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jimbies
Noose Springsteen

Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2016 2:52 pm
Posts: 4145
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Wed Sep 29, 2021 8:56 am 
 

After listening to it dozens of times since its release, I do think it's weaker than Mana overall. The first 4 tracks are the best songs (with Heroin being by and far the best song they've ever done). Still enjoying the heck out of this, though.

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narsilianshard
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Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:22 pm
Posts: 3618
Location: PDX
PostPosted: Wed Sep 29, 2021 11:16 am 
 

Yeah, it's just such a lopsided album it's really hard to listen all the way through. If they had released just the first 4 or 5 songs as an EP it would have been perfect.
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MeavyHetal
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Oct 14, 2006 5:54 pm
Posts: 1076
PostPosted: Thu Sep 30, 2021 12:03 pm 
 

Can't really decide whether I like this more or less than Mana. I find Mana to be a bit more consistent in terms of quality but Strength hits more highs with its best songs (Heroin is an absolute ripper).

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Oblarg
Veteran

Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2009 2:59 pm
Posts: 2974
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Oct 02, 2021 11:37 pm 
 

Better than Mana on all fronts, to my ears. Songwriting is more varied, hooks are better, Gabe's figured out how to do some more things with his voice.
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CannibalCorpse
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2004 3:55 pm
Posts: 1011
Location: Austria
PostPosted: Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:35 pm 
 

It is a grower, eventually.

Really big on "Summer Lightning" already, I even dislike "Little Bird" quite a bit less, despite the autotune.

"Can You Hear the Rain" is still their best song to my pair of ears, but there's a lot of great stuff on this one too.
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Oblarg
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Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2009 2:59 pm
Posts: 2974
Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon Oct 04, 2021 11:04 am 
 

I really like Little Bird, actually. It's a nice change of pace from the rest of the album. Variety never hurt anyone.
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iamntbatman wrote:
manowar are literally five times the band that fates warning are: each member is as good as fates warning alone, then joey's bass solos are like an entire extra fates warning

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I_Am_Vengeance
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2005 1:11 pm
Posts: 1923
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Tue Oct 05, 2021 8:08 pm 
 

I think I might prefer Mana but I feel like this album has some of their strongest work.

I think the first half is definitely stronger on this album but that's not to say the second half is worthless. No real garbage tracks on here but the cover is my least favourite for sure. Like everyone else has said Heroin is definitely a banger but I'm glad these types of tracks are more sparse as I think it makes them more special and unique, at least to the bands sound.

Overall I think the album is really good and I look forward to some more material.
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Kalaratri
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Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 3:22 pm
Posts: 2871
PostPosted: Tue Oct 05, 2021 10:51 pm 
 

I wish there were was more of the heavy stuff like Heroin and Destiny but in general aside from the Pat Benatar cover the album is solid. The lighter stuff still has a lot of emotional weight to it and the album overall is very catchy.

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lupin99
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Oct 30, 2008 12:58 pm
Posts: 251
PostPosted: Fri Oct 08, 2021 1:53 am 
 

I got my physical copy today and I've been listening to it more and I feel this is one of my favorite releases this year.

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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
Posts: 35180
Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Fri Oct 08, 2021 2:41 pm 
 

I don't really see the imbalance in quality here - whole thing seems quite consistent to me. Slightly less overtly poppy than the last one, though it does have more of a classic rock bent to it overall. Seems like a band maturing. Should be interesting to see what they do from here.
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Oblarg
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Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2009 2:59 pm
Posts: 2974
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Oct 09, 2021 12:35 pm 
 

To my ears, the best track comes right at the end. I'm also liking this trend of "thematic title track at the end of the album," and hope they continue it.
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iamntbatman wrote:
manowar are literally five times the band that fates warning are: each member is as good as fates warning alone, then joey's bass solos are like an entire extra fates warning

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Benedict
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2016 1:27 am
Posts: 30
Location: Chad
PostPosted: Sun Oct 10, 2021 3:15 am 
 

Very frustrating band for me.

First EP was just fucking phenomenal through and through. They not only managed to carve an original metal sound in this day and age, which is a rarity by itself, but also found a perfect measure of heaviness and melody to leave a lasting impression with each and every track.

Then the first LP came, and it spectacularly lowered their own bar with totally unmemorable filler material all over. Even after many repeat listens, i struggle to remember almost any of the tracks there, which is mind boggling for such an inherently catchy and hooky band.

After that fiasco, mini EP raised my expectations again with It doesnt Really Matter and Puppy Love being such stellar tracks. My hopes were great for the upcoming LP, strengthened with great When Will Gods Work Be Done single.

Then Strength came, and blew my mind instantly with the Heroin opener being the heaviest track they ever recorded. Unfortunately, it went downhill again from there. While not being as abysmal as Mana, only the mind-blowing opener, two current singles and Summer Lightning seem to really stick for me here.

