Artist: Today is the Day
Label: Relapse Records
Release Date: 6/29/04
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Title: Kiss the Pig Artist: Today is the Day Label: Relapse Records Release Date: 6/29/04 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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4 | ||
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3 | ||
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4 | ||
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Abyss's Review:
After the overindulgent Sadness Will Prevail, Today Is The Day's new album comes across as a much more concise and focused work. The band seems to prefer structured songs on this record as opposed to the experimentation that dominated their last album, and as a result, Kiss The Pig is much easier to listen to.
"One word review: Dirty." TITD are still an unclean metal band, the musical equivalent of the damp and creepy corners of the basement you were scared to go into as a child, but they do seem to have 'matured' a bit on this release. Main man Steve Austin is making an obvious attempt at courting a wider audience. Not a mainstream audience, mind you, but those in the metal underground who need a bit more structure in their songs to get into a certain band. And it is successful. I personally respected their last effort, but parts of it simply put me to sleep. This album, while not perfect, is interesting throughout, and unrivaled with regard to sound.
And while TITD can't really compare to other bands out there, they satisfy the parts of me that so loved Acid Bath and Brutal Truth. I'm not sure why. It might be the sweaty, humid atmosphere of the music. The kind that makes me fell like I'm going to choke on smoke every time I inhale. It might be the pent up anger that seeps out through every thick note, but whatever it is, it's powerful.
The album's near constant high pitched screaming does make it hard for me to listen to this album for more than a few songs at a time, however. It's not that I don't like the vocals, I just think they're a little too shrill to be the driving force of the majority of the lyrics. But aside from that one quibble, Today Is The Day remain one of the most interesting bands out there. One word review: Dirty.
Death's Review:
Dude, you either like the abrasive Today is the Day sound or you don't. Steve Austin's screechy vocals are definitely an acquired taste. So what you really want to know is how does Kiss the Pig stack up to the back catalogue. To me, it stacks up well. It is probably one of the band's more enjoyable albums, at least for the average metalhead. And casual fan. Kiss the Pig is aggressive, abrasive and super-fast, yet maintains a certain headbanging groove that holds it all together. Yes, the follow-up to 2002's Sadness Will Prevail definitely delivers the punishing blow you're surely looking for. Lyrically, the album feels political, with song titles like "Why They Hate Us" and the like, although I don't have all of the lyrics so this feels like an aspect of the record I've left unexplored.
"Feel the misanthropy bleed from your ears." Anyway, this album is about a certain "feeling" as much as anything, a certain ultra-negative state of mind. Put this one on when you are pissed off. Feel the misanthropy bleed from your ears. Appreciate the headbanging frenzy. Hate yourself and everyone like you. Cast judgment upon all who dare to exist. Breathe in the soiled air, and learn to mistrust it. Wallow in your disgust and contempt for mankind. This is the vibe created by Kiss the Pig. And yes, it works as a pretty good crusty-technical math/death metal album too.
Hel's Review:
Today is the Day is a band that I basically know entirely from having seen them live numerous times. I was actually a little surprised to realize that I have never once sat down with one of their albums. So here I am, quite familiar with the band, yet listening to them on disc for the very first time. How very odd. And for those who are unfamiliar with the band, those exact three words describe them appropriately: how very odd.
"Today is the Day continues to bring us insanity at its finest." Today is the Day are members of the chaos and distortion school of metal, and the number one complaint I am accustomed to hearing about them is that the vocalist's scream is too high and whiny. Considering how extremely picky I am about vocals, it may surprise you to learn that I am not one of the people who find his voice annoying. I feel it fits the music perfectly, and find that I am not troubled by it at all.
The songs on Kiss the Pig strike me as a little less wild, chaotic, and bizarre as their past material, but don't mistake the heightened song structure for total control, the songs are still frenetic and strange, just a slightly more traditional way, and only in comparison to their older work. In comparison to most other bands, you could call them neither traditional nor structured.
Today is the Day remains a force unto themselves. Those who enjoy their metal extreme, noisy and rather disorganized should already be familiar with this band, but if for some reason you are not, Kiss the Pig is a fine place to begin. Today is the Day continues to bring us insanity at its finest.
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