Ontwikseltsaar reviews: leet necro: Intestinal Apocalypse [...]

**TheLonging** · Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 4191

Agree 100%.

I even added them on RYM, but meh <_<

I can't wait to see the Hospice review, you're gonna like that I'm sure.
_________________

I wanna thank you for letting me be myself.

NavyCherub wrote:

AshleyWilis wrote:

hi for me Its something different...
It seems like Full sound full combo...
I mean It show passion and determination for my guitar

Smoke weed erryday.

**Ontwikseltsaar** · Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 1:45 am Post subject:

Thanks a lot again, guys. I know i'm already a day behind schedule, but of course it's hard to keep up with it. I'm not denying, though, that I DID make the promise of an album-a-DAY. However, I will not be rushed. I want to do this right, and in order for that to happen, I need to listen to albums more than just once. I can write the review in a couple of hours, when they become easier for me (now I think I've been busy for 3 hours average writing each review).

I've listened to all the songs on Hospice at least once now (some a few more times *cough* Two, Bear *cough*, but I still don't feel confident about my opinion on the album, also since I haven't really paid attention to the lyrics yet. Of course, I have researched the album a little and the fact that the story centers around a hospice worker that... falls in love with one of the patients, was that it? Anyway, if you're interested, I'm using www.songmeanings.net as a source of info and perspective. It's a lyrics site where people go to comment, mostly on the subject matter of the lyrics.

This has been a rambling post. I'm not even going to read it again before posting. Keep this in mind, none of this might make sense to you.

**TheLonging** · Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 4191

I'm a very kind of mehy person who mehs a lot, nothing about you :P
_________________

I wanna thank you for letting me be myself.

NavyCherub wrote:

AshleyWilis wrote:

hi for me Its something different...
It seems like Full sound full combo...
I mean It show passion and determination for my guitar

Smoke weed erryday.

**TheLonging** · Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 4191

I'll just ninja you; I agree with your review a lot, and it was the exact same way I felt in the beginning. However, I guess I think it's more perfect now simply because.... I don't know, it just evolved. Sadly, a lot of people don't feel the same way I do. Or we do. <_<
_________________

I wanna thank you for letting me be myself.

NavyCherub wrote:

AshleyWilis wrote:

hi for me Its something different...
It seems like Full sound full combo...
I mean It show passion and determination for my guitar

Smoke weed erryday.

**Fugitive** · Joined: 20 Aug 2007 Posts: 3035

Well, I'll ninja you too since you seem to be taking awhile to get this on SH. Unless you post while I'm writing this.

Hospice is one of those album I connected to instantly. In fact, it was probably the most immediate connection I've had with anything in my entire life. But I can totally respect where you're coming from, and that seems to be a common stance (like TL said he felt the same way).

I wrote a super sweet review maybe a week or so ago if anyone is interested: http://rateyourmusic.com/review?id=29118180

Just remember if you read it that it's my favorite album ever and it's completely biased.

**Ontwikseltsaar** · Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 8:39 pm Post subject:

"Hospice" by The Antlers

Not all good music grabs your interest immediately. Sometimes it takes some more listening to find the finer patterns and motives, and to really appreciate the music. Over time, I found that certain genres of music are more prone to be subject of this, particularly progressive and otherwise complex kinds of music. After listening to an album for the first time, though, whichever album it is, I always find myself remembering surprisingly little substantial of the songs themselves (even though most of the time I can tell if I'm generally going to like the album).

By now you might expect me to say that The Antlers' Hospice falls into this category of music and indeed it does, at least to some extent. However, listening to the album more than just once is not the only thing that helped me appreciate the music. After I had some time to familiarize myself with Hospice, I found that what also helped me was listening to this album less. That is, taking a break from this album. It gave me room to breathe, to distance myself from it. This wasn't something I planned out, it just happened. However, in the end it made me like this album better.

The seeming contradiction between these two qualities is not lost on me and it certainly was a strange experience realizing at some point that I hadn't listened to this album for a while — this album that I've been liking more and more over time — even though I can't say I was anything more than "moderately impressed" after listening to it the first time. In fact, I found the album to be too empty. Even though the album had its moments and Peter Silberman's vocals were extraordinary, the fact that prominent non-vocal instrumentation was relatively uncommon turned me off and made me feel some of the songs dragged on a little.

During the first listen of an album, there are always certain things missing that are needed for you to enjoy the album (if the album is any good, that is). In this case, Hospice's story about losing a loved one who's beyond help, while you're standing by, watching, knowing there's not a thing you can do, didn't strike me as particularly touching at first. Likewise, I wasn't too fond of the lack of catchiness, which was probably caused by the aforementioned infrequency of foreground instruments. The latter combined with the occasional use of soundscape contributed to the fact that the album contained just too much silence for my taste.

