The 2013 Arsies: January 3, 2013

January 3, 2013

Today's competition was a bit of a head scratcher: a battle between a recording that's hard to remember and one that's hard to understand. (I almost don't want to call them "albums," as they're both EP-sized, but if it's good enough for Slayer, it's good enough for me.)
Whitechapel's self-titled album is dark, angry, and a real headbanger from the get-go. In this album's case, the get-go gets going at 0:51 of the album opener, Make It Bleed. You'll have to sit still through a de rigueur piano intro first. But then, it is so on. The album is paced like the performance of an opening act that wants to see you in the pit for the entirety brutal set. (At 38 minutes, it would also be a relatively short set, but that fact doesn't actually come across in the listening.) The trouble only sets in once the music starts; none of it sticks in your memory. You'll know you enjoyed it, but you'll be damned if you can remember why.
Then there's Every Time I Die. I've been listening to Ex Lives pretty consistently for over half a year, and parts of it have gotten stuck in my head, but I'm still not sure what the fuck I think about it. It's equal parts Dillinger Escape Plan, Norma Jean, Glassjaw, Buckcherry, and the Beatles. At least, that's what I hear in tracks like Indian Giver and Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space. The ETID comes together in a patchwork of catchy pastiches that is ragged, confused, and confusing.
And yet, with that low praise, I've gotta give it to Every Time I Die. When it comes to metal, it's better to be ferkakta than forgettable.
Next up, it's Lamb Of God against the Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza!