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Sonata Arctica - Stones Grow Her Name



6.5 | 381 votes |
Release date: 16 May 2012
Style: Power metal

Owners:

275 have it
47 want it
1 trades it


01. Only The Broken Hearts (Make You Beautiful)
02. Shitload Of Money
03. Losing My Insanity
04. Somewhere Close To You
05. I Have A Right
06. Alone In Heaven
07. The Day
08. Cinderblox
09. Don't Be Mean
10. Wildfire, Part: II - One With The Mountain
11. Wildfire, Part: III - Wildfire Town, Population: 0
12. Tonight I Dance Alone [digipak bonus]
13. One-Two-Free-Fall [Japanese bonus]

Additional info
Formats:
- Limited edition digipak
- Standard jewel case
- Vinyl
- Download

Staff review by
Baz Anderson
Rating:
7.0
So these days the eyes on Sonata Arctica are those curiously wondering just what the Finnish fivesome will give us this time. A super solid first four power metal albums, then a bolt out the blue with the unique Unia and a middle-ground The Days Of Grays following up. Three years on then and Stones Grow Her Name is an apt reward for the wait, or is it?

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published 17.05.2012 | Comments (28)

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Comments: 77   Visited by: 1080 users
15.05.2012 - 23:45
Rating: 5
Milena
gloom cookie
Written by Guest on 15.05.2012 at 22:57

trying and failing to be "progressive"

I have to ask you whether you've actually heard it or you're just trolling? Drop one interview where they've mentioned they're trying to sound progressive, that's my first request, and the other request is never to apply the progressive tag to Sonata Arctica. Because that shows you have no idea what you're talking about.

I can tolerate all other arguments (although the fact you speak like the songs are dreadfully complicated and experimental, when they're clearly not tells me that maybe you put the wrong album in your player?), but, seriously, leave the progressive tag alone, dude. Yes, even in quotation marks. That's, like, the only tag whose proper use I'll defend. Because you schmucks have mixed up ever other tag. Heaven forbid I get into extreme metal, who knows what people plague that too.

Sorry for the harsh reply, but dude, sort your shit out.

Next time I have a pinch of free time, I'll try not to get into the forums...
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7.0 means the album is good
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16.05.2012 - 02:14
RavenKing

Written by Milena on 15.05.2012 at 23:45

Heaven forbid I get into extreme metal, who knows what people plague that too.


Don't generalize too much. While it is true that every genre has its idiotic fans, every genre also has its great fans.
And I don't want to start a war but I've seen much more annoying people among prog, Powermetal and traditional Heavy Metal fans than in extreme metal genres, honestly.

And I hope your last sentence is not serious.
----
They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink
They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end
But everybody's only looking out for themselves
And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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16.05.2012 - 02:15
Rating: 1
Zenzero
Zenzero
If wildfire is the same song of reckoning night probably it's the only good song of the album..... I loved them, but this'll be probably their 3rd shitty album!
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16.05.2012 - 02:23
Rating: 5
EW

I actually like this a lot more than I expected. Not bad at all.
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16.05.2012 - 03:28
Rating: 6
farfaramir

The wildfire's sequels save the album. They are great. The rest is meh... A bit (maybe a lot) mediocre, even when I find myself enjoying some songs.

(This is not because they sound rockish, I don't have problems with that. It's just it looks like Tony took a lot of fillers song and put them in one album).
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16.05.2012 - 11:06
Rating: 5
Snbn

Sonata Arctica WHY WHY WHY you guys make this kind of music nowdays? Where the fuck is the good old powermetal This shitty country stuff give me creeps....
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16.05.2012 - 12:29
Rating: 6
Constantine

Sonata's worst album for me imo. It is on halfway from previous release The Days of Grays, which I actually liked, to something really really weird. And I don't like it at all. I caught myself skipping some songs in the middle, just because they were sooo boring, repetitive or just odd.

