I finally got my copy of IR in the mail. My mail man has been so slack lately with my cd's it's not even funny. I've had pretty high expectations about this cd, as Static Impulse was by far my AOTY and recently made my all time top 60 list. Now, it would easily make the top 50, or even higher. SI was a special album with a solid lineup finding their feet and making some really special music. IMO, it really was something magical, that is one of those things that a band will never probably create again.
A follow up of an album that simply blows one away and makes an all time list, is just too hard and really, the follow up shouldn't be put up against it, well, not right away anyway. So, going into IR without expectations is impossible, but I did my best. I have listened to this a couple of times already and I have some thoughts.
For starters, this is a really different beast to SI. The similar stylings and mood at times is there, but really IMO, this is completely different, so congrats to the band for evolving on what they had on SI and going into a different direction and creating something of the same caliber without repeating themselves. The one big thing that makes this so different is the song structures and the obvious more 'poppy' direction. The heaviness is there, but it's tweaked around amazing vocals and really rich melodies that easily get stuck in the head. The mix of the insanely heavy guitars and the chorus melodies works really well and in a perfect world, all these songs have potential to be smash hits.
There's also the consistency. There is nothing to skip over here, and the whole thing is so consistent, it's hard to rate songs more than others as everything here is so strong. Now, dealing with the direction of the album is something I'm still getting use to. I just loved the all out metal of SI and secretly, I wanted the band to go in an even heavier direction, but now they have taken a detour and a different route.
One thing I loved about SI is the solo work, simply outstanding guitar and keyboard solos all the way through. That is the one thing I miss on IR. Half the songs still have the instrumental breaks but they are a little shorter. Then going later in the album, they are absent. Now, don't get me wrong, the direction the band is taking, the songs that don't have solos, really don't need them, I just feel some of these songs are a bit too simplistic in their structure, and at times it doesn't deviate from the formula. I think SI had a bit more edge due to this.
Saying this, I think it's something I need to get over, that's probably my issue more than anything else, and once I fully accept that IR is completely different to SI, I think this album will open up and have the longevity and the lasting enjoyment of SI.
It's hard to pick fav songs cause as I said, everything here is enjoyable, but if I had to choose; Why, Holding On, I Got You, Undertow, Say You're Still Mine, Lost in the Fire.....fuck, yeah, this is a strong album. Well done to the band for another quality piece of music, can't wait to see what the future brings for this lineup, the potential here is incredible.
Also, I'd like to ask Matt, why 'Why' is a bonus track and not a part of the actual album? It could be the best song here. (Apologies if this has been discussed.)
Topic: James LaBrie Solo (Read 411253 times)
