Is it just me, or is Equal Vision the new Vagrant?
The bands that are getting signed on this label are becoming less and less amazing and more and more predictable, essentially adding to the mediocrity that is infecting the current state of music. I’m not saying that the latest release from Chiodos titled, All’s Well That Ends Well totally sucks, but I will say that I’m not exactly amused.
On the good side of this album, there are the incredibly tight, metal guitar riffs, melodic and enticing vocals, keyboards to compliment the heavier side of things and dark and defiant lyrics.
But the bad side of it all: none of it fits together; it just doesn’t have the element of “rock.”
This album doesn’t make me want to so much as bob my head to the beat or sing along in joyous harmony. Every once in while there’s the subtle, “oh, weird, that just sounded like the singer for Coheed and Cambria,” or, “wait, is this Saves The Day or something?”
The band’s style is so all over the place that it makes it difficult to pinpoint a specific sound or sense of individuality for the band. With influences ranging from everything from Saves The Day and Coheed, to bands like At The Drive In and Queen, it creates this mix of electronic beats, piano interludes, metal guitar riffs, poppy melodies and whiny/screaming vocals. This musical structure, in my opinion, is an overly-planned strategy to reach a broad range of fans, and in turn making their sound too all over the place to really appeal to anyone.
