Like ALWAYS, Whitechapel impresses me again and again. I have been a WC fan from the very beginning. The lyrical content of this album is beautiful. Phil is such a wonderful writer and his phonetic flow always pleases my intellectual side. The music itself is superb. WC's members are so skilled on their instruments and really know how to keep a song's flow going with build-ups and break downs. I will say, this CD has a different sound from their past albums. I hear a more southern rock influence to this album. And that's a good thing. Being from TN, I've been waiting for them to let that southern soul show. Maybe the best song on the album is Diggs Road. Such a powerful song that I almost can't not cry when I listen to it. I feel his pain in both the lyrics AND the playing. Beautiful CD. Again, WC proves that they are the top of their class.
I have been a Chelsea Grin fan from the beginning EP. I am very disappointed with their latest release, Ashes To Ashes. I have listened to the CD more than a handful of times thinking that the more I hear it, it might grow on me. I was wrong. The lyrical quality is awful. The grammatical structure does not flow nicely. The attitude they have developed is not to my liking. As far as the music itself goes, I have loved Jason Richardson for a very long time. His contributions and work with Born of Osiris were amazing. He is a fantastic guitar player and every band he plays with always benefits from his style and skills. But I feel like CG are in a phase of rediscovering their band's style and this CD shows that they are back in that awkward high school sophomore stage. I was very disappointed with the musical quality of this CD. Sure, there are a few good breakdowns and a lot of skilled guitar and drum work, but it's no where near as impressive as their past albums. Every person will have their own opinion and this is just mine.