Overall this is at best average album with some, let say non traditional musical elements in it. One thing I know for sure I won't listen to this album for next time, which is pitty.
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16.05.2012 - 15:18
Rating: 9
blackend

To me, it's a gem out of today's Metal - really amazing!
I liked the minor touches of Country banjo riffs and Viloin parts, I liked the Pink Floyd-like keyboards parts.
Mostly I liked the clear growth of the band - Tony's mature and controled vocals (yes, Harsh vocals are great!),
I loved the difference of Elias's guitar playing and suitabiliity to perfection! (to all Jani fanboys out there - Jani wouldn't suit this album at all with his own style).
Henrik keys parts are fantastic! no longer these boring long key chords.
Overall - AMAZING! 9/10. (Better in 4 point than previous Days of Grays, Same as my Unia and Reckoning Night rating)
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16.05.2012 - 15:34
mandrake88
Account deleted
Weird.... is "Losing my Insanity" a cover song? ... check this http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ari+koivunen+losing+my+insanity&oq=ari+koivunen+lo&aq=0&aqi=g2&aql=&gs_l=youtube-psuggest.3.0.0l2.412.4493.0.5994.11.8.2.0.0.0.648.2089.1j3j2j0j1j1.8.0...0.0.NVz30ZWdYXs
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16.05.2012 - 15:38
Rating: 6
Risto
Wandering Midget
Written by Guest on 16.05.2012 at 15:34

Weird.... is "Losing my Insanity" a cover song?

The song is written by Tony Kakko and Koivunen released it for the first time on his album. They just decided to do an own version of it.
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16.05.2012 - 17:37
Rating: 8
Abel

Written by blackend on 02.01.2012 at 22:51

I've been a HUGE fan of these band for over 5 years, though, I stopped listening to them because they never release anything new, and they have started to repeat themselves quite frequently. When I first read that Sonata Arctica are planning a new full-length album by May-June 2012, I was extremely thrilled!!!
Sonata Arctica - Forever and ever will be my favorite band and the greatest band in the world!


I'VE ALWAYS LOVE THEM ALSO, but since UNIA I love them even more, they really have matured since then
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16.05.2012 - 18:04
Rating: 7
The Melting Snow

Never been a huge fan of Sonata Arctica, so the album doesnt come as a disappointment. average stuff. though some songs are catchy.
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16.05.2012 - 20:41
Valaskjalf
Account deleted
Written by Milena on 15.05.2012 at 23:45

Written by Guest on 15.05.2012 at 22:57

trying and failing to be "progressive"

I have to ask you whether you've actually heard it or you're just trolling? Drop one interview where they've mentioned they're trying to sound progressive, that's my first request, and the other request is never to apply the progressive tag to Sonata Arctica. Because that shows you have no idea what you're talking about.

I can tolerate all other arguments (although the fact you speak like the songs are dreadfully complicated and experimental, when they're clearly not tells me that maybe you put the wrong album in your player?), but, seriously, leave the progressive tag alone, dude. Yes, even in quotation marks. That's, like, the only tag whose proper use I'll defend. Because you schmucks have mixed up ever other tag. Heaven forbid I get into extreme metal, who knows what people plague that too.

Sorry for the harsh reply, but dude, sort your shit out.

Next time I have a pinch of free time, I'll try not to get into the forums...


Ok I knew someone was gonna get all up in my shit over my post, and apparently I have offended someone's favourite band. First of all what would YOU call the new direction they are taking? Of course it is an atempt at progression...I dont care if they never said they were becoming a progressive band, neither did I label them as a PROGRESSIVE band - I only go by what I hear...seriously wtf.

And no Im not just trolling, Ive listened to the band since Ecliptica and have every album up to Unia, so dont tell me I dont know what Im talking about. Fine have it your way, scrap the word "progressive" and insert "new direction" - You can dress a piece of shit up anyway you want, it still remains a turd.

And where the hell did you get it that I find this music "complicated"?? Are you out of your effing mind? I listen almost solely to Technical Death/Proressive metal these days and thats the point Im trying to make - Sonata Arctica are trying to play/write music for which they aren't competent of pulling off properly. It's incoherent and haphazard...be it progressive or not I dont give a shit. What I do know is that what theyre trying to do isnt working for them and they are bad at this. Up until Unia they were fantastic, every single release was very good because they did what they were good at - dont call me a fucking troll again.

But back to my first question....what would YOU call their new direction? It sure as shit isnt what it used to be and if its not an attempt at progression then what the fuck is their excuse for this album? I really really want to know your answer to this.
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16.05.2012 - 23:21
Rating: 5
Milena
gloom cookie
Written by Guest on 16.05.2012 at 20:41

Ok I knew someone was gonna get all up in my shit over my post, and apparently I have offended someone's favourite band. First of all what would YOU call the new direction they are taking? Of course it is an atempt at progression...I dont care if they never said they were becoming a progressive band, neither did I label them as a PROGRESSIVE band - I only go by what I hear...seriously wtf.

And no Im not just trolling, Ive listened to the band since Ecliptica and have every album up to Unia, so dont tell me I dont know what Im talking about. Fine have it your way, scrap the word "progressive" and insert "new direction" - You can dress a piece of shit up anyway you want, it still remains a turd.

