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CONTEST! Share this photo and like Kill The Music on Facebook to win a brand spanking new copies of Brand New's Your Favorite Weapon. The Dillinger Escape Plan's One of Us is The Killer, The Devil Wears Prada (Band)'s Dead & Alive DVD, and Between The Buried And Me's Colors Live DVD.
Details at http://killthemusic.net/post/53801163845/contest-ktm-prize-pack-giveaway
We hit 1,700+ likes on Facebook so we’re celebrating by giving away the following prize pack:
Brand New’s Your Favorite Weapon. The Dillinger Escape Plan’s One of Us is The Killer, The Devil Wears Prada’s Dead & Alive DVD, and Between The Buried and Me’s Colors Live DVD.
Here’s how to win: You can enter on Facebook or Twitter. Just either share this Facebook post (and like KTM on Facebook) or retweet this tweet (and follow KTM on Twitter) and we will pick a winner at random on July 8th.
NK’s album “Nothing To Be Gained Here” brings a new and unique feel to the world on alternative rock.
With a modern White Stripes feel, it lets the listener relive the nostalgia of muffled radio vocals and a muffled guitar tone. Although the album lacks a certain fluidity and diversity, it still excites the listener enough to latch onto the band. Any fans of alternative rock/indie will enjoy the opener “Confessional” or “Customer”. These songs kick off the first part of the album by immediately introducing the attractive sound of NK.
Probably the most notable aspect of the bands style is the band’s harsh and imprecise vocals that are present throughout the entire album. Although “harsh and imprecise” may sound like a criticism, it’s actually a defining point of the band’s sound. A band that has a vocalist with a voice that resembles Jack White is a pretty good start. Although, the cluttered and very raw sound that this band preaches so profoundly only lasts until about the fifth track. Not to say that the album isn’t consistent, but the sound loses its initial attraction.
As stated before, this album comes off with a very raw sound. Although this keeps the album diverse in an overall sense, this sound isn’t something new to be heard throughout the genre. Many other bands have traveled down this beaten path and after the first four or five songs; the overall style becomes repetitive and boring.
This album is still definitely going to find its place with certain listeners. Any casual listeners of alternative rock will enjoy this record, but hardcore fans of the genre might find themselves disappointed by the end of the album as they have found themselves immersed in the style before. The song has strong songs like “Shoulder Gorilla” and “Vacation Days” and weak songs like “Television” and “Set A Fire”. Hopefully we can all see this band progress further and develop a more diverse sound, separating themselves from the other bands of this genre.
Rating: 7/10
From the opening of this album the listener is abruptly pulled into the sporadic style that is claimed by The Dillinger Escape Plan.
Songs like “Understanding Decay” and their opener “Prancer” surprise the listener with the illusion of complete randomness and disorienting instrument syncopation. But what lies behind the dizzying chaos is a band with an established and unique sound that can bring a refreshing sense to punk fans. Even fans of slam can find themselves jamming along to songs like “Hero of the Soviet Union” and “Paranoid Shields”. Although on the outside these songs seem to be a jumbled mess of conflicting instrumentation; the band really brings a sound that can be applicable for fans of many different styles.
A song that particularly stands out is the title track “One of Us is the Killer”. This sound has a much different feel which closely resembles and alternative rock sound. This song separates itself from the rest of the album, bringing the listener closer as they are given a release from the intrusive and apparently structureless atmosphere of the first two songs. Another song that can adequately sum up the band’s sound would be “Crossburner”. This song sticks out as not only the longest song on the record, but also as a song that contains the band’s full sound in one song. The record ends with a song called “The Threat Posed By Nuclear Weapons”. This song closes the album with a much more thrash-like sound. It takes the punk/hardcore sound to a new area of the genre. This song, as well as the rest of the album, brings forth a modern twist to the all familiar hardcore punk sound.
The cons of this album are mostly subjective. The only main “problem” with this album is that anyone who hasn’t heard of the band before will most likely be immediately turned off to the attack that the band ensues throughout the album. Not to say I didn’t like it or that the band doesn’t have an established career; (rocking almost 200,000 likes on Facebook and boasting a record deal with Sumerian) the band brings a sound that frankly just isn’t for everyone. Anyone that is a fan of hardcore punk or slam bands will thoroughly enjoy this album. Anyone who despises anything in the ballpark of hardcore…this album isn’t for you.
It’s always refreshing to hear a band rock a fully unique sound. The Dillinger Escape plan does just that. They combine the underground hardcore punk with an alternative rock sound that somehow works great. They are very much an “acquired taste” kind of band, but if you happen to be sporting for that taste, this band will not disappoint. From an objective standpoint, this band has a consistent sound and definitely stands out from any kind of mainstream in any kind of genre.
Bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan are what keep music going and what inspire people to write music of their own and do it for no other reason than to express the music they love in a format that radiates their passion. That is what the heart of music should be, and with bands like this it is clear that that heart is still beating.
Rating: 9/10
- Nic