk
For Fans Of: Artist Vs. Poet, The Summer Set, Every Avenue
“J.A.C.K”, is Forever The Sickest Kids new album and I do
have to say this band is probably one of my favorite pop punk bands to come out
in a while. This album is full of memorable lyrics, and catchy tunes. Now I’m
not a huge pop punk fan at all, but I do have to say I’m a huge fan of Forever
The Sickest Kids because most of their lyrics are memorable, or they have a
positive meaning. One thing I might add to this before I get more into the
album is that I’ll be seeing them play some new stuff (Hopefully) at Vans
Warped Tour this year! I’m pretty excited about this because this will be the
first time I get to see Forever The Sickest Kids live. Anyways, back to the
album! “J.A.C.K”, is filled, and I do mean filled, with very serious memorable
lyrics, and I think that’s one thing that really caught my attention when
listening to this album. I do know a lot of pop punk bands have attempted to
write catchy tunes, and that is something Forever The Sickest Kids succeeded
in. A few songs that stood out on this album would be: “Chin Up Kid”, “Nice To
Meet You”, ”Ritalin”, ”Playing With Fire”, ” My Friends Save Me”, and “Cross My
Heart”. The little intro before “Chin Up Kid” was a nice add-on to the song.
“Chin Up Kid” is one of the more catchier songs on the album. The lyrics are
sort of aimed to the young relationships that won’t last. Well, most of the
time they don’t. Some do and some just don’t. I can honestly say “Chin Up Kid”
would be the song that gets sung out in the crowd more than any other song on
the album, but hey that’s just how I see this song. “Nice To Meet You” is one
of my favorite songs from Forever The Sickest Kids, in all honesty. It has
strong memorable lyrics, and it’s a really catchy song. Between “Chin Up Kid”
and “Nice To Meet You”, I’d like to see which song is sung the loudest in the
crowd. “Ritalin” is a song that has both elements; heavily memorable lyrics,
and a catchy tune. The chorus to the song, is the only thing I can really that
say might be a crowd thing. The song is kind of the ballad of the album, or at
least that’s my opinion about it. The ending of the song, that little speech
type of a thing, is the main part that gives this song its props. This song can
relate to many kids though, that is its huge thing. “Playing With Fire”, is one
of my favorite songs off this album, because of the lyrics and just the overall
sound of the song. The meaning behind the song, or how I see it being about, is
about playing with fire, or being a situation that could be like fire. “My
Friends Save Me”, is a song that only has just memorable lyrics. There are a
few parts that are rather catchy, just not as catchy as some of the other songs
on this album. The song is enjoyable either way. I've listened to a few other
albums from Forever The Sickest Kids, but I don’t think they ended off any
release, better than they did with this release. “Cross My Heart", in my
opinion, was their best song ending to an album, so far. Not saying that this
could change in the next release, but I do hope they end off their next release
with an even bigger bang than what “Cross My Heart” brought to the table.
Breakdown:
Cleans: The vocals on this album have a very distinctive
style and range, which only made it way more interesting to listen to. The
vocal range isn't too low, or too high. It's set just perfect for their genre,
and style of music. To be completely honest, the vocalist has a style that
could only fit in one genre. I just couldn't see him doing another genre with
his music. There are a few songs that the range is a bit higher than others,
and even then, they fit perfectly with the instrument play.
Instrument: The instrument play on this album really fit
perfectly with the pop punk genre. It’s really catchy, and upbeat in most of
the songs, which are only pluses for Forever The Sickest Kids. There’s a few
places where the instrument is spot on, and greatly done. One of my favorite
songs when it comes to instrument play is “Playing With Fire”. The intro has
I'm guessing an acoustic guitar? Which kind of caught me off guard the first
time that I was listening to this album. Their instrument play on some of the
songs are phenomenal, and I’m not just saying that. Some of the instrument on
this album really stand out in pop punk, or at least it does to me.Rating: 9/10
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1. Middle Fingers Up
2. Hellrasier
3. Rageaholics
4. Backtalk
5. Leave A Message...
6. About That Life
7. Thug Life
8. Break Shit
9. Gimmicks And Lie$
10. Callout
11. Unforgiveable
12. Shots For The Boys
13. Party With The Devil
14. The New Kings
Genre: Deathcore
For Fans Of: Upon A Burning Body, Emmure, Dr Acula.
