Klatzke
12/06/08, 09:28 AM
Destroy the Runner - Saints
Record Label: Solid State Records
Release Date: September 12, 2006
In reply to my review for Destroy the Runner's sophomore release, I, Lucifer, user "Johnny Sniper" stated something that instilled in me a need to rectify my actions. In his own words: "Thank God. I thought I was the only one on this board who remembers just how good Saints was/is." Well sir, it may have taken me quite a while, but I'm about to respond to your statement with a resounding "hell no you aren't."
Saints has a lot of the qualities you'd expect from the 2006 Solid State line-up. For all practical descriptions, they were a metal band. For those of you that require that extra little modifier, they were a melodic metal band. Saints' biggest attractions are the killer riffs that dominate the album, as well as ex-vocalist Kyle Setter's powerful vocal display. Really, one of the best parts of the album is his raspy screaming that plays off perfectly against the above-average clean vocals that they use sparingly in the choruses and other select parts. I called them metal before, and I mean it. You don't hear any of the trademarked metalcore trends like breakdowns or growled vocals. As I said, this album has a lot of the dominate of characteristics of the metal genre. However, what makes it special (at least in my eyes) is how well they pulled off the formula that was (at that point) still at least semi-fresh.
Sure, they could have been a bit more creative, but you can say that about just about any album in this scene whether it was created in 2006 or here in 2008. The only real fault in this album is how similar a lot of the songs sound. While they do well to differentiate by the end of the album (that is, you can see a change from the first track to the last), from track to track, the songs sound fairly similar. In fact, in many places they use the same underlying riff repeatedly. Their guitarists seem to follow a kind of pattern too. While one plays the recycled rolling chug riff, the other plays over him with another riff that's fairly technical in some places. This isn't the case everywhere of course, but you can hear a good example of it in the tracks "The Aleph" and "Thoughts in Reverse." The similarity in these tracks doesn't always seem like a bad thing though. Due to this, the album flows exceptionally well and none of the tracks seem like they shouldn't fit. Each of the tracks have themselves a solid place in the 11-song line-up. Somehow, none of the tracks end up lost in the sound, and just about all of them can be listened to in either the course of the album or on their own.
That's not to say the album doesn't have it's standouts. After two years of listening, the tracks that I still see as the stars of the album include the title track "Saints," "The Aleph," "From the Red," and "There Can Be No Hesitation." "Saints" opens with a powerful escalating riff and sports one of the most powerful choruses from the album where the clean vocalist proclaims "I've seen a sea of change/ This fleeting love that leaves me alone/ This last time/ Lift me now from this pain/ You know the way to bring me home/ as we die." These lyrics, as with many others from the album, deal with the faith of the members. "The Aleph" starts out with a pummeling riff that's helped along by the drummer. It follows the same pattern as many of the other songs, it's just the riff and vocals that make this one a standout. The next track "From the Red" is quite possibly my favorite. This one seems to deal not with faith (though I'm sure it can be interpreted that way), but with two torn lovers. "There Can Be No Hesitation" opens with a slightly technical riff that leads into the normal screaming from Setter. His great delivery in the first verse and bridge carry you over to a faith-filled chorus that's also punctuated by Setter's howls.
While I praised I, Lucifer as a great progression from Saints, I hadn't meant to imply that this album was a bad release. While I do think that their sophomore album trumps this one in terms of quality and style, Saints is still a powerful release. They may not have strayed too far from the sound that bands were emulating, but they did avoid some of the trends that make many of these releases seem superficial. You can still see the effect of this album in the artists new works, but with the addition of a new vocalist to replace Setter and how stagnant this genre has become since this release, it's easy enough to see why Destroy the Runner would have decided to pursue a bit of a different avenue on their sophomore album.
Mr. Sniper, I hope you're happy.
