Brand New - The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me Review
Contents |
General Information
Original Author: Asphyxia Feeling
Artist: Brand New
Album: The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me
Genre: ?
Overall
Brand New's third album is one of loss, death, and guilt; with topics ranging from God to the death of loved ones and beyond. during the writing/record period of making the record, 15 people close to the band died. this has had an obvious effect on the sound of the album, which is much darker then their previous effort, Deja Entendu. I'd best describe it as album that quickly grows on you after a few listens. if you have to classify it, it's alternative rock.
Sound
Brand New has honed the art of showing emotion through music. through broken chords to screaming bend riffs, you can feel the anger and sadness of the band as you listen. i actually wrote a whole paragraph right here, but i felt like a pompus hipster upon reading it over. so, basically, it's great.
Lyrics
Jesse Lacey's lyrics can be described as chilling, haunting, and introspective. this has been apparent since the band's first album. i really like his lyrics. i wish i had his abilities. i don't think i can really judge past that. here's lyrics to two songs. check them out yourself:
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ, that's a pretty face
The kind you'd find on someone that could save
If they don't put me away
It’ll be a miracle
Do you believe you're missing out?
That everything good is happening somewhere else
With nobody in your bed
The night is hard to get through
And I will die all alone
And when I arrive I won’t know anyone
Jesus Christ, I’m alone again
So what did you do those three days you were dead?
Because this problem is gonna last
More than the weekend
Jesus Christ I’m not scared to die
But I’m a little bit scared of what comes after
Do I get the gold chariot
Or do I float through the ceiling
Or do I divide and pull apart
Cause my bright is too slight to hold back all my dark
This ship went down in sight of land
And at the gates does Thomas ask to see my hands?
I know you're coming in the night like a thief
But I’ve had some time, O Lord, to hone my lying technique
I know you think that I’m someone you can trust
But I’m scared I’ll get scared and I swear I’ll try to nail you back up
So do you think that we could work out a sign
So I’ll know it's you and that it's over so I won't even try
I know you're coming for the people like me
But we all got wood and nails
And we turn out hate in factories
We all got wood and nails
And we turn out hate in factories
We all got wood and nails
And we sleep inside of this machine
Archers
Who do you carry that torch for, my young man?
Do you believe in anything?
Or do you carry it around just to burn things down?
Meet me tonight on the turnpike my darling,
where we believe in everything.
If we sweat all these debts then we're sure to drown,
so let's strap ourselves up to this engine now
with our God who we found laying under the back seat.
What did you learn tonight?
while shouting so loud, you barely joyous, broken thing.
You are a voice that never sings, is what i say.
You are freezing over hell
You are bringing on that end you do so well
and you can only blame yourself, is what is say.
Oh, order your daughters to ignore me
think that will sort me?
and sweep me under the rug?
while you're beating with a book
everyone that book tells you to love.
There is an ember in the heart of this kiln
and it's burning hot with love.
Burning out my center till there's nothing but dust
then rolling me with care into your cigarette
cause the God i believe in never worked on a campaign trail.
What did you learn tonight?
You're shouting so loud, you barely joyous, broken thing.
You're a voice that never sings, is what i say.
You are freezing over hell.
You are bringing on the end you've read about
and you can only blame yourself, is what i say.
Who do you carry that torch for, my young man?
Do you believe in anything,
or do you carry it around just to burn things to the ground?
I do hope you bothered to read them. haha.
Conclusion
i think this album is going to be a classic of Indie/Alternative/whateverthehellcriticsaregoingtocallmusic fans in a few years. it's pretty amazing. it's strange, although Brand New has signed to a major label with this record, they have had no music videos and very little promotion. i think this was intentional on the band's part. Most of Brand New's music is spread by word of mouth through their fans.
Other Albums
Your Favorite Weapon (2001): Smart Pop-Punk with clever lyrics. stands out in the huge pop-punk genre's good albums.
Deja Entendu (2003): Much more creative pop-punk/alt-rock. very listenable. one of the ultimate albums to listen to if you're crushing over a girl, haha.
Fin
I'd just like to add that normally i hate reviews, especially bad ones. i mean, unless the album is absolute garbage, how can anybody give something a 1/5 calling it crap? (i guess an exception can come when it's something lame like remixes made my the label to milk you for money, haha)
HOWEVER, i think giving praise and trying to share good music is always a good thing, hence the review.