Genre: Rap
For Fans Of: Falling In Reverse, Eminem, Slette
You either love or hate Ronnie Radke. I personally used to
hate Ronnie Radke, but after this song and watching a few of his interviews. I changed
my mind about him. This song is pretty much him rapping about his life, his
fans, and the people that hate him, how he’s changing and everything in his
life. Ronnie’s band Falling In Reverse wrote a rap song and mixed it with post
hardcore, now you should know how that went down, but anyone that’s beyond the
point really. Ronnie says in the song how he became a fan of rap and how it
kind of helped him in his life. I honestly do love this song because Ronnie
raps pretty well on this song, there really isn't really anything bad about the
song. The beat could have been a bit better in my opinion, but it does fit his
flow pretty well and that’s what has to work in the end. Now if Ronnie was
going to make a solo rap project I’d probably be a huge fan of it, mainly
because I do love his raps and his flow, they’re pretty sick if I do say so
myself. Rap isn't my favorite genre ever I’ll be the first to admit that, but
when someone in a post hardcore band tries to rap it usually sucks but that’s a
little bit different with Ronnie. He did a decently good with this song, I can
only hope he writes some more raps and possibly write a mixtape or an ep or an
album even. One thing that Ronnie should probably work on more is his flow in
his rap songs, he has a decent flow as it is but he could definitely improve it
a little bit to make it a lot better and just maybe on his newer songs with
this project he could use someone else for beats. Not saying the beat for this
song was bad or anything, but it could use a little bit more work. If Ronnie keeps
this project alive I’m one hundred percent sure he’ll end up getting big with
this project and even land him to a rap record label and be in a band and be a
solo rapper. He’ll be living both dreams of his. I seriously hope the best for
Ronnie though, even though at first I didn't like him and now I’m one of his
fans.
Breakdown:
Cleans: Ronnie’s vocals are outstanding on this song. He definitely
knows how to rap and make his clean vocals from his band work with his solo
project. I’m actually stoked to see where this project will end up taking
Ronnie. I can only hope he stays writing rap songs in his future though, I hope
this isn't a one or two song thing.
Beat: The beat isn't the best beat in the world, and could
honestly use a little work. But in the end I’m actually kind of glad the beat
fits with Ronnie’s vocals and his flow matches the beat throughout the whole
song.
Rating: 2/5
1. Feel
2. Here We Go Again
3. Free Now
4. Alone (Ft. MGK)
5. I'll Take You There (Ft. Shayley Bourget)
6. The Best There Ever Was
7. Low
8. Congratulations (Ft. Matty Mullins)
9. Déjà Vu
10. These Things I've Done
11. Sorry
12. Satellites.
Genre: Post Hardcore
For Fans Of: We Came As Romans, Copeland, Pierce The Veil
"Feel" is the newest album from Sleeping With
Sirens. I’ll have to give the guys in Sleeping With Sirens some credit for this
release. I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the other ones though, but their
vocalist said they’re writing an album for their fans, and that they’re going
to be adding all the emotion they can to this album, and he did just that. My
only complaint with this album is that it sounds like a pop punk album on some
songs, and their vocalist did say it’d be a little heavier than the other two
releases. Tut there’s one song that I could say is heavy. The other ones are
more poppy then heavy, but it happens. If Sleeping With Sirens really did go
heavier than the first album, I don’t know how their fan base would react to
that kind of change. Overall though I’m really glad that the guys in Sleeping
With Sirens made an album with emotion. The emotion factor is pretty clear, and
you can easily hear it in every song. A few songs that kind of stood out on
this album would be, "Feel", "Free Now", "Alone",
"I’ll Take You There", "The Best There Ever Was",
"Congratulations", and "Sorry". "Feel" was a good
choice for Sleeping With Sirens to open this album up with. "Feel"
kind of sounded like the song that plays open up with, but none the less it was
a pretty good song. "Feel"
isn't only the title track of the album, but also the opener song and it also
shows what this album will basically sound like. "Free Now", is
probably one of the best songs on this album, when it comes to them adding
emotion to a song. Their vocalist tells the listener that he wrote the song for
his father, and in the song he kind of tells you about his life story. He then
goes into telling the listener that he wrote this song for his mother as well.
This song basically tells about the vocalist’s life a little bit, and how he’s
free now. It’s songs like this, that Sleeping With Sirens is known for, and
these are the type of songs that they should write more often. Time for the
song "Alone", now at first when I saw the track listing, I was
seriously skeptical about what the guest vocalist will sound like. I mean a
post hardcore band, and a rapper in the same song? That’s something that hasn't
been used before. Sleeping With Sirens broke that barrier with genres, and made
a decently good song. I enjoy both Sleeping With Sirens, and Machine Gun Kelly,
but to see them on a song together. I was just mind blown, and I had to hear
this song as soon as possible. The outcome of the song was just mind blowing!