Cry of the Afflicted; From Autumn to Ashes' Too Bad You're Beautiful; a more subdued version of Becoming the Archetype
myspace.com/destroytherunner (http://www.myspace.com/destroytherunner)
Record Label: Solid State Records
Release Date: September 12, 2006
In reply to my review for Destroy the Runner's sophomore release, I, Lucifer, user "Johnny Sniper" stated something that instilled in me a need to rectify my actions. In his own words: "Thank God. I thought I was the only one on this board who remembers just how good Saints was/is." Well sir, it may have taken me quite a while, but I'm about to respond to your statement with a resounding "hell no you aren't."
Saints has a lot of the qualities you'd expect from the 2006 Solid State line-up. For all practical descriptions, they were a metal band. For those of you that require that extra little modifier, they were a melodic metal band. Saints' biggest attractions are the killer riffs that dominate the album, as well as ex-vocalist Kyle Setter's powerful vocal display. Really, one of the best parts of the album is his raspy screaming that plays off perfectly against the above-average clean vocals that they use sparingly in the choruses and other select parts. I called them metal before, and I mean it. You don't hear any of the trademarked metalcore trends like breakdowns or growled vocals. As I said, this album has a lot of the dominate of characteristics of the metal genre. However, what makes it special (at least in my eyes) is how well they pulled off the formula that was (at that point) still at least semi-fresh.
Sure, they could have been a bit more creative, but you can say that about just about any album in this scene whether it was created in 2006 or here in 2008. The only real fault in this album is how similar a lot of the songs sound. While they do well to differentiate by the end of the album (that is, you can see a change from the first track to the last), from track to track, the songs sound fairly similar. In fact, in many places they use the same underlying riff repeatedly. Their guitarists seem to follow a kind of pattern too. While one plays the recycled rolling chug riff, the other plays over him with another riff that's fairly technical in some places. This isn't the case everywhere of course, but you can hear a good example of it in the tracks "The Aleph" and "Thoughts in Reverse." The similarity in these tracks doesn't always seem like a bad thing though. Due to this, the album flows exceptionally well and none of the tracks seem like they shouldn't fit. Each of the tracks have themselves a solid place in the 11-song line-up. Somehow, none of the tracks end up lost in the sound, and just about all of them can be listened to in either the course of the album or on their own.
That's not to say the album doesn't have it's standouts. After two years of listening, the tracks that I still see as the stars of the album include the title track "Saints," "The Aleph," "From the Red," and "There Can Be No Hesitation." "Saints" opens with a powerful escalating riff and sports one of the most powerful choruses from the album where the clean vocalist proclaims "I've seen a sea of change/ This fleeting love that leaves me alone/ This last time/ Lift me now from this pain/ You know the way to bring me home/ as we die." These lyrics, as with many others from the album, deal with the faith of the members. "The Aleph" starts out with a pummeling riff that's helped along by the drummer. It follows the same pattern as many of the other songs, it's just the riff and vocals that make this one a standout. The next track "From the Red" is quite possibly my favorite. This one seems to deal not with faith (though I'm sure it can be interpreted that way), but with two torn lovers. "There Can Be No Hesitation" opens with a slightly technical riff that leads into the normal screaming from Setter. His great delivery in the first verse and bridge carry you over to a faith-filled chorus that's also punctuated by Setter's howls.
While I praised I, Lucifer as a great progression from Saints, I hadn't meant to imply that this album was a bad release. While I do think that their sophomore album trumps this one in terms of quality and style, Saints is still a powerful release. They may not have strayed too far from the sound that bands were emulating, but they did avoid some of the trends that make many of these releases seem superficial. You can still see the effect of this album in the artists new works, but with the addition of a new vocalist to replace Setter and how stagnant this genre has become since this release, it's easy enough to see why Destroy the Runner would have decided to pursue a bit of a different avenue on their sophomore album.
Mr. Sniper, I hope you're happy.
Cry of the Afflicted; From Autumn to Ashes' Too Bad You're Beautiful; a more subdued version of Becoming the Archetype
myspace.com/destroytherunner (http://www.myspace.com/destroytherunner)