I couldn’t get through half of the Secret Band LP. I still love the first EP. That said I hope they continue putting out stuff under the Secret Band moniker.
I mean the Secret Band album is fun sortof chaos but it kinda feels like the sound is old news instrumentally, which is surprising coming from these dudes. Its definitely less unique than their other stuff. But Mess sounds like Mess with some new stuff from him sprinkled around.
Album gets better the more you listen to it though for sure. I think it’s fresh/new from their perspective because they haven’t made much music like this before, but if you are a hardcore/metal fan (which I’m not, really) it may not sound so unique?
I'd love for it to be something totally out of left field. Like.......... Explosions In the Sky. Awwwhhhhhhhh shit I'm gonna be fantasizing about this all day now.
The backstory of this as it was explained to me is.... Sianvar broke up because of creative differences between Will and Donovan. And now Will and the rest of the guys are repurposing those Sianvar album tracks as the new Royal Coda album lol I definitely have some mixed feelings on that, but as a huge Kurt fan, I am honestly pretty excited to hear essentially Sianvar fronted by him. I’ve heard from my friend that the new Royal Coda stuff is apparently much better than their debut (which didn’t leave much of a lasting impression on me).
That makes me very cautiously excited to be honest. Donovan is great but his voice grates on me compared to Travis
Yeah I’ve also never cared for Donovan’s vocals sadly. I think Royal Coda LP2 has the potential to be something really special for me, because Sianvar’s instrumentals have always been awesome.
idk if its just me or what but Donavan always sounded like an 85% pre-meditated wannabe copy of Anthony Green. and I didnt find his melodies memorable.
Interesting that Royal Coda are opening for Hail the Sun on their tour this year. Pretty sure the Sianvar announcement happened while Hail the Sun was on tour opening for DGD too.
Donovan's voice is fine I'm just not really keen on their (HTS) songwriting tendencies or melodies. Sometimes they hit the mark, Human Target Practice and Burn Nice And Slow are bangers for instance, but most of the time I get bored
TBCH I've given all the above-mentioned bands along with ALLB multiple chances and the style just doesn't do it for me. I find it unique and impressive but they all pale in comparison to DGD.
A lot of them try to do too much imo. DGD can get away with it because they kind of invented the whole subgenre and they consistently have had some of the most impressive musicians at their respective instruments. Narco Debut's album that just came out is a master class in doing more with less
I think Will is the key to DGD working. Yes, Mingus is an awesome drummer. Yes, Mess is a lot of fun. Sure, the other vocalists have been entertaining. However, Will is the real anomaly and I think he's a far more diverse writer than all of them. He dabbles in everything. Catchy hooks, prog parts, metal, melodic, jazz/groove, and somehow makes it work with a post-hardcore band essentially. I refer to him as a modern-day underground Jimi usually.