It is probably one of the best songs on the album, in all honesty. "I’ll
Take You There", features one of my favorite clean vocalists in the genre
today, Shayley Bourget. Shayley has always had these powerful cleans, along
with Kellin Quinn. But seriously, now those two on a song together, and you
have a master piece in the making, and that’s exactly what they did on this
song! It’s an overall masterpiece, and something truly great for both Kellin,
and Shayley. I can only hope to see Kellin on the next song, with Shayleys band
Dayhsell. "The Best There Ever Was" is the heaviest song on this
whole album. The intruder vocalist on this song is just really unexpected,
because if you know Sleeping With Sirens as good as I do, they’re a Christian
band, and they’re not too fond of Attila’s music. Yet, they’re all really good
friends. Hearing Chris Fronz’s vocals on this song really made me happy. Chris
Fronz really did spice this album up quite a bit and I’d have to say that he
was a great addition to getting this album up in ratings from critics, even
though some of Sleeping With Sirens fan base wanted to complain about Chris
being on the album. Who cares? He didn't ruin the band, if anything he gave
this album a little bit more life than it already had. That being said,
"The Best There Ever Was" is probably my favorite song on this album.
I hope Kellin and Chris do more songs together in the future of Sleeping With
Sirens, and Attila. "Congratulations" is the one song on the album
that I can honestly say I didn't like very much. I did like the fact that Matty
Mullins was featuring in it, though. I saw Matty do guest vocals with Sleeping
With Sirens at Warped Tour 2012, and Matty really added some energy to Sleeping
With Sirens set. It was overall the best set of the day, because of that. The
songs meaning sounds like it’s about Matty, and Kellin’s band success. It kind
of sounds they’re bragging about it a bit, or that they’re telling people that
doubted them in their past to see where they’re at now. Either way, the song
isn't the best on the album, but I do give the guys their pops for making it. I
do kind of wish I knew the real meaning behind this song, though.
"Sorry" is kind of like Sleeping With Sirens "Ballad Song"
which isn't a bad thing, because the song turned out to be amazing, and just
overall phenomenal. The sound of the song, and the lyrics, just make this song
sound better. It really gives it some life, and if this was the last song on
the album, it would have been one of the best ways to end off this album even
though "Feel" wasn't that good in my opinion, and it could have been
a little bit better in places. It really lacked in a few places also. I think
this album was one of the better soft albums from Sleeping With Sirens. It
definitely tops "Lets Cheer To This", but doesn't compare or amount
to "With Ears To See And Eyes To Hear". I’d have to say that after
listening to this album a few times, I’m ready for next thing from Sleeping
With Sirens!
Breakdown:
Cleans: The clean vocalist definitely got better compared to
older releases, and older music. The vocalist found out how to add a lot more
emotion to his vocals, and how to get a better sound with his range. The clean
vocals on some of the songs are higher than others or lower than others, and I
guess you could say that this adds a suspense factor to the songs for the
better. I hope he keeps messing around with his range, to get an even better
sound with the next release.
Screams: Not only did the clean vocals improve, but the
screams did too! The vocalist got more of a higher screamer, out of his
screaming range, which does make it sound a lot better. The only thing is, that
you don’t really hear much of the screams on this album. The cleans out due the
screams on this release, just like they did on "Lets Cheer To This".
I hope on the next release, that the screams out due the clean vocals. I’m way
fonder of the vocalists screams, over his cleans. But hey, that’s just me.
Instrument: The instrument play improved a lot as well.
Something that I really enjoyed, was the guitar play, and the drum play on some
of the songs. I hope this band becomes a legend in the post hardcore genre,
because with their vocals and instrument play getting better on every album,
it’s definitely going to lead them somewhere big in no time! Even though they've
already had their big break on "Lets Cheer To This", I can only
imagine when "Feel" lands them, or their release after
"Feel" lands them. I can only see big things happening for this band.Rating: 7/10
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Genre: Post Hardcore
For Fans Of: We Came As Romans, Copeland, Pierce The Veil.
