My Longest Way Homeby Any Given Day

Having heard the demo versions of a few of these songs & then these versions, I was thinking the first time I heard this that Any Given Day had really fallen-short with these studio-versions. However, I'm listening to them again now & it's really grown on me. I think the most noticeable difference between the recordings is that whereas on the demo they tended to let a lot of the notes ring a bit longer, on the album they really strive to cut them short right after the initial stroke of the string, which really hilights the blast-beat nature of this work. It's raucous. As a final "general" note, I'd like to praise Raphael Altmann (drums) for his diverse & inventive work throughout this album. So often these days, all it takes to call yourself a metal drummer is to recycle one painfully simple beat through almost every song on the album. To me, this is the cardinal-sin of drumming, & I'm SO relieved to hear that Altmann has WAY more imagination than that.

Favorites:

"The Beginning of the End" is one about which I have mixed feelings. Mah feelz! They'z been mixed!! ::makes stirring motions at you:: o.O Anyway - one thing I really enjoyed about the demo of this was the rhythm guitar in the chorus. That low, dancing riff with the note-bend that you hear right after "I have learned my lesson well." In the demo version, it was much more pronounced, with the lead guitar riff just adding a little more texture from the background. That was awesome, and I was disappointed to find that they did the opposite with the album version. That is a BRUTAL riff & it deserves more room in the mixA to truly appreciate its tonal-roughhousing. Otherwise, I liked this version of the song for reasons stated in paragraph one. Also, the epic sound quality of the lead guitar is really hypnotic.

"Home is Where the Heart Is" - If this album were in any danger of feeling inaccessible before, this track certainly grants some relief. It doesn't kick you around as hard as many of the other tracks where the choruses & bridge are concerned, & the verses (though still swimming with unrest) have a gentler, contemplative theme to them. I can't wait to hear this in true hi-fi, for those pristine-sounding clean-tone riffs! Also, though it's not on this album, totally check-out the acoustic version of this on YouTube. It really adds something more sensitive & intimate to this song.

"My Own Sweet Hell" - First-off, I love what they've done with the intro of this. Compared with the demo version, where they just shout the first words, in this one Dennis' vocals are faded-in in a repetetive, diced-up sort of way. It feels like waking-up to find that your life has become a (literal) warzone. like being yanked out of sleep much too fast to find that everything is blasting-apart around you, & you're totally unprepared. The sound of the lead guitars is also especially nice here. It cuts through the mix like a scythe with razor-sharp treble. I have one criticism about this song though. The line "the devil has taken my soul" makes me roll my eyes. BOOOO!! I get that this song is meant to remind one of the concept of hell (hence the title,) but keep your imaginary scapegoat to yourself. Some of us actually take responsibility for what happens to our minds and spirits...

"Never Say Die" - An excellent song. Great low-end riffs, & although they change the tempo (which I find lamentable,) it's only slightly, and is pretty forgiveable. In case you don't get the reference, the recording that plays at 2:44 is from the TV series "Dexter." To follow-up with a gunshot and "DX BLEACKHH" sound like taking someone by surprise in a firefight was an excellent choice, IMO.

I'm out of space here so I'll finish-up. Save for a few minor gripes, I love this album & plan to own copies of almost every song. Four stars!