And where the hell did you get it that I find this music "complicated"?? Are you out of your effing mind? I listen almost solely to Technical Death/Proressive metal these days and thats the point Im trying to make - Sonata Arctica are trying to play/write music for which they aren't competent of pulling off properly. It's incoherent and haphazard...be it progressive or not I dont give a shit. What I do know is that what theyre trying to do isnt working for them and they are bad at this. Up until Unia they were fantastic, every single release was very good because they did what they were good at - dont call me a fucking troll again.

But back to my first question....what would YOU call their new direction? It sure as shit isnt what it used to be and if its not an attempt at progression then what the fuck is their excuse for this album? I really really want to know your answer to this.

Pffft, like I cared about people insulting my favorite bands. But I do care about people posting shit arguments.

You said it was an attempt at progression, when clearly it is not. It's an attempt of trying something slightly new in a very simple way. It's verse-chorus thing, almost all the way. I was wondering whether you were actually listening to Unia when you posted that thing you posted.

Where the hell did I get it? In your comment. It came out that way, so for that point, yeah, I'm sorry.

"Fine have it your way, scrap the word "progressive" and insert "new direction" - You can dress a piece of shit up anyway you want, it still remains a turd. "

Thank you, that sounds a lot better. You have to understand that whenever you say "progressive metal", you mean - well, look up the list of leading bands for progressive metal. People have glued the tag onto SA because they were trying something new at the time. But that's fuckin' wrong. And I'm sitting here, reading that from you, thinking "this dude is a Suspyre fan, obviously listens to prog, what the hell is he thinking by putting the tag in there?"

And to answer your question about how would I tag them - I don't have a fuckin' clue and that makes me very happy. I stick to calling it melodic metal. Tony goes by "melodic heavy rock" (oxymoron in the name), and he's somewhat right, since there's not a whole lot of orthodox metal elements over there. It's NOT progressive. Not. I have a right to be upset about something like this for once in my life, anyway. Sorry that it had to be you, but, yeah. Life sucks.

Point is, shouldn't have snapped at you like that, but when people sound self-righteous, I tend to get at them first. That's what I got from you. If I were upset about people insulting the band, I'd have a lot of forum-post hunting and quoting to do.
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7.0 means the album is good
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17.05.2012 - 01:36
RavenKing

Written by Milena on 16.05.2012 at 23:21

You have to understand that whenever you say "progressive metal", you mean - well, look up the list of leading bands for progressive metal. People have glued the tag onto SA because they were trying something new at the time. But that's fuckin' wrong.


I don't want to jump in this argument between both of you.
I will only post this general comment: people often confuse 'different' and 'progressive'.
Only because a band does something different or sounds different on an album doesn't mean it is progressive. It only means that it's different. It's sometimes annoying to see how people automatically call music 'progressive' or 'more mature' only because it is different. I can't count how many times I read the comments "the album is more progressive" or "it is more mature" just because it was less aggressive, slower, more quiet or whatever.
----
They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink
They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end
But everybody's only looking out for themselves
And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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17.05.2012 - 03:16
Baz Anderson

So now I have had a look in here after I wrote my own review... It's no surprise some people won't like it, but then they probably didn't like the two before it either... It's a bit of a grower, but I like it.
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17.05.2012 - 12:35
Rating: 7
AtmoProg

AOR-Power album?
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17.05.2012 - 19:26
Valaskjalf
Account deleted
Written by Milena on 16.05.2012 at 23:21

Written by Guest on 16.05.2012 at 20:41

Ok I knew someone was gonna get all up in my shit over my post, and apparently I have offended someone's favourite band. First of all what would YOU call the new direction they are taking? Of course it is an atempt at progression...I dont care if they never said they were becoming a progressive band, neither did I label them as a PROGRESSIVE band - I only go by what I hear...seriously wtf.

And no Im not just trolling, Ive listened to the band since Ecliptica and have every album up to Unia, so dont tell me I dont know what Im talking about. Fine have it your way, scrap the word "progressive" and insert "new direction" - You can dress a piece of shit up anyway you want, it still remains a turd.

And where the hell did you get it that I find this music "complicated"?? Are you out of your effing mind? I listen almost solely to Technical Death/Proressive metal these days and thats the point Im trying to make - Sonata Arctica are trying to play/write music for which they aren't competent of pulling off properly. It's incoherent and haphazard...be it progressive or not I dont give a shit. What I do know is that what theyre trying to do isnt working for them and they are bad at this. Up until Unia they were fantastic, every single release was very good because they did what they were good at - dont call me a fucking troll again.