Sleeping With Sirens did a single based off a holiday. I didn't think bands still did this, but I’m glad they did because it seemed like this concept for music was dead for a while. Now it may be because of ‘trick or treat” that make this song somewhat better to hear or it might be because it’s a Sleeping With Sirens song, who really knows. But this song is something good and I’m pretty glad they did this for Halloween, but I kind of hope they do this for Christmas or Easter or some other holiday at involves gift. This song kind of tells a story or it seems that way with the lyrics which gives this song a better feeling and greater concept for the holiday. I would have to say I hope Sleeping With Sirens should adopt to this writing style for their next release because it may do them some serious good and heck it might even get them to the number one spot on billboards across America. The thing near the middle of the song was unexpected but it was probably the best edition to the song and it definitely gave this song some props. It’s basically the vocalist telling the other band members what to do. This song kind of reminded me of a zombie movie or the walking dead on just because of that part. I’d have to say after listening to this song a few times that I really hope the band thinks about doing a song like this for every holiday because it’d be a good edition for them or if they did another Halloween song or a ep based on a holiday or all of the holidays would be a good idea for them to use for a mini release.
Breakdown:
Cleans: The vocalist made his vocals sound absolutely
perfect on this song. His voice in a few parts kind of sounded like he was narrating
a story or something of that sort. His range on this song is somewhat different
from their older release but not entirely. I’d have to say I really did like
the fact he can do his vocals then do the middle part where he tells the other
band members to do. That part really made the song stand out a bit and gave it
some life. I’d like to see what these guys do for another holiday or for Halloween
next year. I’d have to say I’m pretty excited, if they even do another song
like this in their future which I really do hope they do.
Screams: The screams sound somewhat different. Their vocalist
definitely wanted to give a gift to their fans and he did! One thing about the
screams that many people might not notice or hear. When their vocalist is
telling the band what to do in the house he does his scream at the end of his
sentence. It’s pretty notice able but I feel like a lot of people won’t pay
much attention to it.
Instruments: the instrument play is a little heavier than
what you’d expect on a Sleeping With Sirens song, but they did end up making a
really good Halloween gift for their fans and in the process make one of their
better songs. I just hope this band does something else like this in their
future of being a band. I wasn't expecting it at first but I’m pretty glad they
ended up doing this. Maybe it’ll give other bands ideas and we’ll see more of
these type of songs. One can only hope.
Rating: 3/5
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1. Scene One - James Jean & Audrey Hepburn
2. Scene Two - Roger Rabbit
3. Scene Three - Stomach Tied In Knots
4. Scene Four - Don't You Ever Forget About Me
5. Scene Five - With Ears To See And Eyes To Hear
Genre: Acoustic.
For Fans Of: We Came As Romans, Copeland, Pierce The Veil
In my honest opinion. I think this is one of the best
releases from Sleeping With Sirens because of the fact it’s an acoustic ep and I
think they’re a great fit to the acoustic genre, but they are great in the post
hardcore genre. Not only that, but I can seriously see this being a soundtrack
for a movie, maybe it will be in the future? Maybe the band will make music
videos for the songs on this album and they turn out to be somewhat like
movies? Or a movie in parts? That’d be a pretty cool idea for them to try in
their future. These guys could definitely pull it off in fully honesty.
“Scene One – James Dean & Audrey Hepburn”
Scene One happens to be one of my favorite songs on this
releases. This song has a lot of emotion to and you can easily tell. It’s basically
a love song. I can honestly see someone singing this to their girlfriend or the
vocalist bring up his wife to the stage and singing this in front of her. I can
picture it now and the crowd going wild because of it. If they ever do this I
honestly hope I’m there. I’d love to see this and I think it’d fit the song’s
meaning pretty well. Even though this is literally the first song on the
release you’ll fall in love with it in no time, it really makes this release
seem better and definitely leaves a good impression on the listener.
Breakdown:
Cleans: The vocals really fit the acoustic genre. I have to
give the vocalist props because in almost every release his vocals had an
acoustic feeling to them and now that they’re releasing an acoustic ep it fits
so perfectly. For the most part the vocals are in the high range which is what
this band is known for.
Instruments: The main instrument is an acoustic guitar, but
it does have some flow to it. It stays with the vocals pretty well which
something that really makes this song better. The vocals and the guitar are
keeping rhythm together and staying together.
“Scene Two – Roger Rabbit”
I've noticed on every release Sleeping With Sirens Has I find
a new favorite song by them, and this happens to be that song on this release.
The lyrics on this song jut hits me, plus the overall sound of the song is just
perfectly done and I do give Sleeping With Sirens props for this song and this
release two songs in and it’s already a 10 out of a 10. I’m not just trying to
say that this band honestly deserves it. There’s nothing wrong with release so
far. I can only hope in the future of Sleeping With Sirens they release a whole
album acoustically of new and old songs by them. It’d probably be one of their
best releases and one of the best releases to come out in the twentieth
century.
