That too. So on an album of 11 songs (When you join Tinfoil with Powerless), only 4 songs have any staying power for me, which is kinda disappointing. I'm really eager for LP6 and GATS is a good sign, so I'm hoping it'll be better.
Which songs do you feel are the mediocre ones? I always thought something was missing from the latter half of the album. CLARIFICATION: By 'missing', I mean another track was really needed to give a better pace and consistency.
Burn it Down, In My Remains, I'll Be Gone, all have the same structure. Enter with an electronic riff, that is later followed by some guitar chords to layer on top of it. Enter the first verse. Then, follow a Chorus Verse Chorus Bridge Chorus structure. Make sure you only have synths and drums in the verses, because god forbid that we have some interesting guitar work there. Plus, LGM is just pathetic IMO. The latter half of LT is what LP5 should have been, a proper follow up to ATS. LT would have been better released as an EP.
This is the best reply someone's given me here I really enjoy LT still, but I do see it more as a quick microwave meal compared to the restaurant quality ATS. (Weird metaphors, anyone? )
I'm very curious to how long the album is going to be. I hope the album is at least 45 minutes worth of material.
I really hope instead of just being "heavy" that "guitar-heavy" means we might also get something more along the lines of the beautiful solo in Little Things Give You Away. An album of just RAAAAAAWWWWWWWRRRRR would be very boring and one note for LP. Even Hybrid Theory and Meteora had moments of light and beauty in the music. Although, since they're describing LP6 as "Pre-Hybrid Theory" sounding, I'm not holding my breath :/ EDIT: Although I really like GATS, and I'll be playing it for awhile, the question I keep asking myself is: "Is this really the best LP can do?"
Don't know where to drop this... Took a long, realistic look at GATS and tried to compare it with LP's catalogue. It's wayyyyyyyyy below LP's level.
There are tons and tons of "album of just RAAAAAAAAWWWWWRRRRR" that are amazing. All it needs for it to not being boring is some good songwriting skills. And probably a little of diversity in the way of delivering the "RAAAAAAWWWWWWRRR". But if the album vibe is to be as agressive as it gets, a light moment of beauty can totally kill the climax. Though we're talking about LP here. There will be some softer moments. Actually I suspect GATS to be one of the heaviest songs on the record. Absolutely no way. No, no way. Let me put it once again: No. Way. But let's take that long (be ready ) realistic look! From a realistic perspective -> GATS is waaaaaaaay above the average LP song in term of drumming. I'm not inventing anything there, it's a fact. It easily fits a top 5 LP songs in that regard. Rob took 2 weeks to learn how to play it, which makes it the hardest LP song he ever had to learn on drums. (source: Chester) -> GATS is waaaaaaaaay above the average LP song in term of intensity. It's a heavy 200 BPM song which hits you in the face from beginning to end. Not a lot of LP song can do that, especially from 2007 onwards, and let alone for as long as 6 min -> GATS is also above the average LP song in term of guitars. Mainly because of the solo, but still. It's not "lol, only powerchords" from the first 2 records. It's not "lol, only octaves" from the 2 last. -> GATS is above the average LP song in term of songwriting. Understand: i'ts not a 3 min v-c-v-c-b-c pop song. Some ATS or LT songs were even crayzier, but some of them were much more safe too. -> it's an average LP song in term of lyrics. Certainly not the worst, but not the best either. I'm not gonna developp this much more, as it seems pretty obvious. -> it's an average LP song in term of catchiness. I'd be tempted to say it's one of the catchiest melodies they've ever come up with, but it's my personnal opinion about it, so... -> it's an average LP song in term of repetitivity. Not as diverse as some Blackout, UIB, or stuff like that. Not more repetitive than some Robot Boy or almost any non-ATS songs. -> it's a below average LP song in terms of "originality", understood as mix of different influences. It's not the worst though. It's just one-sided MTM level of originality. So, from a realistic perspective, here's a more reasonable conclusion than "waaaaaaay below average": GATS isn't a genre-busting kind of song as a lot of LP songs are (hey, even the nu-metal ones). It's a metalish/punkish song, as simple as that. That's why most of the persons who don't like it are generally either people who don't care about that genre in general or people who only want genre-busting material. But then the fault is theirs, because if you go beyond that, GATS is a well-written song with a lot of technichal quality, and it certainly fits in the "above average LP song" club in that regard.
Point by point: -> Drumming is great. No complains here. Especially the bridge. -> The intensity is definitely there. Big like. -> No matter how much harder to play, or more technical it is, fuck that when it doesn't sound as good as when it was ''only powerchords'' or ''only octaves''. That opening solo is a bit annoying, and the closing solo aswell, tbh. -> GATS drags a bit aswell. Could've been about 4:40-5 mins long. Longer =/= better. Great job with changing the structure, though. Even a bit. Step in the right direction. -> Lyrically, it's Meteora-level, apart from the bridge. -> In terms of catchiness, the chorus is fine. The verses are borderline horrible. I'm not a big fan of the way he sings it (This is probably just me, I like it when vocals are perfect, don't like the raw feeling.), and the verses are missing guitar. Or more bass. Just 0 points there. -> It's not repetitive. That's fine. -> As far as originality goes, I won't say anything, because I haven't heard enough music from this genre. I definitely know it's not the most unique track ever. It's not genre-busting, it's metal/punk, and that's fine. Actually, great job not making another electronic only song. It's not that I don't like 'cause I don't like those genres. I don't only want genre-busting material, I couldn't care less to be honest, as long as it's good. And I definitely can't say it's above average when I can name 10 LPU songs I enjoy more. Still excited as fuck for the album, though.
Reading the notes from Ethan Mates at the end of the article, it sounds like the main guitar being used in the studio is a Strat once again. If that's true, and the "guitar-heavy" comment is true, then it stands to reason that the overall sonic character of the guitar tracks would be more in the vein of Minutes to Midnight, and that stuff like GATS may be the exception rather than the rule on this album. That's strictly speaking in terms of guitar tone though, there's still no telling what the SONGS will sound like.