So it's been about a week since Scurrilous was released. I got it the day it was released and it was sad to hear that I was the first person to buy this album at the HMV close to my campus. I didn't even go early (I accidentally slept in), I went maybe an hour after it opened. But ya, realistically, there isn't much of a market for what these boys do. So it's just a testament to their talent/skill that they can make a living out of this.
So there's a bunch of old and a bunch of new on this album. The most notable change is the abrupt change in lyric style. This time around, Rody is taking lyric duties replacing Arif... and to hearing this information my mood was questionable. Rody isn't exactly the most complex human being in the world (and definitely not the most thoughtful). This is the man who wrote the Pro-Smoking Cigarette song (which is awesome)! Regardless, I will pass judgement after I listen to the album (in my head I thought). So the standout tracks (lyrically) were the openers and closers of this album, C'est la Vie and Sex Tapes. I also liked Moonlight and Hair-Trigger. Although Hair Trigger was only good because "Kezia" was on it :P. But wait... lo and behold. The lyrics for C'est La Vie, Sex Tapes, and Moonlight were written by Arif. No lies, I didn't even know that until after listening to the album. However, not to totally bash Rody, you can tell a lot of effort was put in on Rody's part. Although the lyrics themselves lack finesse, a lot of truth can be found in the lyrics. I think the band themselves take a lot more from Rody's lyrics than an "outsider" would. If you look at a song like tongue-splitter for example, "so i apologize, mostly to that four or five guys who stand behind me on that stage every night, as the mic starts to whisper, and the words start to blister in my mouth, that I know aren't right." It's an honest apology to the band that none of us could feel the true impact of those words. Only those 5 guys in the band would really know the true meaning of it. So, although I do not enjoy Rody's lyrics all that much, I can respect them, and the band probably has a lot more fun with Rody's lyrics.
Musically, meh, same old same old. And when I say that, it means, mind blown here, mind blown there. Don't expect anything less from these boys, they still bring the fire. With each album they get more and more progressive. I prefer Fortress to all they're albums simply because I'm a metalhead. The blend of power vocals, death vocals and other metal elements were prefect on Fortress. With Scurrilous, you get more of a Dillinger sound which is still awesome.
The reason why I didn't do an album review as soon as I listened this album is because it takes awhile for your brain to wrap around what's going on. On first listen, it just sounds like mush because of all the time changes, counter-melodies, etc. but after your brain picks out parts and analyzes them, you slowly understand what's going on. That's the beauty of these albums like this, every time you listen to them, something new pops up that you didn't notice before. So ya, it took me a week to finally figure out the intricacies of the songs.
With all that said I give this album,
Rating: 4.5 ridiculous polyrhythms out of 5
Because the only real weakness of this album is Rody's lyrics
