Rockfreaks.net

Dead Poetic

Vices

Written by: PP on 04/12/2006 01:35:22

Dead Poetic's third album "Vices" was always going to be a difficult album to review. Sometimes you just get albums you don't have much to say about, regardless of your opinion of the album. You see, I happen to like "Vices", I like it a lot, in fact. But what should I say about it? That it sounds like QOTSA gone less stoner rock? That there are no screams on the album even though it most certainly has post-hardcore influences and they still haven't returned to their post-hardcore/screamo roots? I could say all of this but it still wouldn't do for a long review, so I'm stuck with a dilemma here. I could copy other reviews on the web and just write meaningless banter about how 'Dead Poetic breathe fresh air onto the cliche emo/post-hardcore scene', but that wouldn't do justice neither to you nor the band.

So, I'm going to go with the prior. It really does sound like QOTSA at times, only much more emo-ish, more mainstream version of them. The catchy choruses are plentiful, as the opening track "Cannibal vs Cunning" or the third track "Self-destruct & Die" show. They'll have you humming along to frontman Brandon Rike's oddly calming vocals in no time. The oddity about his voice is how it can sound calm and explosive at the same time, as "Lionness" brings into mind: Think POD gone post-hardcore here. "Long Forgotten" has a cinematic feel to it, as if the song was purposefully made to sound colossal. Think My Chemical Romance's "Three Cheers For A Sweet Revenge" here. "The Victim" is irresistably catchy, with Brandon's soft, calm voice soothing you during the chorus.

Now that we've reached this point in review, you might think that the only reason Dead Poetic are as succesful as they are is because of Brandon's rather unique voice. It's partially true, but the band wouldn't be anything without their variation on mainstream power chords, with the production set so they sound oddly distant and in your face simultaneously. The crunch you, they soothe you and they inspire you, it's hard to put it in words but its sublime with Brandon's vocals.

Here comes the critique part: the last five or so of the 15 tracks are bad. I mean really bad. They're your cliche, slow acoustic ballads where the band attempts to be all soft and in touch with their feelings, as the boring-as-hell "Paralytic" exposes. "Animals" contains only ambience, making me question its necessity on the album. I just hate slow tracks on albums that have otherwise fast tracks in the majority.

Without the last part of the album, we'd have a different masterpiece on our hands, with specific stress on the word different. You could spend hours and hours looking for another band sounding like Dead Poetic, and you would just end up having wasted valuable time (time is money, eh?). They are unique, and the album kicks off stronger than most albums today, but falls in its face in the end. Too bad.

Download: Cannibal vs Cunning, Self-Destruct & Die
For the fans of: Queens Of The Stone Age, My Chemical Romance, Blindside
Listen: Myspace

Release date 30.10.2006
Tooth & Nail