Evergreen Terrace "Writer's Block" CD
[Eulogy]
I was really curious to hear this because I thought these guys' full-length was really pretty good, and everyone likes cover songs, right? Plus, looking at the tracklist, they chose some awesome songs - both because most of the originals are really good, and because the vast majority of the choices aren't at all generic (aside from the far too overdone "Sunday Bloody Sunday", granted their rendition is very cool). For the most part this is a good record because they stay true enough to the originals for the structures and core melodies to be recognizable, but they also add their own style to it with a mix of vicious screams and effective singing, lots of chunky rhythms and additional layers of guitar parts, etc. The only songs herein that I'm not otherwise familiar with are Hum's "Stars" and "The Kids Aren't Alright" by The Offspring (which happens to be the most boring song herein), but I was pleased to hear covers of Operation Ivy's "Knowledge" and especially "Dying Degree" by NOFX, which happens to be my favorite NOFX song of all time - one of the few truly excellent songs the band has written to date. They cut out the intro of the song, which sucks because that's one of the best parts about the original, but whatever. You'll also get covers of everything from 80's classics (Michael Sembello's "Maniac") to more recent "hits" (the Smashing Pumpkins' "Zero"), as well as tracks by Sponge and Tears for Fears. The last track is a new Evergreen Terrace original, "Brave Reality", which is fairly short at less than three minutes and really fits in great with the covers. It's a bit heavier, but sill balances out the band's style with plenty of melody. At the end of the disc is a little acoustic medley deal where a little Poison gem by the name of "Every Rose Has its Thorn" morphs into "Bodies" by Drowning Pool with some Spongebob thrown in for extra amusement. I don't mind the production. It's pretty thick and evenly mixed, etc. There's room for improvement, but nothing strikes me as overly problematic, and I don't form a strong opinion about it one way or the other. I can listen to it without any issues springing to mind, so that makes it better than average and suitable in my book. The layout's pretty cool. I really like the color scheme and the general arrangement of everything. It just has an eye catching look with lots of thick colors, dirty textures, fairly high quality photos, etc. Not bad at all. Of course the lyrics aren't included since they're all cover songs, but it's enough to get the job done. Current fans of the band are advised to check this out for sure. (7/10)
Running time - 34:11, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Maniac, Plowed, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Dying Degree]
Eulogy Recordings - http://www.eulogyrecordings.com

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