10 Years - The Autumn Effect
Album of the Week
Date - 2005-07-24 00:00:00
After I first listened to this album, I decided that it was somewhat generic and uninteresting. However, over the course of a week it grew on me considerably. If you have a general interest in new hard rock, 10 Years is a good place to start - the music is accessible and simple, the vocals are handled extremely well, and while there is not a lot of variety or artistry on this album, overall The Autumn Effect is a pretty fun listen.
What struck me at first was how similar the vocalist's style was to that of Maynard Keenan's style, especially when examining A Perfect Circle's Mer de Noms. Not many bands have adopted this melodic, dark singing style. I am not sure why, as it contrasts and thus compliments heavy rhythmic guitar extremely well and brings another unique element to hard rock songs. These vocal stylings are especially apparent in the first few tracks, and the first song "Waking Up" is an especially good example of how it works well.
10 Years tries a little too hard on this album, with a couple of instrumental tracks that are not particularly bad but do not bring anything interesting to the table. They also seem to lose a bit of energy in the middle of the disc, with tracks 6 to 9 being pretty forgettable. However, track 11's "Insects" is probably my second-favorite song on the album, and the final track, "Autumn Effect", is pretty solid in its own right.
While 10 Years did not break any new ground in the hard rock scene with their debut album, they did make a pretty listenable album. You should only approach it if you already like the genre, but if you do you will probably find two or three songs that will stay with you.
Score: 6/10
What struck me at first was how similar the vocalist's style was to that of Maynard Keenan's style, especially when examining A Perfect Circle's Mer de Noms. Not many bands have adopted this melodic, dark singing style. I am not sure why, as it contrasts and thus compliments heavy rhythmic guitar extremely well and brings another unique element to hard rock songs. These vocal stylings are especially apparent in the first few tracks, and the first song "Waking Up" is an especially good example of how it works well.
10 Years tries a little too hard on this album, with a couple of instrumental tracks that are not particularly bad but do not bring anything interesting to the table. They also seem to lose a bit of energy in the middle of the disc, with tracks 6 to 9 being pretty forgettable. However, track 11's "Insects" is probably my second-favorite song on the album, and the final track, "Autumn Effect", is pretty solid in its own right.
While 10 Years did not break any new ground in the hard rock scene with their debut album, they did make a pretty listenable album. You should only approach it if you already like the genre, but if you do you will probably find two or three songs that will stay with you.
Score: 6/10
Another week, another band I've never heard of. In this case, it's again because this is the band's first effort. As Niv would say, "ground floor, buddy". 10 Years - The Autumn Effect. Cool names, both.
So, how to characterize this group. Well, it's immediately apparent that they are in the so-called progessive/ethereal rock genre. Yeah, I don't really know exactly what that means either, so let's just say that Tool and A Perfect Circle are the headliners of this genre. I never got into Tool until semi-recently, but once I did I really appreciated their music, their style, and their depth of song structure. I loved A Perfect Circle's first album (I thought their second album was terrible). Recent bands such as Breaking Benjamin and, more successfully, Chevelle have come along with this type of music but haven't really approached the coolness, uniqueness, or listenability of the headliners (though I did like Chevelle's last effort).
Until now. The Autumn Effect is simply an epic album, right up there with the best of the genre. That's all there is to it. One review I read wrote, "The combination of impressive songwriting, impeccable production and technically superb musicianship has me curious as to when major labels started signing incredible bands again", and I couldn't agree more. This album is, in a word, kick-ass. And it's the ground floor, buddy.
The album is very well put together and extremely strong throughout. Naturally, I think some songs are better than others, but there is not really a single track I would say is weak. The guitars are awesomely heavy, the lyrics are smooth and strong, the beat flows and transitions beautifully between the two. I would feel comfortable with pretty much any track getting radio play, but the great thing is that none of them are formulated _for_ the radio, like so many songs you hear recently (see: All-American Rejects).
There are 13 tracks, let me list the ones that stand out to me: 'Waking Up', 'Fault Line', 'The Recipe', 'Seasons To Cycle' [sounds very much like Tantric, if you remember that band from 3 or 4 years ago], 'Half Life', 'Through The Iris' [probably my favorite track, the flow and depth is amazing], 'Prey' [second favorite], and 'Autumn Effect'. So yeah, you get the point, I just listed 8 tracks, and the other 5 are still excellent. All these songs are just structured brilliantly, with incredibly strong hooks. They are powerful and you are almost infused with that as you listen. I apologize if all of this sounds cliched or whatever, but that's the way it is. I could write like this about some of my favorite bands, but I don't/wouldn't because I expect it from them at this point. I wasn't expecting much from this album, and instead I got gold.
I was amazingly impressed with this album, obviously, I find it hard to believe that this is their first effort. Some bands you hear and you think, man, I could come up with that fluff. Not these guys; I honestly have no idea how you go about creating something like this, but I know I could never approach it. If this band has the potential to get much better, well... that would be something.
The verdict: 9.5/10
So, how to characterize this group. Well, it's immediately apparent that they are in the so-called progessive/ethereal rock genre. Yeah, I don't really know exactly what that means either, so let's just say that Tool and A Perfect Circle are the headliners of this genre. I never got into Tool until semi-recently, but once I did I really appreciated their music, their style, and their depth of song structure. I loved A Perfect Circle's first album (I thought their second album was terrible). Recent bands such as Breaking Benjamin and, more successfully, Chevelle have come along with this type of music but haven't really approached the coolness, uniqueness, or listenability of the headliners (though I did like Chevelle's last effort).
Until now. The Autumn Effect is simply an epic album, right up there with the best of the genre. That's all there is to it. One review I read wrote, "The combination of impressive songwriting, impeccable production and technically superb musicianship has me curious as to when major labels started signing incredible bands again", and I couldn't agree more. This album is, in a word, kick-ass. And it's the ground floor, buddy.
The album is very well put together and extremely strong throughout. Naturally, I think some songs are better than others, but there is not really a single track I would say is weak. The guitars are awesomely heavy, the lyrics are smooth and strong, the beat flows and transitions beautifully between the two. I would feel comfortable with pretty much any track getting radio play, but the great thing is that none of them are formulated _for_ the radio, like so many songs you hear recently (see: All-American Rejects).
There are 13 tracks, let me list the ones that stand out to me: 'Waking Up', 'Fault Line', 'The Recipe', 'Seasons To Cycle' [sounds very much like Tantric, if you remember that band from 3 or 4 years ago], 'Half Life', 'Through The Iris' [probably my favorite track, the flow and depth is amazing], 'Prey' [second favorite], and 'Autumn Effect'. So yeah, you get the point, I just listed 8 tracks, and the other 5 are still excellent. All these songs are just structured brilliantly, with incredibly strong hooks. They are powerful and you are almost infused with that as you listen. I apologize if all of this sounds cliched or whatever, but that's the way it is. I could write like this about some of my favorite bands, but I don't/wouldn't because I expect it from them at this point. I wasn't expecting much from this album, and instead I got gold.
I was amazingly impressed with this album, obviously, I find it hard to believe that this is their first effort. Some bands you hear and you think, man, I could come up with that fluff. Not these guys; I honestly have no idea how you go about creating something like this, but I know I could never approach it. If this band has the potential to get much better, well... that would be something.
The verdict: 9.5/10