This album is definitely their "most fun" album. A lot of the lyrics are way too cheesy for me, but that will not stop be from blasting this all summer
Haha nooooo... That album as a whole is not very great. I made a "Catalyst EP" playlist of just the songs I like from that album. 1. All Downhill From Here 2. Truth Of My Youth 3. Failure's Not Flattering 4. At Least I'm Known For Something 5. This Disaster 6. Intro 7. I'd Kill To Fall Asleep 8. Your Biggest Mistake
The production on Catalyst hurts my ears. I prefer listening to the Catalyst tracks that are performed on 'Kill It Live' and the 'This Disaster' live performances. Constant Static is a great bonus track though. For Self-titled, I enjoy it a lot, but I never really fully appreciated it until the remastered version was released for the 10 year anniversary. Mainly because of vocal/production mix.
Catalyst is very top heavy for me, and I have trouble getting through the 2nd half of that album. All Downhill From Here to Failure's Not Flattering is pretty good then the rest of forgettable outside of Failure's Not Flattering and At Least I'm Known For Something.
Besides point 6 and your ranking, I agree with every word here. Really like your stance on NGCS, it's a better worded version of an argument I tried to make towards another user here probably like a year ago when comparing it to NWAF. It may not in itself be a fantastic album, but there's a genuine drive to it that absolutely reveals the band's potential. Pretty big jump from the IAATG EP, which is actually terrible hahah.
In addition to Catalyst being Jordan's most nasally performance, it's also the first record where his inhales blatantly stuck out to me. I still love the album, but there was a time that I couldn't listen to it because the inhaling was so obnoxious to me lol
enjoying this way more than resurrection. they sound like they're having fun again. this is going to be played a lot in the car
Same here. It's probably my 4th favorite album of theirs after Sticks and Stones, NFG and Coming Home.
I CANT get over how much the intro vocals to Anthem For The Unwanted sounds just like the bridge to Bored To Death By Blink. Creepy.
'Your Jokes Aren't Funny' wasn't my favorite for an opening track until recently. Now i think that song really sets up the tone of the album amazingly well. Fun song. Really like that they hold out on that first chorus.
Catalyst has their best live songs but also their first set of duds. It's grown on me as newer albums fall flat for me.
Jordan's nasal vocal style hit its peak on Catalyst for sure. I've always understood people disliking the record for that reason, even though it doesn't bother me, personally.
I also went through their discog recently in prep for Makes Me Sick (which I haven't heard yet). I'm going to update my rankings: 1. Sticks and Stones 2. Self-titled 3. Catalyst 5. Coming Home 5. Not Without A Fight 6. Nothing Gold Can Stay 7. Radiosurgery 8. Resurrection I forgot how enjoyable Not Without A Fight is, honestly. I think after Coming Home, having them return to more of their old sound on NWAF turned a lot of people off and kind of soured the record's reputation unfairly. There are a lot of legitimate bangers on that album ("Truck Stop Blues" is an all-time classic NFG song). I also liked Catalyst a lot more than I remember having liked it in the past, for some reason.
I feel comfortable enough to add 'Makes Me Sick' after many listens. So here comes my unpopular opinion/ranking haha. 1. Coming Home 2. Sticks and Stones 3. Makes Me Sick 4. Self-titled 5. Radiosurgery 6. Catalyst 7. Not Without a Fight 8. Resurrection 9. Nothing Gold Can Stay
I was huge on Catalyst when it came out, but it didn't quite hold up for me over time. It's got "All Downhill from Here" and "At Least I'm Known For Something" which are career highlights but otherwise, I have kind of shelved that record. Honestly, Sticks & Stones has held up MUCH better than any of those older records for me. My opinions always fluctuate so I couldn't do a ranking, but I know Sticks & Stones is at the top and Radiosurgery/Resurrection is at the bottom. This record is going to most likely end up in the top half.
Off the top of my head I can only remember what four or five songs from Catalyst sound like. It's got some great songs but a lot of filler and it's way too long.
Now that I think about it, I'm not actually a big fan of Coming Home. On paper I really like the stylistic shift but too many of those songs don't land imo. I'll take a stab at ranking... Sticks and Stones Makes Me Sick Not Without a Fight Coming Home Radiosurgery Catalyst S/T Nothing Gold Can Stay Resurrection
1. Sticks & Stones 2. Catalyst 3. NFG 4. Nothing Gold Can Stay 5-t. Coming Home Radiosurgery Resurrection Not Without A Fight I literally can't pick an order for my last four cause I don't love any of them. That's a long time that I haven't been super into them which bums me out. Hopefully I like Makes Me Sick as much as everyone here. I'm not crazy about the first two songs, especially Party On Apocalypse (I really don't like the chorus and don't get the love for the bridge) but open mind. I would really like to love an NFG album again.