Tracks
Also by Butcher Babies
People who bought this release also bought
This album brings something slightly different from Butcher Babies, and I like more songs from this one than I did from 'Goliath.' However, I still really feel like they're not really tapping into their potential, due in no small part to the drumming (yes, I'm going to be on about that again...)
Since an album loses one star from me for every song in which the drummer falls-back on that same generic DIK-a-DIK-a-DIK-a-DIK-a dribble that passes for metal drumming these days, and Chris does that on more songs in this album than there are possible stars to award in this review, this automatically gets a "poor" rating from me. That's not a drum beat, it's a cop-out, and the metal scene needs to put a bullet in its head - and I mean YESTERDAY, so I won't cut any band any slack on that point... ever.
That said, there are several songs here that I would recommend. I was thrilled to hear Butcher Babies finally do an all-singing-no-screaming song. Scream-vox are fine, but they are to a metal song as salt is to... well, just about any dish you could cook - they're there to add a *little* more dimension to the mix, but you'll ruin it if that's all, or even most of what you use. Also, when this band uses screams, they tend to be really muffled and slurred and unintelligible. I know they're nuts about Pantera but even Phil Anselmo used plenty of actual singing. That being the case, "Thrown Away" was a breath of fresh air for me. Heidi and Carla both have gorgeous singing voices, and I want to hear them use that talent more often.
Also, "For the Fight" was really refreshing, since Chris actually plays a real drum beat the whole way through and there's plenty of singing as well. "Never Go Back" was great too, and of course, "Monsters' Ball" is at least nicely catchy and kind of funny, even if not satisfyingly melodic.
So there you have it. If not for the recycled-dribble-drumming, this would've been at least a three star album for me.
Since an album loses one star from me for every song in which the drummer falls-back on that same generic DIK-a-DIK-a-DIK-a-DIK-a dribble that passes for metal drumming these days, and Chris does that on more songs in this album than there are possible stars to award in this review, this automatically gets a "poor" rating from me. That's not a drum beat, it's a cop-out, and the metal scene needs to put a bullet in its head - and I mean YESTERDAY, so I won't cut any band any slack on that point... ever.
That said, there are several songs here that I would recommend. I was thrilled to hear Butcher Babies finally do an all-singing-no-screaming song. Scream-vox are fine, but they are to a metal song as salt is to... well, just about any dish you could cook - they're there to add a *little* more dimension to the mix, but you'll ruin it if that's all, or even most of what you use. Also, when this band uses screams, they tend to be really muffled and slurred and unintelligible. I know they're nuts about Pantera but even Phil Anselmo used plenty of actual singing. That being the case, "Thrown Away" was a breath of fresh air for me. Heidi and Carla both have gorgeous singing voices, and I want to hear them use that talent more often.
Also, "For the Fight" was really refreshing, since Chris actually plays a real drum beat the whole way through and there's plenty of singing as well. "Never Go Back" was great too, and of course, "Monsters' Ball" is at least nicely catchy and kind of funny, even if not satisfyingly melodic.
So there you have it. If not for the recycled-dribble-drumming, this would've been at least a three star album for me.