Generic metalcore with a few twists...
"You cured me of my foolish obsession with love / I'll love you until my last breath takes you from me." This set of lyrics is featured in a song called "Expired in Goreville." With lyrics and song titles like that, it was no surprise that the sound that greeted me when I put Chiodos in my record player was a screamo/metalcore hybrid.
There is certainly a lot of stereotypical emo baggage that comes along with All's Well That Ends Well, the bands Equal Vision Records debut. The lead singer's voice is of the strained Chris Carabba variety. There is ghoulish art accompanying the album featuring decapitated dolls and blood seeping from a house. There are spoken word breakdowns accompanied by chugga-chugga guitar riffs and background screams. The lyrics are almost all cringe worthy odes to broken hearts and senseless violence. Chiodos is definitely a band stuck in the throes of its chosen genre.
Despite these numerous flaws, one will notice an abundance of intriguing musical devices going on throughout the six piece from Flint, Michigan's album. Time signatures change, guitars provide rousing jazz chords, classical pianos pop up, and songs shift dramatically from chugging metal to pop-punk to finger-picked acoustic ditties. Just when I would be about to give up on this record, my ear would perk up and grab onto a unique electronic beat or piano interlude.
Chiodos is clearly a band with an abundance of talent and ideas; however, most music listeners with a mature taste will be hard pressed to get passed the lame lyrics and whiny voice. Sure, there are some interesting parts of songs on All's Well That Ends Well, but the lack of cohesion and constant genre-shifting means that there are really no truly outstanding songs. With some maturation and focus, Chiodos could release a solid album. For now, this is yet another CD to stack on the pile of soon to be forgotten metalcore releases.
2/4
