Dec 16, 2024 The first three tracks are definitely the best. There are a few so-so songs on the album. I've listened to it enough that I've come to appreciate it as a whole. I Can't Be the Only, Take Control and I Am Broken Too are other standouts for me. The ''I Am Broken Too'' video is pretty heavy.
Dec 16, 2024 Killswitch Engage - Atonement review Atonement is an album that feels meticulously crafted: it blends heaviness with anthemic melodies. As someone being exposed to Killswitch Engage’s music for the first time, this record was an intense introduction that definitely put the band’s technical skill and range on display. However, despite its good execution, the album doesn’t always hit with the impact it seems to aim for. From the start, Unleashed makes a strong first impression. Its opening builds with a sinister atmosphere, before exploding into tight riffs and vocals. The balance between aggression and melody here feels like the band’s defining characteristic—vicious screams are matched with grand choruses that really stuck with me. This pattern repeats throughout the album, and while it’s very effective, it can feel predictable as the songs pile up. That said, Atonement shines brightest when it steps out of its comfort zone. I Am Broken Too is a very raw standout: the song is stripped of the pace that dominates much of the album, it is a more vulnerable offering from the band, both musically and lyrically. Similarly I felt like the track As Sure as the Sun Will Rise adds a needed touch of variety with its brighter sound which broke up the album’s darker undertone. I don’t want to come off as snobbish but, in my opinion, the album’s consistency is also its weakness. While every track is solid in isolation, they start to blur together over the course of the runtime. The songwriting doesn’t always hit the mark and can tend to make Atonement feel slightly one-dimensional by the end. It’s a powerful listen, but also one that did not linger as much as it could’ve. Overall, this album is a well-executed showcase of modern metalcore, if I was a bigger fan of the genre I could definitely see myself enjoying it more than I do now, because, as twisted, jaw-clutching, and monitor-breaking the energy here is, it bridges the gap between melodicism and screamo very well. Nice pick @Wreckless , happy to be put onto music I’d otherwise probably never find on my own. 6.5/10 @AOTWClub
Dec 16, 2024 Be honest, do you use chatgpt? Been meaning to ask you for a while lmao If not, take it as a compliment. Your reviews are always very detailed.
Dec 16, 2024 Jokes aside, I took a writing course back in college and spent some time as an editor of two of my city’s scientific journals in my area of expertise. Reviews here on sxn80 often take me a long time to write and I always submit them a day or two before the deadline but that is because I often attempt to elevate these posts to corny levels of pseudo-intellectualism lmao. Also im just a natural yapper tbh. Wouldn’t feel right to use gpt for something like this, if so: it is better to not participate at all, honestly. ps. AI sucks at writing, had my boss nagging me last year about writing a piece about a dig we were doing at an ancient roman camp ground, since I wanted to spend time working boots on the ground I loaded in some of my notes into GPT and that b---- pretty much repeated a single idea in the most complicated, android way possible.
Dec 16, 2024 That's awesome What made me think it was AI is how descriptive you are about songs. Almost like you're explaining them to someone who’s never heard them before. And hearing you’ve written in scientific journals makes a lot of sense haha. I wish my writing could capture my thoughts that clearly but I often struggle to find the the right words. I'll occasionally copy a paragraph into chatgpt and tell it “Improve this...” then i'll spend time tweaking it to make it sound natural and like what I meant to say but couldn’t find the words to describe.
Dec 16, 2024 I’ve become progressively lazier when it comes to writing lengthy reviews and even lengthy posts on this site. I used to be able to write mini essays easily but now I just don’t feel like it. I think I’ve also been realizing I can just get my point across in less words.
Dec 16, 2024 I get that man, I like the challenge of trying to put music into words, especially music I am normally not so familiar with - metalcore is definitely that. I had dips where I’d be swarmed with work or everyday struggles which would, in turn, make the qualities of my reviews suffer, but, generally, I always try to make it so I’m happy with what I have.
Dec 16, 2024 I'm so happy the mixtape idea is happening and it's gonna give me a chance to reset because I'm becoming dangerously close to being the metalcore guy of the group with all the albums I have in mind lmao
Dec 16, 2024 All this talk about writing is inspiring me to write a peer-reviewed analysis on next week's album. Hoping for another Atmosphere record
Dec 16, 2024 @Justin Trudeau @AOTWClub I'm familiar with Killswitch as a band but never dived into their music outside of a couple songs, I've pretty recently just started going head first into Metalcore and idk why I didn't listen to them earlier! Now this album isn't perfect, it doesn't end as strong as it begins and a few songs in general don't hit the same as the rest but I'm pleasantly surprised to have really liked most of the songs here and now I have a bunch of songs to add to my playlist of this kind of music. I can see myself going back to the album as a whole more as well when I want this specific sound from the genre. Like I said earlier the clean vocals mixed with the heavy guitars and screams give me aggressive WWE energy which is where a lot of my early music taste came from as well as Guitar Hero and Killswitch was a part of both unsurprisingly lol. The features fit really well (Howard Jones fitting is self explanatory) and I loved the riffs and drumming. I loved a lot of the choruses here and it reminded me of some of my favorite bands I listen to so safe to say I'm pretty happy with this one. Also the album cover looks like art that would be on a Brisk bottle which bumps it up at least 5 points. Favorite Songs: Unleashed, Us Against The World, I Am Broken Too, As Sure As The Sun Will Rise, Know Your Enemy RATING: 7.5/10 Much closer to an 8 than a 7, can see it growing with more listens.
Dec 16, 2024 Glad to see you enjoyed it. You might like some of these. This band’s hook game is on point. It’s what got me into this genre in the first place. Over time, I’ve come to appreciate the intense screaming just as much as the chorus. It’s like a roller coaster of emotion, switching from headbanging to getting lost in the melody of the chorus. They'd probably be more mainstream if it weren’t for all the growling. A lot of these metalcore bands are really good at making catchy hooks. Finished putting mine together last night. It's all set and ready to go. And it's bout to be the hottest mixtape on the motherfuckin block
Dec 16, 2024 I already have a great ending track for my playlist and might have a good opener too. I almost kinda want it to loosely feel like an album
Dec 16, 2024 I’m making this playlist for AOTWclub, not EminemSXN. On a real note though those songs are the complete opposite of what I’m going for lol. I’m not even sure how much rap will be on this playlist
Dec 16, 2024 It's just a joke, the running gag is that people on S80 solely listen to Eminem. Only true for some people outside of this group lol.