However, after listening to the album some more, most of the melodies that initially seemed to lack catchiness became beautiful and highly emotional and are now etched into my memory, and as the story of the album became more clear to me, I started to look at the emptiness of the album in a more positive light, realizing it added to the atmosphere and feel of the album. It was at this point that I started to really get into the album. However, this was also the point where I completely stopped listening to it, and it would take me almost two weeks to realize why this was.

You see, this album is hard. At first, I thought just writing the review was hard, after I found out that I hadn't typed a single character during the first hour trying to review this album, but that wasn't it. This album itself is hard. It's a demanding album in its own right. In contrast to Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane over the Sea, this album's story is more clear. As a result, this album is best listened to as a whole. It has a fixed beginning and end, and you'll have to listen to this album all the way through, since missing anything inbetween is a loss of experience of the album. As separate tracks, the music can be catchy and even light, but as a whole the album simply makes more sense.

This also signifies one of my major gripes with this album, though. As separate tracks, I couldn't have possibly given this album as high a score as it got, but listening to the album as a whole does have its downsides. When listening to an album in full is as beneficial as it is here, it should stay interesting and listenable all the way through. This gives my initial complaint about the emptiness of the album a renewed validity. This, together with the fact that this is an album you have to immerse yourself into in order to get the most out of it, makes Hospice a very demanding listen. Looking at the score, though, it should be clear that overall, this album is still very much worth it.

Now, before finalizing this review, I feel like I should bring some attention to the vocals. A novel or film can have a terrific story in concept, but can be broken or made by the narration. Likewise, Hospice's believability depends on the vocal delivery. As I've briefly mentioned before, though, the vocals in this album are great. Peter Silberman has a voice that fits the music perfectly. It's like a whisper, but with a more easily discernable pitch. In fact, his voice is so very soft and fragile that at times, you can hear his lips closing after a line. It creates a gripping intimacy within the album. Yet, at other moments, his voice can turn into an intense scream that is equally emotional and fragile ("Sylvia" comes to mind). These two styles together provide a very fitting narration to the album's storyline.

The atmosphere created by the narration and story are only made better by the instrumentation. Due to its scarcity, though, I got the impression that instruments were used purely because they could aid a certain song. Even the guitar only makes an occasional appearance. It seems Peter Silberman simply used instruments when the situation required it. For example, drums are used to give more force to the desparate screams in "Sylvia" or to give a song more epic proportions such as in "Wake", while trumpets are used in "Shiva" to make the song more soothing, much like the use of guitar in "Two". However, none of these instruments can, by any means, be called common on this album. If you would count leaving out instruments when they are not needed, I'd even go as far as to say that instrumentation on this album was brilliant in all its absence.

Reading all this back, I see that my feelings about this album might seem a little ambiguous. In a way, they are, really. This album demands your full attention and requires you to put some effort into listening it, something I'm not always in the mood for. The songs are still good enough to listen to on their own, with a few songs being better and some being worse, but that's about as good as they get for that purpose (which is also the reason I didn't pick any standout tracks for this album). Being able to listen to this album properly, though, requires you to be in a certain state of mind, and at those times, this album was an amazing experience. At others, it's decent to good, simple as that. In the end, it's just not always convenient to listen to this album, even though Hospice is definitely and undoubtedly an indie rock album of undeniable quality.

Score: 89/100

Standout tracks: none

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**WarlordTm** · Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 9:13 pm Post subject:

**arvain** · Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 9:44 pm Post subject:

**Ontwikseltsaar** · Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 2:36 am Post subject:

@ TheLonging I've had quite some time now with the album, and I've listened to it a lot. If I ever change my opinion, I'll adjust the score and label this review as "old" if it isn't appropriate, but for now, this is how I feel about it. I hope this album evolves for me, too, but I honestly don't count on it, except if I find myself in a situation similar to the one depicted in the album.

There are always things I plan to put into a review at first, but are omitted in the end in favor of review structure and legibility, to name a few. In this case, one of the things I wanted to mention at first is how at one point, I imagined someone close to me to be dying, with me being in the hospice watching her go, and how it almost brought me to tears. I'd say I've had all the best and worst experiences you can have with this album already, so that's why I think my opinion as brought forward in this review is definitive.

I hope it's no complaint on your part, though. It sounds like you possibly think I should've listened to this album more... Remember though, I do appreciate it. Just look at the score I gave this album

@ Fugitive It took such a long time for me to post it on SH because I don't (and can't) insert a picture of the album cover and of my (rough) opinion on RYM. After I uploaded the review to RYM, I still had to resize the album cover and actually film myself, import the video, make a screenshot, resize it, etc...

I read your review. If anybody is doubting after reading my review (or someone else's, for that matter) whether or not this album is for him, I'd urge him/her to read your review, since it perfectly displays the way this album CAN be experienced. It's not nearly a guarantee, but I'd say you ("you" in general) should give this album a try if you'd like to have a deep emotional experience. Our stances on this album do still differ, though, so reading multiple reviews is always good... Or you can just get the album and try it!

