Ice Nine Kills Full Review: Safe Is Just A Shadow

I just listened to Ice Nine Kills' latest album, Safe Is Just A Shadow (released July 20th 2010), and was absolutely impressed. In fact, they're now one of my top favorite bands; it made that much of an impression. As far as I can tell, INK is a relatively underrated band, which is part of the reason this album impressed me so much.



What really makes Safe Is Just A Shadow shine is its massive amount of variety. I think it's safe to say that if INK continues to develop in future albums, they'll be adding diversity to a genre that reeks of ripoffs and thousands of different versions of the same riff (hello post-hardcore mainstream).

Because I enjoyed this album so much, I'm going to review each song one by one. Up first,
Song #1: Proximity Mines in The Complex - This track instantly caught my ear, and upon listening to the blistering guitar harmonies in the intro I grabbed my closest buddy and made him listen to it. He agreed, widening his eyes and saying, "That's sick!" It was right of the start that I also noticed INK has some unique screams, almost Asking Alexandria-like in the respect that they have perfectly layered high and low screams that make an evil sounding harmony (in this case evil is good). Two more aspects of the song were excellent to me, the guitar buildup at 1:29 (listen to it, I LOVE it) and the extremely catchy chorus.

Song #2: Buildings Burn, People Die - The intro to this song has a nice contrast between heavy screams, low guitar and high pitched vocals. This might sound familiar in post-hardcore... because it is. However, Ice Nine Kills blends high and low elements excellently. Pay attention to the drums here, because they really influence the mood of the song. They go from deep and angry in the intro to upbeat for when the higher vocal part comes in. Another catchy chorus resounds through the entire song; you'll hear lots of these in Safe Is Just A Shadow. Southern-esque vocals (you'll understand what I mean when you hear it) add a little variety in this one, but this is another element that INK uses frequently throughout the album. I like it, even if it may become slightly redundant. My absolute favorite part of Buildings Burn, People Die is around 1:43, where a breakdown that leads into the bridge begins. One thing that really makes a song for me is transitions, and INK has an amazing transition here that makes the following riff, which has a sick sweep / hammer-on packed lead lick that could melt faces, just that much better. What's wrong with this song you may ask? Not much, just a few dry spots in places. This one's a headbanger.

SONG #3: Chris Brown's Latest Hit - This one's a personal favorite, though it has some downfalls. I think that this is the most heavily autotuned song on the album, which may make some people say, "Wow, what's this crap? They can't even sing." For those of you who need proof, click here. They have a pretty solid live performance. Alright, autotune aside, all kinds of things make this song sound unique to me.



**This article's under construction. It'll be finished by tonight.**

Bring Me The Horizon Review : There Is A Hell Believe Me I've Seen It, There Is a Heaven Lets Keep It A Secret

Bring Me The Horizon's new album has disappointed quite a few fans of previous albums 'Count Your Blessings' and 'Suicide Season.'  Don't let that stop you from listening to it though; they do keep that signature drop C low riffing sound, it just may be a little harder to find in places.  Overall however, BMTH manages to keep its roots.  My main problem with the album is that in many songs, Oli's vocals are pushed into the background, which makes many songs sound similar.  Regardless, here are some listening recommendations:

For fans of songs like Pray for Plagues, The Comedown, & Football Season Is Over:
Listen to Alligator Blood, Anthem and Fuck.  These songs is particularly similar to previous albums, and fans will enjoy the fast paced drums and drop tuning guitar riffs that hardcore BMTH fans are accustomed to.  Oli's vocals, while still rough and edgy, have improved along with the overall quality of the band's recordings.  Alligator Blood is a personal favorite among the heavier songs on the album.



For fans of songs like Suicide Season & Diamonds Aren't Forever:
Listen to Crucify Me, Don't Go, and Blessed With A Curse.  For those of you who like slower paced, spacious sound riffs and vocals, make sure you listen to these three songs.  The first two feature vocals from the excellent female vocalist Lights, who also previously had a cameo with Silverstein in Shipwrecks In The Sand.  Oli's echoed screams will remind any dedicated fan of Suicide Season, and Lights' vocals bring a great new element to the softer side of Bring Me The Horizon.  Anyone who likes dubstep will be pleasantly surprised by some Skrillex style autotuned vocals in Crucify Me, the album's opening song.  Make sure to pick up on the amazing variety that the guitarists Lee and Jona use in these songs.  Tough to pick a favorite here.

Honorable mention: Visions (for catchiness)