But back to my first question....what would YOU call their new direction? It sure as shit isnt what it used to be and if its not an attempt at progression then what the fuck is their excuse for this album? I really really want to know your answer to this.

Pffft, like I cared about people insulting my favorite bands. But I do care about people posting shit arguments.

You said it was an attempt at progression, when clearly it is not. It's an attempt of trying something slightly new in a very simple way. It's verse-chorus thing, almost all the way. I was wondering whether you were actually listening to Unia when you posted that thing you posted.

Where the hell did I get it? In your comment. It came out that way, so for that point, yeah, I'm sorry.

"Fine have it your way, scrap the word "progressive" and insert "new direction" - You can dress a piece of shit up anyway you want, it still remains a turd. "

Thank you, that sounds a lot better. You have to understand that whenever you say "progressive metal", you mean - well, look up the list of leading bands for progressive metal. People have glued the tag onto SA because they were trying something new at the time. But that's fuckin' wrong. And I'm sitting here, reading that from you, thinking "this dude is a Suspyre fan, obviously listens to prog, what the hell is he thinking by putting the tag in there?"

And to answer your question about how would I tag them - I don't have a fuckin' clue and that makes me very happy. I stick to calling it melodic metal. Tony goes by "melodic heavy rock" (oxymoron in the name), and he's somewhat right, since there's not a whole lot of orthodox metal elements over there. It's NOT progressive. Not. I have a right to be upset about something like this for once in my life, anyway. Sorry that it had to be you, but, yeah. Life sucks.

Point is, shouldn't have snapped at you like that, but when people sound self-righteous, I tend to get at them first. That's what I got from you. If I were upset about people insulting the band, I'd have a lot of forum-post hunting and quoting to do.


Ok, well I will refrain from using the term "progressive" again in any SA discussion because apprently its only causing confusion. What they did on this album reminds me of all those "progressive" bands who got it completely wrong. I got this from SA with their weird overlapping shards of music thrown into each song as if theyre trying something else, but theyre not quite sure how to put all these random pieces together and that gave me the idea that they wanted to write something out of the ordinary - but in my opinion it just fell totally flat.

To be honest, in most of the songs the music is ok-ish but in fact it is Tony who is letting me down, just like he did on the last album. He has a fantastic voice, but he tries too much and throughout the album I would catch myself thinking "ahh fuck, everything was fine until you ruined it by trying something weird.. just sing!!"

So yeah, apologies as well....I just think their music was cheesy and simple but it was good - when you try to do new things it sometimes comes across as directionless and contrived if its not well thought through.
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18.05.2012 - 07:34
Stabby
Account deleted
I wasn't particularly attached to the prospect of this album fitting my worldview (soundview?) or conforming to what might be considered acceptable for SA to release. If the rating was for how good this album is at being Winterheart's Guild I would rate it a 5. But consistency of style doesn't determine my enjoyment of an album, and I like this sound. New songs by a talented band with character and originality to them are always appreciated. And so this one gets a pretty high rating.

Fuck I Have A Right to metal hell. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU. There, I said it. Technically it is a good song, but fuck it. It grew on me a little bit. Like a parasitic fungus of some sort.
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18.05.2012 - 19:24
Rating: 6
Radivoy

I'm still having the feeling that this is another experimental and transitional album... like the ones before since Unia. I liked 2 or 3 songs from SGHN, when it used to be the opposite in their first albums. Don't know why, but the voice of Tony seems not to fit in their new style :S. Maybe there's something wrong with me, but i'll keep waiting for this "New Sonata Arctica" to finally get where they want, and let them blow my mind up.
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Sorry for the bad English writing :P
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18.05.2012 - 22:44
Rating: 5
Milena
gloom cookie
Written by Guest on 17.05.2012 at 19:26

Ok, well I will refrain from using the term "progressive" again in any SA discussion because apprently its only causing confusion. What they did on this album reminds me of all those "progressive" bands who got it completely wrong. I got this from SA with their weird overlapping shards of music thrown into each song as if theyre trying something else, but theyre not quite sure how to put all these random pieces together and that gave me the idea that they wanted to write something out of the ordinary - but in my opinion it just fell totally flat.

To be honest, in most of the songs the music is ok-ish but in fact it is Tony who is letting me down, just like he did on the last album. He has a fantastic voice, but he tries too much and throughout the album I would catch myself thinking "ahh fuck, everything was fine until you ruined it by trying something weird.. just sing!!"

