I felt that way with Erase Me too. I actually enjoyed it a bit until I went back to the previous three UO albums and it hit me how much the quality seemed to drop. Been listening to the new ACB songs intertwined with the old stuff though and I’m actually loving it more. I’m glad. It is a bummer to not be able to geek out with more people here, but it’s certainly fascinating to see the different perspectives.
When I first heard Chains I really didn't like it much. I find myself constantly going back to it though. It's a damn good song.
Nobody is allowed to have an opinion anymore because Game of Thrones sucks now. Or something like that.
The first 30 seconds of Hollowed Out really sounds like something from Hawkboy (which is still basically an ACB song). Overall I still enjoy the new songs, 2020 AD is still my favorite of them
Exact same. Find myself listening once every couple of days. Remember being like wtf the first listen. Not sure what changed. I love Cody’s voice so I’m going to give this album 10+ spins in hopes that it sticks.
So The guitars in these three songs are consistently cool and interesting The way Cody's and TJ's vocals play off of each other is very good (for the first time, IMO, though I'm sure I'm in the minority here) It's got lots of energy and rhythmically it's super fun. I'm in. Glad they're pushing themselves to try new stuff.
I just don't think I'm into TJ's vocal style now a days which is the biggest detractor for me. I think there are some cool guitar lines, but I'm missing some of the dirty and disjointed style of HOHW.
So, I just listened to Hollowed Out for the first time, and.... Ummm... I liked it. I've not enjoyed the other two singles, but I'm not going to wear them out hoping they grow on me before the album actually releases. Still hoping for the best.
finished my first listen and the singles don't do it justice. I haven't listened to their older stuff in a while but I'll do that soon before writing up a review but listening to this album in a vacuum without any knowledge of their past releases - this is a sold post-hardcore record the final 4 tracks are really good and the closer will give fans major goose bumps - vintage ACB IMO
The opinion that matters. Thanks Drew. Excited now. (And will try to avoid their older albums until I hear this one...!)
I've only listened to the first two singles and on the first listen I was like "what?!" but when I returned to them a week or so later I enjoyed them a lot more. I don't want to listen to the third because I don't like hearing too many songs before the whole thing, but I've come to believe I'll just need a little patience on my first few listens for this record.
Whatever your opinions on the new songs, isn’t it remarkable that we are now in the final week before listening to the first As Cities Burn full length in a decade...? Can’t believe it.
Totally agree. Also, all three singles have been pretty memorable to me. Very excited to hear the full album.
Yeah, honestly, I’m so on board with what’s released that I wouldn’t be surprised if this continues ACB’s streak of near-perfect albums. And that overjoys me.
@Drew Beringer Have you gotten the chance to go back to the band’s previous releases? If so, has it changed your initial impressions of this album in any way? I’m so excited, gonna be going through their discography a bunch in the next few days I think.
I forgot the album is out this week, so excited to hear the whole thing. Really looking forward to finally see them live this summer too!