As I Lay Dying - Shadows Are Security
- Released: 2005
- Label: Metal Blade
- Rating:
I find it hard to write at length about an album that I’m not passionate about or emotionally tied to, so bear with me. I’m not sure what band was the catalyst for the current festering disease of metal called “metalcore”, but ever since it has come about I have harbored a terrible hatred for any band associated with the genre. Everyone used to piss and moan about how bad nu-metal was, but to be honest with you, that music was gold compared to this new monster that has been unleashed. At least when nu-metal was big, people were just walking around angry and wearing Slipknot T-shirts. Now people sport these stupid haircuts, stupid clothes, and think they are “metal” because they like a band with semi-heavy guitars. (Well, I guess that was kind of the case with nu-metal too, but back to my point.) The main thing that points these bands out from a mile away is their name. “Eighteen Visions”, “Every Time I Die”, “Killswitch Engage”...come on, what the hell happened to cool, one-word band names that aren’t some obscure reference to a harrowing childhood experience with a bully stealing some milk money? That said, I expected nothing less than fecal matter from a band with the name “As I Lay Dying”, which is a terrible name, by the way.
Surprisingly, the band bucks the trend of metalcore, though not completely. While the pestilence of whiny emo vocals still lingers here and there, for the most part the album is far heavier than the greater portion of its ilk. When the vocals are not annoyingly high-pitched, they are near-death metal quality. The best part about the band is the groovy, riff-tastic ways that they generally tend to play. Regardless of genre or style, if a band gets my attention with a catchy riff, I’m interested in hearing more. As I Lay Dying are pretty good at this, and that talent is a major factor in why I’m not ripping the album to shreds in this review.
Although the album impresses me with how much better it is than everything else I’ve heard from the genre, it still lacks variety and diversity. I’ve listened the album about five times now and can’t remember any particular track that was just outstanding. The album is heavy, the guys have talent, but it’s not anything I’d listen to after this review.
Shadows are Security is a step in the right direction for the genre. More bands should embrace this level of heaviness and shortness of crappy emo vocals. However, these people need to learn that just because you have talent does not mean you are good. I really hope that this whole thing dies out soon, and we can move on with our metal lives. Until something worse comes out, of course.
Fuck metalcore.
Farlus | 07/24/2006