Okay, so I'm starting this section in the wake of xIronManx getting mad at me for posting on his game review thread. The entire point of this thread is to show him how cool I am, and make him wish that he could be as 1337(0r3 as I am.
Anyway, the first album that I am going to review is Viva la Vida by Coldplay.
Album: Viva la Vida
Artist: Coldplay
Year of Release: 2008
Genre: Alternative Rock
First off, Viva la Vida is very different than any of Coldplay's earlier work, or any other current mainstream bands for that matter. That is perhaps the most attractive quality of this piece. It is extremely varied and very original. There are tracks for happy sunny days, there are eerie tracks, there are artistic tracks, there are tracks for when you're in a sad mood. Really this album has everything you might want, with the exception of heavy riffs. That being said, this album is more guitar driven than any of their previous work, especially the popular single Violet Hill, which features a lot of distortion. However, as nice of an edition as this is, it is obviously no where near enough to please hard rockers and metal purists.
The album also has excellent instrumentation, featuring intriguing parts that span instruments, such as guitar, bass, drums, piano, strings, and even organ. Some of the parts however, I must complain, are overly simple and get boring fast. Fortunately, the album changes paces so quickly that these parts are over fast.
As for vocals, I am very impressed at Coldplay's maturation on this record, especially compared to the sometimes annoying whiny vocals on their last release, X&Y. This album has less falsetto (except where appropriate) and more mid to low range baritone stuff.
All being said, Viva la Vida is not for fans of heavy music, but great for general music enthusiasts and it is one of my favorite albums so far of 2008.
"Must Hear" Songs
Cemeteries of London
Lost!
Viva la Vida
Violet Hill
Strawberry Swing
Death and All of His Friends
Guitar: 10
Bass: 10
Drums: 6
Keyboard: 7
Vocals: 10
Originality: 10
Accessibility: 9 (may be lost on those who only appreciate heavy music)
Overall: 8.9
Next time, I will review one of my all time favorite albums, Underoath's "Define the Great Line". This will be followed shortly by a review of their brand new CD "Lost in the Sound of Separation" and a comparison between the two albums, to see if the new one lives up to DTGL.