@ WarlordTm Yes thanks for that! It's hard to look at your own work from an outside perspective and it was great that you were there to critique my work. I definitely had a lot to improve on, even though the general message and structure stayed roughly the same. Also, you do realize this creates expectations from you with regards to future reviews of mine, don't you? :P And thanks for the credit you gave me, it's a huge compliment.

@ arvain If you think this album is too demanding for you, you should give a few separate tracks a try. For starters, try out the singles "Bear" and "Two". It won't be the same as listening to the full album, but they're really good songs and judging by what you said, you might like the way the songs are set up. Also, thanks to you for the compliment. I try to be informative and give my opinion at the same time

I realize how this kind of replying gives an acc-thread kind of vibe... but for me these reviews are accomplishments too, honestly. I know that might make me sound like a douchebag, but I spend a lot of effort writing them.
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**Ontwikseltsaar** · Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2011 6:16 pm Post subject:

"Intestinal Apocalypse Upon the Bloody Altar of the Apocalypse" by Young Breezy and Ryles the Great

Sometimes, when listening to an album, you can't help but wonder about the intention of the artist. Other times, though, the intention of the artist is perfectly clear. In the case of Intestinal Apocalypse Upon the Bloody Altar of the Apocalypse, it is clear that it was not intended to be listened to for it's epic scope or deep subject matter. Even so, this band walks the fine line between a band that makes fun music that doesn't take itself too seriously and one that tries too hard.

Right at the start of the second track of the album, chronicling one of the great wars of the future, it's noticeable how ridiculously over-the-top this album can be (surely, if you know that robots are cool, what could be more cool than DOUBLE robots?). This sense of parody doesn't let up for the rest of the album, with tracks about assholes ("Ares in Every Orifice"), assholes ("Austin Distortion and Ryles the Great Being Assholes") and assholes ("Slutty"), among other things. It seems as though this band has taken the right ingredients for making a great comedy rock album, with it's obviously humorous subject matter and lyrics that, frankly, use language that is JUST a little too... unpolished to be heard in an after school special. What they seem to have forgotten about, though, is dosage.

Of course, it's obvious to hear what Young Breezy and Ryles the Great were going for with this album and to some extent, they succeeded in making that fun record with catchy but skilled guitar playing and playfully crude lyrics. The aforementioned "Double Robot War", one of the better tracks of the album, is a good example of how well that mix between an extravagant story and catchy riffs and soloing can work out. The song strikes just the right balance between these elements, making a track that is simply a lot of fun to listen to. In much the same way, "Austin Distortion and Ryles the Great Being Assholes", an instrumental track that centers around a guitar solo over a well-programmed drum beat, shows that these guys are capable of composing some genuinely enjoyable music.

Not all tracks work as well as "Double Robot War", though. Of course, one of the things that "Double Robot War" has going for it is the heavy use of vocal effects that makes the singer's voice sound like a robot's. This brings me to my biggest gripe with this album: the vocals. Of course, the song "Cadaveriffic" is not meant to be taken seriously on a lyrical level. However, the purpose of making a musically proper grindcore song is defeated when you hear the singer delivering his lines sounding like he is simply talking while inhaling. The same goes for "Ares in Every Orifice", where this vocal style is a real mood killer when the lyrics consist of threatening lines backed up by sinister guitar playing. Then again, since this album is not meant to be taken seriously, you could argue that ridiculous lyrics call for a ridiculous delivery. Consider closing song "Slutty", where vulgar lyrics seem to be sung with a devotion that wouldn't be misplaced in a heavily emotional song about a breakup. Unfortunately, even though it's possible to see how the contrast between the vocal delivery and the actual lines could be considered funny, it doesn't work very well here. In fact, as in "Ares in Every Orifice", the odd way in which the text is sung is simply a mood killer, making it seem as though they're just trying too hard.

Intestinal Apocalypse Upon the Bloody Altar of the Apocalypse does have some things going for it. The lead guitar playing is good and the drum programming is relatively varied and sounds pretty authentic. The over-the-top lyrics work well in some songs and not so well in others. Luckily, with the length of this "album" being just under 14 minutes, most of these annoyances will be cut short before they can really get under your skin, making them more tolerable. However, because of the superficial content and the shortness of the record, there is simply not much room for depth, meaning you'll find yourself skipping the songs you don't like after the first listen. This greatly diminishes its replay value, leaving the listener with even less material than the original 14 minutes. All in all, this album is definitely enjoyable, but the immense lack of substance doesn't encourage repeated listens very much.

Score: 63/100

Standout tracks:
- Double Robot War
- Austin Distortion and Ryles the Great Being Assholes
- Slutty

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I'm gonna get so hated for this. So yeah, this is what I decided to do with my 1337th post.

EDIT: Again, thanks to WarlordTm for proofreading this review! =)
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**Fugitive** · Joined: 20 Aug 2007 Posts: 3035

Well that only took 319 days. Long album, eh?

**Ontwikseltsaar** · Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 9:00 am Post subject: