Rise Against – Endgame
Tim McIlrath and his band of punk rockers haven’t changed much on their 6th album, “Endgame”, but ultimately come up short. Every song on the album seems as if it has been done before and it’s actually quite easy to find a counterpart for each song on an earlier Rise Against album.
Rise Against’s song formula has not been altered whatsoever so each song pretty much consists of fast, repetitive drums and aggressive guitar (with a pick slide every 5 seconds).
I’d recommend this album for long-time fans of the band that are looking for more of the same. Rise Against sticks to what they’re good at on “Endgame” which for some might be exactly what they’re looking for. For me, there are only so many pick slides I can handle.
Rating- 6/10
Recommended Songs- Architects, Help Is on the Way, Satellite
Protest the Hero- Scurrilous
Toronto’s progressive-metal group, Protest the Hero has slowly been getting more and more popular since the release of their first album in 2005. Their style is very technical, Protest is known for their guitarists, bassist and drummer’s pure skill along with their frequent and strange time-signature changes.
There are few differences from the previous two albums on this one, noticeably the absence of lead vocalist Rody Walker’s screams. He sticks to singing on “Scurrilous” but really goes all out and sounds fantastic.
The band as a whole sounds great on the new album- both the instrumentation and lyricism are absolutely terrific.
My only complaint is that, while the songs are all brilliantly well put together, a few of the tracks are a bit forgettable. Progressive music often risks becoming generic and repetitive and they do a good job of avoiding that for the most part but there are still a few songs that could have been done without. Who knows, though, Protest the Hero songs have a way of growing on me.
Rating- 9/10
Recommended Songs- C’est La Vie, Hair-Trigger, Tandem, Dunsel
Panic! At the Disco- Vices & Virtues
Panic! At the Disco has completely reformatted since their questionable sophomore album, “Pretty. Odd.” They have returned to their roots on their 3rd album, “Vices & Virtues”. Almost the entire band left after the second album, leaving lead singer Brendon Urie and drummer Spencer Smith to create a baroque-pop sound more like that of their first album.
The songs show off Panic!’s classic, catchy blend of synthesizers, string instruments and some instruments that are less often employed such as the marimba and xylophone.
Vices & Virtues starts off very strong but slows down as the album reaches the halfway point. The last few songs are nice but lack the memorability of the album’s first few songs.
Rating- 7/10
Recommended Songs- The Ballad of Mona Lisa, Let’s Kill Tonight, Hurricane, Ready to Go
