Cons: Some might need vocals or a more accessible style.
The Bottom Line: The album can bring out the artistic/imaginative side of you, you've never seen before. One of the best albums I've come across the last few years.
steven9988's Full Review: The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place by Explosions I...
I have taken a break from my "trying to only review new albums" to review this one which was introduced to me by a friend who I have been taking recommendations from the last few days. I've done this in an attempt to widen my musical tastes, even more, even though I already do have a pretty diverse one if I do say so myself. My grandparents were complaining one time how there isn't enough instrumental stuff around nowadays. They strictly listen to classical music mostly and don't give much nowaday music a chance. Who can blame them when the only music most of the mainstream gets access to is manufactured pop. What first appealed to me about this album is of course the fact that it was instrumental.It's hard for me to name many instrumental associated bands besides maybe Godspeed! You Black Emperor and maybe some Sigur Ros. Of course there are, I'm sure, many other bands but rarely do they reach any status at all on the market. Maybe I could convince myself as well that bands can still pull it off with emotion and atmosphere without needing a voice to bluntly point out what the music is about and what the musicians are trying to accomplish. I was very eager to check this out. It's either the second or third installment in the Explosions In The Sky library but they have also contributed to many collaborating albums.
The first track "First Breathe After Coma" begins with the same guitar note echoing into a steady but slow drum beat and a pounding bass to create a serene atmosphere. Then the guitar begins to drift on it's own as if a main character has just been revelead to an audience watching a play. The drums then noticeably begin in a march like and optimistic pattern and then quickly other instruments chime in here and there to create a beautiful opening picture and you can barely notice that already 5 minutes have gone by. The intro then abruptly stops into pure silenceand a new wave of light begins to grow from the nothingness. It's a tad bit noisy and perhaps shows a little concern. It might be saying, "Where have I been all this time." and rightfully so because it's the first breathe after a coma as the title suggests. And you feel as if some journey or obstacle has been accomplished and overcome and now a new world has begun. And you are eager to learn whats going to happen next as the music continues to beat and the character realizes he is still living and we've made it.
Then the next scene "The Only Moment We Were Alone" begins to fade in and somehow the different yet similiar tone of the guitar sets a new tone. It's still optimistic as the whole album suggests but now it's a I'm going to do something about this fortune and I'm going to make use of what I've been given. Every song grows into a point, one which can be interpreted in various ways. This happens to be the longest track reaching a little over the 10 minute mark. All of the 5 tracks on the album are over 8 minutes and are very satisfying. One wonderful feature of the band is that they pull this all off with simply guitars, bass and drums. I've seen live clips from them and it's amazing how they can turn a CD store or anyother small venue they play at into a comforting area with overwhelming warmness.
"Six Days At The Bottom Of The Ocean" is one of the more obscure names on the album. The names are rightfully closely examined by the listener because it's one of the few blunt ways we can figure out what the albums purpose is and I think they do a good job revealing the perfect amount of information to us. The song begins with a very deep sea like atmosphere yet still very peaceful. A lot of the album can be considered sort of a soundtrack to an unexistant movie. (for a more unexpected and dark atmosphere you might want to check out my Fantomas - Delirium Cordia review) The main driven force of many of the songs doesn't change much but it's how they use the other instruments to accompany the painting and make parts explode while others are almost dead silent is what makes the album so special. Sometimes you forget that the same guitar riff has been going for the last 4 minutes or so and rarely do you notice any repetiveness throughout the album - it's always a progressing story. I'd rather not say how I interpet this song or the rest of the album because I don't want you to have a biased look going into it.
The next track is "Memorial" which begins like most of the other songs. Very silent and still and then just slowly builds and builds. Every song is very three dimensional and you can see many different angles. (no I'm not on drugs, lol) The volume continuously contrasts, guitars fade in and out with drums. It's just a swirling and infinite feeling. This is the type of music you can fall asleep to because it truly paints a mood yet at the same time it's great to listen to because of the inspiration it produces. There are so many positive things to say it's hard to believe that most people will not like this. I know many people who can't seem to give instrumental music a chance and it's a real shame. I guess it just has to do with the way we are being brought up and how the media shoves a certain style down our throats and we become so stuck into one type of music.
The final track is labeled "Your Hand In Mine" and seems a little corny and emo just reading the title but who knows what they really mean. That's another great thing about the story being told. You can make it a happy or sad ending and it doesn't have to be corny if you are in the right mind set while listening. Maybe the first breath after coma was into a new world? And your hand in mine is a hand that can never be brought into the new world until it's her/his time to go. As said before it can be intepreted in so many ways and it'll probably depend on what you think of the previous tracks to what this ending might be. Either way it's no question the album is a positive and optimistic one which is not very angst driven and a very refreshing and much needed feeling when looking at some of the atrocious things we see in the world today.
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