I think many bands today, and not just newcomers like Unto Others, seem to suffer immensely from the absence of really creative producers working on their material, helping them shape their sound properly and keep their momentum from track to track. I can only imagine what these guys could achieve with someone like Nick Raskulinecz helping them along the way. They are SO close to greatness, and really just need a few slight pushes here and there to fully knock it out of the park.


Last edited by Benedict on Sun Oct 10, 2021 9:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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therealvivs
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2010 4:26 pm
Posts: 566
PostPosted: Sun Oct 10, 2021 12:58 pm 
 

I absolutely love this band and this new record.
Not sure if I prefer it over Mana - time will tell. I think that - as others have mentioned - it's not as immediate and is a bit of a grower, but still plenty catchy with serious hooks everywhere.

These guys remind me a lot of bands such The Police, The Cult, Tears For Fears, The Mission, but with sharper teeth, so to speak. I'm actually quite surprised to see them embraced by the metal community as much as they have been so far.
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narsilianshard
Veteran

Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:22 pm
Posts: 3618
Location: PDX
PostPosted: Sun Oct 10, 2021 5:46 pm 
 

Benedict wrote:
I can only imagine what these guys could achieve with someone like Nick Raskulinecz or Arthur Rizk helping them along the way.

Can you elaborate? Rizk was the producer on this album so this is a super confusing statement.
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Benedict
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2016 1:27 am
Posts: 30
Location: Chad
PostPosted: Sun Oct 10, 2021 9:24 pm 
 

Well, my bad, i didnt know that. It certainly sounds better and has more memorable tracks than Mana. I think Raskulinecz would be a perfect pick for them.

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LycanthropeMoon
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:53 pm
Posts: 2296
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Oct 21, 2021 10:38 am 
 

https://untootherspdx.bandcamp.com/albu ... -halloween

They've put out a little Halloween EP, for anyone that's interested.

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BrutalizerUtilizerOfTheShadows
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Sep 16, 2015 10:59 am
Posts: 1071
Location: In the Cold Winds of Nowhere
PostPosted: Thu Oct 21, 2021 2:27 pm 
 

LycanthropeMoon wrote:
https://untootherspdx.bandcamp.com/album/i-believe-in-halloween

They've put out a little Halloween EP, for anyone that's interested.


I went ahead and blind preordered the vinyl, and I'll get the tracks from the bandcamp later when I get home. This was quite a surprise that they would already put out more new music! It's always exciting when they do for sure. I missed out on the last 7" they did (it was sold out by the time I found out about it), hoping that will get repressed at some point. It would also be really cool if they did a compilation on CD that included all these EPs and singles that weren't on full-lengths.
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CoconutBackwards
Bullet Centrist

Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2016 2:02 pm
Posts: 1787
PostPosted: Thu Oct 21, 2021 2:39 pm 
 

God damn. That's really cool.

I'm not gonna buy it, but this has pushed me to buy the latest album.

It's growing on me a lot slower than Mana did, but I'm finally at the point where I need to buy it.
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Oblarg
Veteran

Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2009 2:59 pm
Posts: 2974
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Oct 23, 2021 9:56 pm 
 

Hah, this is a nifty little EP. First track is better than the second, but for a name-your-price one-off I'm not gonna complain.
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iamntbatman wrote:
manowar are literally five times the band that fates warning are: each member is as good as fates warning alone, then joey's bass solos are like an entire extra fates warning

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66samhain
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2021 12:23 pm
Posts: 108
Location: Romania
PostPosted: Thu Nov 04, 2021 11:00 am 
 

My biggest pet peeve with Unto Others is how Gabe's voice sounds the same all over the track. Like, whether it's a clean verse or a poweful chorus, the vocals stay pretty much the same, which is a shame because the instrumentals are amazing, and the songs are really catchy. I still listen to them and it's one of my favourite discoveries when it comes to new bands, though.

I can't say I'm a fan of their album covers either.
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CannibalCorpse
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2004 3:55 pm
Posts: 1011
Location: Austria
PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2021 1:57 am 
 

66samhain wrote:
I can't say I'm a fan of their album covers either.


I absolutely LOVE their Album covers ^^ I have the "Mana" vinyl mounted to the wall because I like it so much, the color scheme is great. "Strength" has a good one too. How tastes can be different.

Anyway, I've written a review for the new one and settled for a 87/100 score, while "Mana" got 95/100. Both are great albums, but "Strength" is a little too lacking in the middle and the autotune still annoys me.
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66samhain
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2021 12:23 pm
Posts: 108
Location: Romania
PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2021 4:09 pm 
 

I do appreciate the covers as individual works of art, they are really well made, but that style of painting isn't really my cup of tea when it comes to album covers, ha ha. I like Kristian Wåhlin's style more for metal albums, for example. The Don't Waste Your Time cover was nice though.
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jimbies
Noose Springsteen

Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2016 2:52 pm
Posts: 4145
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2021 6:58 pm 
 

How did this EP skip past me? There was like ZERO promotion for this.

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