Avalanche!

areusad831 · Post by **areusad831** » 3/6/2003, 11:54 pm

so far it is amazing but not better then underdogs

superrgirll · Post by **superrgirll** » 3/6/2003, 11:59 pm

at hmv, when you buy avalanche, you can buy any of mgb's old cds for $9.99 each. i wanted underdogs. it was not there. :cry:

areusad831 · Post by **areusad831** » 3/7/2003, 12:02 am

i have a copied version of all MGB cds except US Beautiful Midnight b/c the imports are a pain to get. Underdogs is amazing ---- Prime Time Deliverance :drool:

Odin · Post by **Odin** » 3/7/2003, 2:05 am

A more extensive review:

The album is a departure from his MGB days, without a doubt and that's been said a million times by his other die-hard fans. The opening track already paves the epic 70 minutes album and introduces his fans that this isn't his usual straight our rock album. Fans of Giant, Man of Action and Deep Six may not like how this album begins, but this is the best opener I've heard from Matt Good. The use of bells, the background Gregorian chanting, the effect, the abandone of his screaming voice he used in Everything is Automatic proves that Matt Good has matured, he has neglected all his tragic past events and he's a, may I say, a better happier man. Lullaby for the New World Order, a nice touch on the strings, usually in those gaps you would expect a distorted guitar riff from the average rock song. Weapon and In a World Called Catastrophe, the featured singles of the album. Weapon is his experiment on song structures instead of the usual verse-chorus-verse, In a World Called Catastrophe is, in my opinion, the weakest track of the album, maybe it's because it's a single, but the strings and his vocals become a little superfluous. Avalanche, best track of the album. Starts out like a Tom Waits song then proceeds into a heavy rocker, literally resembling an avalanche erupting, another song that doesn't follow the standard structure. 21st Century Living is a song acclaimed by a lot of Matt Good fans that I know, a rant on the current condition of the world, if this was made into a single and it hits the states, God knows what will happen. While We Were Hunting Rabbits, another favourite track, great use of the tympanis, and the samples of the cheering and applause. Bright End of Nowhere, this song has potential, but somehow the lyrics are a bit lacking, although this may be the most beautiful thing Matt has ever written since Apparitions. House of Smoke and Mirrors, a lot similar to Fine Art of Falling Apart, but this is much more refined, I listened to this on repeat non-stop for ages.

Now, this album isn't perfect, there are complains I would have to make.

Matt Good isn't a great composer, the outro of While We Were Hunting Rabbits may be effective, but to me it sounds like a novice attempting to write music for an orchestra. There are bad lyrics here and there, such as "God gave you a voice/then use it" and "used to lay on the roof and drink beer", I'm pretty sure there are better lyrics that can replace that.

But what's changed? A lot, I used to think that a vocalist like Matt Good who's aware that he has an amazing voice would avoid using effects on the vocal part, but this album proves me wrong. The effects used are major evidence of the departure, from guitar to drums to vocals there are touches of Matt, the drum effect on Near Fantastica is brilliant. Drums are more solid on this album, unlike the watered down drumming style Ian Brown had. Bass is present, not overwhelming. Overall, the drum, bass and guitar are merely used to underscore the beauty of each song, and forces the listener to hear the effects, the vocals, the lyrics instead of the guitar. Guitar is definately the instrument to be focused on, but it's the overall wide soundscape of the music. Similar to the Happiness and Spiritual Machines days of OLP, but cleaner, and delivered more vividly.

I don't know whether this album will succeed or not. Like someone on the AOPC forum already stated, Matt Good is too mainstream for the indie kiddies and too different from the modern rockers. Hello Time Bomb gave him enough attention in the modern rock scene as a post-grunge rock artist, but this album is nothing like that and Matt is nothing simliar to a post-grunge musician. Next week I'll try to get one of my friends who's big on indie rock to give this album a chance. But you guys know how they are, if the band's not obscure enough, they'll hold prejudice against them.

End of review

I know I know, it needs a lot of editing. Hey! I just wrote it on the spot, it summed up all my views on this album pretty much, except the paragraphs are a bit disjointed and my use of words isn't all that eloquent. Well, please excuse me for that.

starvingeyes · Post by **starvingeyes** » 3/7/2003, 8:03 am

i think he was too mainstream for the indie kiddies. this album incorporates angles from all spreads of music including indie rock.

i think it's the most ambitious album ever released on a major label and i think at least musically, the kids will appreciate it.

liam · Post by **liam** » 3/7/2003, 2:56 pm

i love this album way too much

Penguin Josh · Post by **Penguin Josh** » 3/7/2003, 3:57 pm

me too, where can you get lyrics

deniedjunkie · Post by **deniedjunkie** » 3/7/2003, 4:04 pm

Josh wrote:me too, where can you get lyrics

Penguin Josh · Post by **Penguin Josh** » 3/7/2003, 4:09 pm

what where

lora · Post by **lora** » 3/7/2003, 4:16 pm

www.cgnonline.com/mgb/main

i think that's the link. :freak:

Penguin Josh · Post by **Penguin Josh** » 3/7/2003, 4:21 pm

nope dont work

lora · Post by **lora** » 3/7/2003, 4:29 pm

www.cgnonline.com/mgb/main.html

there. that should work.

Penguin Josh · Post by **Penguin Josh** » 3/7/2003, 4:30 pm

yea it worked

Avalanche · Post by **Avalanche** » 3/7/2003, 9:58 pm

Glad to see you guys are enjoying this great album. :mrgreen:

If you have any MG questions, feel free to ask me.

sandsleeper · Post by **sandsleeper** » 3/7/2003, 10:46 pm

i can't get to the enhanced section of the album because it only uses netscape and netscape don't work for me

Joe Cooler · Post by **Joe Cooler** » 3/7/2003, 10:53 pm

Enhanced Section. You mean the "secret site"? I use explorer and it works fine

sandsleeper · Post by **sandsleeper** » 3/7/2003, 10:56 pm

how though, because i tried using explorer and when i went to houseofsmokeandmirrors.com it said that my cd wasnt in the drive. the only way i could get it to recognize it was if i clicked on the link the cd brought up. and that broght me to netscape, and netscape has an error every time i try and log in. :freak:

Joe Cooler · Post by **Joe Cooler** » 3/7/2003, 11:00 pm

What version of Explorer do you have?

liam · Post by **liam** » 3/8/2003, 8:04 am

i hate my damn computer... i have a strange feeling that when i get the real copy i won't be able to go to the "secret" site

sandsleeper · Post by **sandsleeper** » 3/8/2003, 9:45 am

Yams wrote:What version of Explorer do you have?

i have no idea but it has to be pretty recent since we only got this computer last year and this is the ie that came on it.