GOB

Muertos Vivos

Written by: PP on 06/05/2008 03:21:02

Sometimes awesome bands are found in the most unpredictable of sources. Most of us can probably agree that the latest Simple Plan album wasn\'t anything to write home about, but it seems that it doesn\'t mean they\'ve lost their taste in good music. In a recent interview with the band conducted by the undersigned, I happened to ask as a filler question if the band could recommend any cool new bands from the always vibrant Canadian music scene, and two of the guys instantly mentioned GOB. That\'s how I was first introduced to the band, and decided to grab a hold of their newest album \"Muertos Vivos\", and I haven\'t regretted it a moment since.

Remember how Alkaline Trio transformed their cheery melodic punk rock sound into a darker, more atmospheric version on \"Crimson\" but failed to lift the songs to a level where the catchy wasn\'t compromised by the \'epic\' sound? That\'s pretty much how GOB sounds on \"Muertos Vivos\", except they\'re doing it much better, and here\'s why: the songs are just bigger and better.

Opener \"We\'re All Dying\" shows the direction of the album with its echoing vocals that sound like they were meant to be sung in a massive arena-like venues. The instrumentals back it up, with massive chords, blazing solo-like arrangements, and huge drum build ups as well. Best of all, the chorus sticks to your mind like plague. \"War Is A Cemetery\", the second song, keeps the overall echoing-arena sound but has much more energy, leaning more towards the melodic punk genre, if you discount for the high-pitch vocal bursts that are injected to make the lines sound interesting here and there.

Next up, is a brighter anthem - and these songs really are anthems to the true meaning of the word - with relaxed riffs but still a colossal soundscape. The chorus in the said song \"Dead End Love\" is absolutely brilliant, and especially the tiny vocal pitch variations give it an edge you wish you had heard on the Alkaline Trio album.

Displaying yet another side to GOB\'s versatile sound on \"Muertos Vivos\", \"Prescription\" opens up with a thick wave of pop-punkish power chords, only faster, brighter and more powerful than usually experienced in the genre. Its great verses and choruses helps make it another highlight on the album.

Song 5, and we\'ve only experienced great songs thus far. \"Underground\" sounds like a weird cross between Bayside and Sum 41 (on \"Chuck\"), but it works nonetheless. And it has an awesome metallic solo. \"Still Feel Nothing\" takes a stab at creating something akin to Chiodos on \"Bone Palace Ballet\", before the pace is slowed down to \"Banshee Song\", the first power-ballad of the album (why does everyone want to sound like Keane these days? Listen to the verse). I\'m not sure it really fits the album as well as the songs before, but each to their own I guess.

The rest of the album is \'okay\', with the exception of the weird-sounding \"Face The Ashes\" that shouldn\'t have made the record at all. There\'s another ballad and more of the colossal stadium punk rock, before \"Wake Up\", with the most pop punk feel to it out of any songs on the album, closes the album.

At this point I\'m usually standing slightly ambivalent about the album. It starts flat out amazing, with five hard-hitting tracks that have kept me returning to the record for the last three or four weeks, but each time I reach the end of the album I feel like I\'ve been traveling on a downward sloped curve. The songs become less distinguishable and have less memorable choruses, failing to stick out like the first half/three quarters of the album. That said, they aren\'t bad songs by any means, just like \"Crimson\" wasn\'t all that bad overall. They just lack the immediate staying-power of the beginning of the record, which I can easily forgive considering how good those songs are.

8

Download: Dead End Love, Prescription, We\'re All Dying
For the fans of: Alkaline Trio, Bayside, Sum 41, Fenix TX
Listen: Myspace
Buy: iTunes

Release date 30.10.2007
Aquarius Records

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