Breakdown:
Clean: The vocals on this song are my favorite out of all the songs they've ever written because you can hear all the emotion the vocalist is putting and he stays with the melody of the song so perfectly. I definitely give the man a lot of props for being this talented and probably one of my favorite vocalist when it comes to clean vocals. I hope him and the band go far in their careers.
Clean: The vocals on this song are my favorite out of all the songs they've ever written because you can hear all the emotion the vocalist is putting and he stays with the melody of the song so perfectly. I definitely give the man a lot of props for being this talented and probably one of my favorite vocalist when it comes to clean vocals. I hope him and the band go far in their careers.
Instruments: The acoustic guitar only gets better and better
on every song there’s definitely talent in this band and they have a bright
future ahead of them and I’m pretty happy to say I’m a fan of them.
“Scene Three – Stomach Tied In Knots”
This song has some of the calm type of vocals from the
vocalist which in a way does the song some good because it’s about the vocalist
stomach being tied in knots and his vocals kind of fit the meaning. Many bands
don’t do this anymore because they just don’t care or they try not to get the
full meaning to fans but a few bands like Sleeping With Sirens keep doing this
and it makes them look a lot better and gets them some props from critics
everywhere.
Breakdown:
Cleans: The vocals in some parts of the song sound like whispers, this might be because he’s trying to get the full meaning of the song with his vocals. When your stomachs tied in knots usually means your shy and you can’t really speak loudly. If the vocalist is doing his vocals like this because of that he’s not only talented but smart with his songs.
Cleans: The vocals in some parts of the song sound like whispers, this might be because he’s trying to get the full meaning of the song with his vocals. When your stomachs tied in knots usually means your shy and you can’t really speak loudly. If the vocalist is doing his vocals like this because of that he’s not only talented but smart with his songs.
Instruments: The acoustic guitar is still trying to keep up
with the vocals and it does for the most part and it fits the song pretty well.
The vocals and even the acoustic guitar are trying to stay close to the meaning
of the song.
“Scene Four – Don’t You Ever Forget About Me”
In all honesty. I was doing this bands track listing I’d
make this song the last song because it’d fit more if it’s a movie sound track.
Oh also, there’s someone doing intruder vocals aka guest vocals, they’re called
intruder vocals because she’s not listed as a guest vocals and she pops up
randomly in the song. I honesty wasn’t expecting another vocalist in this song,
but in fully honesty she does her part and makes this song come alive more than
it already is.
Breakdown:
Cleans: The guest vocals and the vocalist of Sleeping With Sirens definitely make a good pair and both vocals fit the song pretty well in the long run. A male and female vocalist make this song kind of seem like a duet type of a song and spices up this release and spices up the song for the better good of the band and the release.
Cleans: The guest vocals and the vocalist of Sleeping With Sirens definitely make a good pair and both vocals fit the song pretty well in the long run. A male and female vocalist make this song kind of seem like a duet type of a song and spices up this release and spices up the song for the better good of the band and the release.
Instruments: The acoustic guitar on this song is a little
bit speedy and it sounds like it leaves the rhythm of the vocals a few times,
but oh well it doesn't really harm the song in anyway shape or form.
“Scene Five – With Ears To See And Eyes To Hear”
The last scene and the last song on this perfect release and
I’m not going to trash it or call it bad or anything. Want to know why? Because
this song ended off this release perfectly, seriously, this might be a remake
of a song acoustically, but this version is a little bit better than the original
version in so many ways and its crazy how the vocalist sounds on this song. I
can tell and you probably can when you listen to it. He pour his soul into this
song and he really tried to end off this release on a good note to make you excited
for the next release to come out. I’d really like to see Sleeping With Sirens
do more songs acoustically and remake some of their older songs acoustically if
they’re going to sound like this.
Breakdown:
Cleans: In fully honesty, when it comes to clean vocals this is the song you have to hear from Sleeping With Sirens because of the way it sounds and how much effort the vocalist puts into this song and the overall sound of his vocals. At the end I really like that the vocals fade into the background it really added something to this song.
Instruments: The acoustic guitar play on this song is seriously
phenomenal. They really wanted to end this song with a bang and they surely
did. There’s nothing wrong with this song or this last scene. It really makes
you excited for another release like this. Maybe in Sleeping With Sirens future,
one can only hope!Cleans: In fully honesty, when it comes to clean vocals this is the song you have to hear from Sleeping With Sirens because of the way it sounds and how much effort the vocalist puts into this song and the overall sound of his vocals. At the end I really like that the vocals fade into the background it really added something to this song.
Rating: 10/10
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