Flood - Ripped Into Exile

Airola wrote:While I love Guy's falsettos I think the falsettos in Can't Undo are close to jumping the shark. They remind me of the Holy Danger demos but not in the best possible way like Freeloading Larceny in the last album did. That part is saved by the "I'm drowning out the voices" part because it gives the part an artistic context. That said, Can't Undo is one of my favorite tracks in the album. For the most part it's really beautiful. By the way, if I had to bet on it I would say the music of that track was written by Guy Ritter. There are certain chord progression and melody choices that immediately make me think of Guy.

I loved the Holy Danger demos, although they were really raw, it did showcase Guy's unique talent.  Also, when the falsettos started in Can't Undo, I was smiling like a cheshire cat.  Absolutely loved that bit, as it reminded me of Holy Danger and the 2 tracks from Stop The Bleeding.  I think the whole album has the right amount of diversity, and it's keeping me really interested.  Like you, I think I've probably listened to it 6 or 7 times all the way through, and I've enjoyed it slightly more each time.

As for who wrote what track.  Gary wrote 7 and Guy wrote 3 (Burial, Can't Undo and In An Ancient Time).

Before I knew who wrote each track, I tried to guess, and I thought Guy just wrote Burial and Can't Undo.  I was blindsided by In An Ancient Time!!!

I like the falsettos on Can’t Undo. Wish he had used more throughout the album though, especially on faster songs. I want The Threshing Floor part 2!

I think what bothers me with the falsettos is the cacophony that's happening at the same time. But as I said that's an artistic choice that is lyrically backed up by the part after the cacophony. And the falsetto is clearly more Holy Danger style than the rougher Stop the Bleeding style. But then again I love the Holy Danger stuff too.

I guess I was just mostly hoping for speed metal falsettos and Threshing Floor style falsettos instead of ballad falsettos that are sung over an "avantgarde chaos" choir vocals
Even with that the song is fantastic and really beautiful!

I'm really surprised by Guy writing In a Ancient Time! That's another track I've grown to love.

Just heard through. It's quite good, but yeah, unfortunate that the drums sound so programmed. I'm not sure it's better than the debut, but comparable. I actually liked the debut's instrumentals a lot.

I like what I've heard so far on Spotify. Just bought a physical copy. Sometimes it's nice to have a physical booklet with lyrics.

Bahana wrote:I like what I've heard so far on Spotify. Just bought a physical copy. Sometimes it's nice to have a physical booklet with lyrics.

I bought two (just in case). 

You never know if it will become a rare item in the near future. Echo Hollow’s Diet of Worms CD is going for $200 on eBay. I actually can’t even find their second album… but I know it would be expensive if I did.

Just got my physical copy today and got to listen, lyrics in hand, on a better stereo. The drums sound much better on this. The snare is more organic. Some of the cymbal work sounds oddly stiff and some of the fills are notably loud. Otherwise I think David plays much more like himself here. Unfortunately sometimes the riffs sound buried under the drums and vocals. The balance is off in general. As many said, it isn't terrible but it is unfortunate for such a great album.

Musically this is really solid. I enjoy every track more or less. Guy and Gary sound great, the band has a unique sound I enjoy, and it has already grown on me. Hopefully we can hear all this live. It is going to sound amazing if/when we do.

I got my copies today. 

I like the album, but the drums sound too much like a machine. It’s kind of distracting on the fast songs.

I miss the classic Tourniquet acoustic drum sound. It’s not David Husvik’s fault… for some reason Gary likes the fake drums.

On a fifth listen and I'm pretty comfortable saying this is better than Polarized. There is no filler and there are a lot of great tracks here! The vocals and the vocal hooks are really strong! I've loved letting it loop over and over again tonight.

I'm hoping this sounds great in the car because, though my production complaints stand in general, it made a big difference switching what device/system I've played it through.

Got the CD today. The packaging is impressive. It's great this quality is accessible to independent artists. Wish the production was a bit better. The songs are there. Will give it a few more listens.

I'm really loving this album! It's extremely catchy. Guy's vocals are truly outstanding throughout. I think he's better today than he's ever been. Musically I think they crushed it. I said something about not being real big on the more shred style guitar in my first post. However, there is a lot of diversity in that area as I dig in. That was a mistake as I listen further. The mix between Gary and Joao's leads works well. They really nailed the balance of styles across the album and even within songs. There is a lot going but it flows extremely well. Even so, I think this has more thrashers than the first album. Zero Hour would go over so well live with it's shout back chorus!

I did add some punch and warmth to the kick drum in Garageband and that helped a bit with the sound for me. I actually like the drum sound save when David hits "light speed" on anything. Then it tends to sound weirdly artificial. David is a beast on this though. All in all, I've largely gotten over the production because most of it sounds perfect. It would have been cool to hear it "perfected" but this is far from ruining it.

I think Guy’s vocals peaked on POD. Exoskeletons is a great highlight imo. 

He also had some great vocals on the Echo Hollow albums.

I like the new album, but I don’t like the production! 

Guy sounds good, but he’s a lot more raspy voiced these days. He always had a rasp to his voice, but it seems more now.