Also saw prolly one of the hottest rise against takes ever person said wolves is their 2nd best album
I agree. Nod in particular should sound huge but it just doesn’t… at all. The production/mix really feels like it’s sucked whatever life out of these songs they had to begin with. They both sound paper thin
Yeah I'm sure these songs rip live, pretty much any RA song rips live because they tend to write good songs, but what's being presented here is Not For Me™ at this very moment.
I'm sad man. This is the first time that I haven't liked new RA material this much. I'm just not vibing the mix on either songs released.
These guys have to know and understand the criticism haha. IDK if Tim or anyone else in the band has mentioned opinions about the production of their other material, but I do know Tim wasn't pleased with production of Siren Song.
They hated the production of wolves too. So much so they planned to re record it. unfortunately those 10 days they had to do so turned into ghost notes vol 1
True story – like stereo salesman decades ago, there are two albums I use to test the sound and clarity of a new sound experience, usually in a rental car for work. One is Aja by Steely Dan. The other one is siren song of the counterculture
I'm not going to say I'm surprised by the backlash, but I genuinely do think I'm hearing a different song from most people
I know nothing about production I just know what I like the sound of. For instance I can happily listen to Zen Arcade but then don't really like the sound of, say, Funeral by Arcade Fire. I think the issue with these songs for me is that if the band wanted a more lush and layered sound ala Black Mile To The Surface, the music isn't really made for that (based on these two songs). Like this production choice might make more sense if it was a more experimental album musically, like a whole album of The Approaching Curve.
And I'll add that I remember hating I Don't Want to Be Here Any More when it came out, and writing a whole review on AP.net about why I felt Black Market didn't work. This doesn't give me that energy.
I Don't Want To Be Here Anymore is their most generic Rise Against by numbers song. Black Market is their worst album. Hoping both retain those titles when this new one drops.
To be fair they did say this album would be completely different than anything they’ve ever done before so… What that actually means tho who knows
At this point that would be the best case scenario, singles to appease the fan base and then the full album is a more interesting departure from that well worn sound.
From Dan Ozzi's book, I think the producer they were working with (GGGarth) was more of a hard rock producer and didn't totally understand their genre. I think the album sounds good but if you're coming from the punk world, it might be a little too slick sounding.
Nowhere Generation was definitely more of a return to form, although I still don't think they'll ever top the Siren Song - Sufferer & the Witness back to back combo. Which is a personal grudge I realize, along with thinking that Endgame is incredibly boring overall and truly the point where they lost the plot for me. Siren Song especially is just such a peak album to me from them.
Reddit - The heart of the internet Take with a massive pinch of salt, but the Nod 7" that was meant to come out for RSD was delayed for unknown reasons (fact). Reddit rumour is the negative backlash has resulted in the entire album potentially being remixed (speculation)