PDA

View Full Version : A Wilhelm Scream - Career Suicide


OKComputer1016
11/13/08, 09:22 PM
A Wilhelm Scream - Career Suicide
Record Label: Nitro Records
Release Date: October 9, 2007

Sometimes the fourth time is the charm. Where A Wilhelm Scream used to sound cluttered and overdone like a group of amateurs trying way too hard to bridge punk and metal, Career Suicide flows like the music they’d been meaning to make all along. It’s got that undefinable something, that magical pull that calls for illogically many repeat listenings but never grows tiresome, even the 100th time in.

Now, the fact that the guys have cleaned up their sound doesn’t mean its any less over the top. With the addition of The Fully Down’s old bassist, there’s more notes per minute flying around than ever before, but the difference is this time it all sounds way less forced. The dude just brought the right kind of chemistry to the studio (and the dude can fucking wail – see “Check Request Denied” if you don’t believe me. Actually, see any song.) This music is the result of jams that really stuck rather than detailed planning with a pen and a paper.

A concept album that we can all relate to about work taking advantage of the average man, Career Suicide finally finds AWS writing about something instead of auto-erotic asphyxiation or going fishing. The song titles are still distinctively Wilhelm – “I Wipe My Ass with Showbiz” couldn’t have come from anybody else – but overall it seems like the they’ve matured a little bit.

Partly because of the connecting themes of the album, the songs move together really well. The album is a little bit too short, but I guess that just means AWS kept the gold and cut out the filler. In all honesty I’ll take an excellent short album over a bloated indulgent waste of time any day.

“Get Mad You Son of a Bitch!” not only has the greatest song title ever, and not only does it contain the illogically vulgar lyric “I took a piss in every ocean, so fuck the world”, but it’s also got an almost dreamy set of arpeggios on top of mile a minute punk drums and the combination is awesome. The song titles with swears, vulgar choruses, and distorted arpeggios altogether are reminiscent of Propagandhi’s totally excellent Today’s Empires, Tomorrow’s Ashes – which is, in this reviewer’s opinion, one of the best punk albums ever made.

This is without a doubt A Wilhelm Scream’s best album and without a doubt one of the best melodic punk albums of the decade (not that that is saying very much.) Go out of your way to get this, and then indulge in probably the most angst-filled half hour of your day (hopefully in the face of authority figures.)

Recommended If You Like:
Propagandhi, A Wilhelm Scream’s Ruiner, Much The Same

Check It:
www.myspace.com/awilhelmscream (http://www.myspace.com/awilhelmscream)

Jason Tate
11/13/08, 10:35 PM
Such a good CD.

rckstr29
11/14/08, 06:31 AM
I always tell myself I'll get around to listening to this. Maybe this is a sign that I finally will.

ddb43
11/14/08, 07:18 AM
Soooooooooooooooooo Gooooooooood.

Travis Parno
11/14/08, 08:20 AM
as is true of all music, if it's not about auto-erotic asphyxiation or going fishing, then i want no part of it.

admittedly, i have a rather limited playlist from which to draw my daily tunes.


nice review, eric!

lartsae
11/14/08, 08:24 AM
one of the better cd's of last year.

Eadonj
11/14/08, 10:49 AM
Great CD by one of my all time favourite bands.
They are absolutley blistering when they play live, anyone who enjoys having their face peeled off I highly recommend you get your ass along to one of their gigs!
Cant wait to see where they go with album number 5.

Big_Guy
11/14/08, 11:55 AM
this was the best album released last year

everybirdsnest2
11/14/08, 05:48 PM
Grows and grows and grows on you. AWS are the best band of their genre today.

newfoundmichael
11/16/08, 11:10 AM
Definitely one of the better albums of last year. Worthy of everyone's top 10 lists.

Sic Transit Zeb
11/16/08, 01:03 PM
Eric you rule. You've came on staff in a storm. I like your reviews.

laflava
11/17/08, 04:51 PM
It took me a few spins to find my "king is dead" line, but this album grew on me intensely. Great review.

ShreddieKrueger
11/18/08, 08:56 AM
The Full Blast's bassist *****

Chris Fallon
11/19/08, 05:19 PM
Love this album so much.

lew_1987
11/20/08, 12:52 PM
Disagree with your opinions about their old stuff, but this was a decent review.

ThisIsNotDan
11/21/08, 03:27 PM
this album rips. this or The Junior Varsity's swan song was my 2007 AOTY

AWilhelmPetter
11/23/08, 03:17 AM
The Full Blast's bassist *****

The Fullblast bassist*****

AWilhelmPetter
11/23/08, 04:29 AM
The vocals and lyrics are what makes this band my favourite. The music is outstanding and just as good, but it is the not-over-the-top-raspy yet tough and powerful vocals and amazing (meaningful and metaphorical) lyrics that seperates them from any other band in the same sort of genre.

The Marc
11/23/08, 11:29 AM
One of the best punk records of the last 10 years. I can't even wait to see what they record next with their relatively new guitarist.

zombie!pirate!
11/24/08, 12:00 AM
great album art

Wez1212Yes
11/24/08, 01:48 PM
It's an OK album, nothing that good though.

salter2411
07/29/11, 11:49 AM
This album just about ripped my face off with its awesomeness.