there's a difference between reuniting to play some shows and ride off into the sunset and reuniting and putting out some mediocre material. for every refused or underoath, there's a have heart. if deadguy and botch pulled a have heart style reunion, i'd be down for it. but then again, there have been some bands that have reunited that have put out some great albums i love...see american football. it really just depends on what the band does.
Botch would be a cool thing and Brian Cook has said in the past that he’d be game but I doubt it’s gonna happen. I was told years ago that Tim and Dave V hate each other so there’s that.
For the most part, all I want out of a reunion is to see the band live again. I don't typically want/need any new material unless it was a band that truly quit before their time (after one or two records)
I was extremely apprehensive to hear of American Nightmare's full on reunion after the initial reunion shows. That turned out an amazing album and a single that felt like AN without rehashing what they'd already done.
^Unfortunately, I disagree on AN. The new material is okay, but it fails to hold a candle to Background Music and We're Down... I'm appreciative that all of these bands that are reuniting aren't rehashing their past, but some are gonna hit and some are gonna miss.
They didn't miss though? I've heard/read mostly praise for the album/their sound since returning. Wes is better than ever. Also the self-titled/single aren't even remotely written in the same vein as their previous LP's so comparing them is moot.
Perceptions can be subjective. I feel like it's a miss because it doesn't evoke the same highs for me that their first two LPs get. I also feel like it's a valid comparison because we're talking about the same band writing material under the same name 20 years ago. I won't disagree that Wes is objectively a better vocalist now after honing his craft in Cold Cave, but again, the new stuff just doesn't do it for me.
The biggest strike against the AN reunion is that it fails to capture that spark and energy that made them legends in the first place.
AN definitely aren’t the same band as they were 20 years ago. With that being said, I think the new album is a nice progression based upon where they are and what they have done in that time. It’s a good album but it can’t top their heyday material for sure. They are still talented in my book.
Same name but entirely different people at this age, and the maturity of their sound was there for me. Wes wrote his lyrics thematically similar which made it AN at heart, and the band became much more structurally sound instead of trying to just be intense. The album built up so well for me and I think the second half of it blows the first half away. Going into the self-titled believing it was going to sound anything like Underground/GUTG was a mistake to begin with. Those albums are legendary to many. They were never going to try to recreate it. Did you attend any shows since their reunion in 2011? They sound fucking phenomenal live. I've caught 4 since and they most certainly didn't fail to re-capture their spark. Hasn't been a show or tour that didn't sell well yet, and as my perception stands, I don't know a single person that listened to their new material that didn't at least like it, if not loved it.
Blacklisted definitely has a stronger discography but you can’t mess with that Boston scene and it’s influence. AN, THC, TSF, the list goes on. Is Blacklisted the best hardcore band out of Philly? Most definitely.