Phase Reverse - Phase Reverse - review

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Phase Reverse - Phase Reverse - review

Cover image of the reviewed item
Band
Phase Reverse
Album
Phase Reverse
Style
Sludge metal
Release date
December 16, 2011
Reviewer
7.0
7.3
Tracklist
01. Cross To Bear
02. I Got Your Back
03. Eye To Eye
04. Tear Down The Walls
05. Crash 'N burn
06. Death Ride
07. Road Fever
08. Wide Awake
09. Changes
10. Who Gives A Damn
11. High Hopes
12. Long Gone
A review by
Doc G.
January 10, 2012
Awwww shit. It's happening all over again. Despite not being poppy metalcore, Phase Reverse have managed to fall into the exact same traps you can find with bands like As I Lay Dying or Bullet For My Valentine. What is it you ask? It's the tendency to crash soaring riffs straight into the ground by mellowing them out. With modern, mainstream metalcore, you can almost predict it around each bend, Phase Reverse however have some crushing hard rock riffs which they rarely hold on to. It's the same feeling as finding a box of kittens on the side of the road, which your family promptly refused to let in the house.

Now, there's nothing wrong with having to pussy out of a few hard licks here and there, hell, it can even add an element of unpredictability to the music. Here, it happens so frequently to such great riffs it's downright excruciating. Top put it simply; they sound like Pearl Jam. They sound like Pearl Jam & Black Label Society playing hot potato with a stick of dynamite. Top things off with a touch of southern rock and you've got Phase Reverse at their best. Their best just doesn't last long. There's almost a pattern to it; every time the vocals come in, everything else becomes flat background calmness. The constant return of these doldrums basically ruins the two ballads found on here. Maybe they're decent ballads, it's hard to say because by that point you've been ready to rock for half an album but have been let down repeatedly.

There's perhaps two, maybe three songs on this album where they put the hammer down, and keep it down. When Phase Reverse stay in their groove, man is it ever sweet. If the song structure wasn't so unbelievably predictable, this album would be a knockout. Unfortunately, this debut is an album of many strong moments, but few strong tracks.
Written on 10.01.2012 by
Doc G.
Written on 10.01.2012 by
Doc G.
Former EIC. Now just a reviewer guy.
More reviews by Doc G. ››

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Comments: 5 Visited by 80 users
Milena
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Staff

Posts: 4603
Permalink
10.01.2012 - 17:10
Milena
gloom cookie
Staff

Posts: 4603


I'm enjoying your recent reviews very much, I hope you'll soon get a review request you enjoy as well, cause it looks like you're on a roll o' shit dude :/
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7.0 means the album is good
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Posts: 1150
Permalink
10.01.2012 - 18:23

Posts: 1150
/sigh Why, oh why do you have to put AILD in the same category as BFMV...
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Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Elite

Posts: 21306
Permalink
10.01.2012 - 21:38
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Elite

Posts: 21306


Written by Uldreth on 10.01.2012 at 18:23
/sigh Why, oh why do you have to put AILD in the same category as BFMV...

Because both play melodic metalcore and are popular amongst the MTV crowd.

I know they sound different, AILD praise jeebus and BFMV still complain about being cheated on by an ex-girlfriend in high school, but stylistically it's not like they're worlds apart.
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"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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Boxcar Willy
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Posts: 9575
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10.01.2012 - 21:42
Boxcar Willy
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Posts: 9575


Written by Troy Killjoy on 10.01.2012 at 21:38

Written by Uldreth on 10.01.2012 at 18:23
/sigh Why, oh why do you have to put AILD in the same category as BFMV...

Because both play melodic metalcore and are popular amongst the MTV crowd.

I know they sound different, AILD praise jeebus and BFMV still complain about being cheated on by an ex-girlfriend in high school, but stylistically it's not like they're worlds apart.

Actually old aild is quite good


Now... Not so much, but they are still better than anything bfmv has made.
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14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
I do your mum

DESTROY DRUM TRIGGERS
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Posts: 1150
Permalink
10.01.2012 - 22:00

Posts: 1150
Written by Troy Killjoy on 10.01.2012 at 21:38

I know they sound different, AILD praise jeebus and BFMV still complain about being cheated on by an ex-girlfriend in high school, but stylistically it's not like they're worlds apart.

Stylistically not, but quality-wise, I'd say yes. I can't stand BFMV apart from a few tracks but I've found myself playing a lot of AILD these days, it just feels wrong to me to use it as an example of how not to do metalcore when it is miles above the cringeworthy type.

I don't like their new albums as much as Frail Words Collapse and Shadows Are Security though, way too much cleans on them for my taste (even though the soloes are nice and FWC and SAS lacked those and also those cleans are not as bad as many other bands of this style who use cleans) but those two albums are really good straight-up cymbal abuse and headbangfest. (Also I have no clue what they play on MTV these days but those albums are in fact quite aggressive and heavy and I would not cite them as prime example of metal mainstreamness)

But I guess this is not the right place to discuss AILD so I'll just leave it at it. Not sure if I should check out this album. Review indicates it is not bad but I am not sure how much would the music described appeal to me.
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