OMGAKITTY Posted November 2, 2009 Report Share Posted November 2, 2009 Hay. I'm terra-bored right now, decided to review some albums. Two of my favorite bands (somewhat) recently released albums. Skillet's "Awake" and TFK's "Welcome to the Masquerade" obligatory inb4itsucksbecauseitsnotmetal Skillet: AwakeTracklist1. "Hero" 3:082. "Monster" 2:583. "Don't Wake Me" 3:564. "Awake and Alive" 3:315. "One Day Too Late" 3:406. "It's Not Me, It's You" 3:257. "Should've When You Could've" 3:328. "Believe" 3:509. "Forgiven" 3:3910. "Sometimes" 3:2911. "Never Surrender" 3:3112. "Lucy" 3:38 One thing Skillet is well known for is their drastically changing styles between albums. From the self titled "Skillet" to "Alien Youth" to "Collide", and then "Comatose", Skillet has always maintained very distinct styles. I'm a pretty big Skillet fan, so when I heard they were working on "Awake", I was pretty pumped. The single from this album, "Hero" was catchy...and pretty badass all around. Ok, good start, I'm excited. The day finally comes, and Skillet's new album hits shelves. I get it, and am extremely disappointed. As the album title might have suggested, "Awake" is pretty much a direct sequel to "Comatose". Being such, the musical style does not change too much. The first two tracks (Hero, and Monster) are both pretty good songs, although I'm not a huge fan of the distorted ended to "Monster". The rest of the album however, kind of spirals downward. I've always thought Skillet did a nice job at slow songs ("Angels Fall Down" remains a consistent favorite of mine), however, I couldn't help but think of Nickleback during all the slower songs on this album. "Alive and Awake" was a pretty catchy song, but so like the "Comatose" album that it could have slipped in there at the end, and no one would have been the wiser. "It's Not Me It's You" was catchy musically, but featured rather generic sounding teen-angst lyrics ("It’s not me it’s you/Always has been you/All the lies and stupid things you say and do/It’s you") that I thought Skillet was above. "Lucy", the ending track is probably the best slow song on the album, although it ends the album on a total down note. I think Kevin Chumberlin, of jesusfreakhideout.com states it perfectly: As a whole, Awake is camping on the doorstep of its predecessor. As a sequel, it doesn't live up to Comatose and due to it's extreme proximity style-wise, it is lackluster at best and on the verge of uninteresting. The layout is fragmented into a rock-rock-ballad format throughout and a few songs wear immaturity like a fedora. However, the songs themselves have a higher listenability separate from the whole of the record. On a shuffled playlist they might suffice a longtime fan, but for newbie fans, this should wet the pallet to keep you interested for another record. Ultimately, Awake feels like the sophomore slump that Skillet never had to suffer through and a watered down version of Comatose. Final opinion: Torrent the album, borrow/rip the album, download the singles. Do whatever, but this isn't worth a buy.[br] Thousand Foot Krutch: Welcome to the MasqueradeTracklist 1. The Invitation (Intro) 2. Welcome To The Masquerade 3. Fire It Up 4. Bring Me To Life 5. E for Extinction 6. Watching Over Me 7. The Part That Hurts the Most (is me) 8. Scream 9. Look Away 10. Forward Motion 11. Outta Control 12. Smack Down 13. Already Home Thankfully, TFK's "Welcome to the Masquerade" turned out to be much more worth a listen than Skillet's "Awake" was. I kind of feel that TFK was losing some of its edgy-sound with its more recent releases ("The Art of Breaking" and "The Flame in All of Us"), heading toward a more mainstream rock sound. However, "Welcome to the Masquerade" brings back everything I loved about TFK, and then adds in some more awesome. "Welcome to the Masquerade" is filled with catchy rock tunes ("Fire It Up" being a personal favorite, which also played during the GI Joe movie, fun fact). I've always been kind of on the fence with TFK's slower songs, some of them end up really well, some of them....not so much. I thought in particular, "Flame in All of Us" had poorly done slow songs. "Masquerade" however, brings back that more FM Static feel to their music ("Look Away"), which in my opinion, is a good thing. Final opinion: Well worth the purchase. Probably better reviews, if you're interested:AwakeWelcome to the Masquerade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Metal Posted November 2, 2009 Report Share Posted November 2, 2009 It sucks be- Damn. Oh well. Much luck in the future with the reviews. The gods know you will need it, since half the people on the site don't know what music is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMGAKITTY Posted November 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2009 lol. Sorry I can't listen to deathcore...or Black Metal...or whatever that screaming sheet is called. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Metal Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 It's okay babe. We can't all be epic metal elitists. ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMGAKITTY Posted November 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 XDI'm working my way up. I just haven't gotten there yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Metal Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 You don't need to do all this "work". Just say your music is better and call them an emo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMGAKITTY Posted November 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 My music is better, emo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dismal Euphony Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 My music is better' date=' emo.[/quote'] Well done, but your music sucks because it's not metal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Metal Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 My music is better' date=' emo.[/quote'] Well done, but your music sucks because it's not metal. Our plan is working. He will be within our grasp soon, mah lordi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMGAKITTY Posted November 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 My music is better' date=' emo.[/quote'] Well done, but your music sucks because it's not metal. Whoa. I inb4'd this, and then forgot I had inb4'd it. Scrolling back up to go back to the section, I spotted it and admired my foresight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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