So yeah, apologies as well....I just think their music was cheesy and simple but it was good - when you try to do new things it sometimes comes across as directionless and contrived if its not well thought through.

Ah, I can get those points quite well. I know where you're coming from.
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7.0 means the album is good
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19.05.2012 - 23:25
Rating: 6
*!*

I loved "Days of Grays'" but this one is mostly a disappointment....
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20.05.2012 - 12:05
Rating: 8
Prometheus

Written by Guest on 18.05.2012 at 19:40

It's like...

01) It's an ok intro which gives the right mood..
02) ...Not, because this one has a different mood instantly
03) Traditional Sonata? Ok, what's next
04) Well, this showcases some good songwriting, maybe the album finally starts from here
05) Damn, the flow breaks again. Ok song anyway... it's just in the wrong place
06) Could have been better. A bit boring
07) Just Boring
08) Fun time? Already?
09) No, another ballad...
10) Average-
11) Average

VAF-FAN-CU-LO
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22.05.2012 - 11:43
Rating: 6
OpenMind

Sonata's worst album, i really tried to like it but was impossible for me, is not about only the genre just the album is not i like to heard from them..
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22.05.2012 - 14:13
Rating: 7
kaspair

I love Only The Broken Hearts, Alone In Heaven, The Day and Wildfire part I. The rest is just average.
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Last FM
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23.05.2012 - 22:04
Rating: 7
R Lewis

It's sad to think that they will never reach again Ecliptica's level, but I liked this album. I can feel the passion flowing out of it, even if some song, at the end, are a bit boring.
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We could be so much more than we are. Stop.
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24.05.2012 - 10:43
Nemo Atkins

I'm listening to it now (also my second Sonata Arctica album since Ecliptica) and, so far, I like everything, but I can barely remember any of the songs beyond maybe a couple of lines from the chorus when they finish. Also, some songs seem to have been written having been styled after another band ("Shitload Of Money" reminds me of Nickelback, "Don't Be Mean" reminds me a bit of a ballad by Muse (specifically, one of the ones from Black Holes and Revelations) and the riffing on "Somewhere Close To You" reminds me a bit of Iced Earth), although I do admit that I might be being overly picky about that one. Another thing that bugs me is the lack of a powerful song that makes you want to relisten to the album, although the Wildfires come close to being that. Compared to Ecliptica, which I thought was impressive and capable of standing out within two listens, it's a disappointing album, but, on it's own merits, it's not a bad album, just one that requires a lot of listens to finally sink in. Personally, I would say stronger hooks and a little bit more cohesiveness would have made this a better album, while the addition of a more standout song would have vastly improved the potential replay value.

Just my two cents.
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30.05.2012 - 20:29
Rating: 5
Milena
gloom cookie
The cool beans:
- The two Wildfires. Could have come from Reckoning Night easily.
- Cinderblox and Somewhere Close To You. What a great tune.
- Good track placement.
- More guitars and way better production on the drums.
- The genre mix - the style is once again new, but harks a bit back to Unia and to the older albums as well.

The bad points:
- I Have A Right. GTFO.
- The album opener. Bad as an opener, not a very good track either.
- Inaudible bass. Do I have to wait for another Unia to hear more bass?
- The lyrics. Not like Sonata lyrics at all, way too simple and dare I say even shallow. The only lyrics I really like were the ones for Wildfires and The Day, followed by Cinderblox and bits of other lyrics.
- The oversimplified approach. Some songs could have really done with an extra verse or with a looser structure.

Overall, this would have been the best SA album if only a couple of songs were left out. This way, it's just satisfying, and since I'm prone to liking SA's sound, the casual listener will probably like this less.
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7.0 means the album is good
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30.05.2012 - 21:37
Vombatus
Potorro
Listened to it twice and can't stand it ( even had to skip 2 or 3 unbearable songs). Kind of sad since I love SA, maybe I'll give it another try in a couple of weeks.

I also agree with Mora on all the bad points.... the good ones, not so much
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03.06.2012 - 23:25
Rating: 4
Wes

Written by Vombatus on 30.05.2012 at 21:37

Listened to it twice and can't stand it ( even had to skip 2 or 3 unbearable songs). Kind of sad since I love SA, maybe I'll give it another try in a couple of weeks.

I also agree with Mora on all the bad points.... the good ones, not so much


Agree with you here. I simply cannot STAND this band anymore. The vocals are song breaking.
The thing for me is i think the wintry keys and background music sound so promising at times. Still, I cannot say that this album is anything better than "bad" to me.
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