Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Soundtrack to the Apocalypse, 8 Jun 2002
You should never judge a book by it's cover: a CD, on the other hand, you should, at least if this Texas quartet are anything to go by. The mood of 'Those who tell the truth...' is perfectly summed up by the cover art - based on the story of the appearance of the Angel of Mons, complete with soldiers silhouetted against a wartime sky. Make no mistake, this is war music: not militant but redolent of the drama and tragedy of war. This could be the sanitised soundtrack to the reality of human conflict. Powerful, darkly melodic guitars alternate between picking out lyrical, deceptively peaceful lines and letting loose with huge, brief crescendos. In each of these six songs can be found the calm before the storm, the storm itself, and the shell-shocked lull that follows. The drums especially make full use of military cadences and rythms in the build-ups to occassional cadenzas. Although I came to this album through listening to Godspeed, Explosions in the Sky are not really 'post-' anything, except in mood, and use basic rock techniques to superb effect. There is nothing groundbreaking in terms of style or content and - besides a monologue at the beginning of 'Have You Passed Through This Night?' lamenting 'this great evil'- there is no found sound or tape effects. Listeners looking for something different, experimental or new will be disappointed. But as instrumental rock albums with apocalyptic overtones goes there are few comparisons. If Godspeed portay a post-apocalyptic soundscape than Explosions in the Sky recount the apocalypse itself. The music is very sad and at times epic, but amidst all the drums and guitars are the beautiful and fragile melody lines, magnified by the context in which they're found.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
BREATHTAKING, 20 Mar 2003
By A Customer
I just want to reiterate what has been said about this record above - it is staggeringly beautiful. Yes, it it an instrumental rock record but relies solely on guitars and drums (so avoiding any real GYBE! similarities). This is perhaps the best "Post Rock" (for want of a better word) made since Slint's 'Spiderland'. Oh, and if you ever get the chance - see them live - the experience is amazing!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
beauty in dynamics, 29 Aug 2002
everyone should own this record. it is simply breathtaking. not just anther one of those instrumental, loud/soft bands, explosions in the sky redefine the whole genre. the use of dynamics, and brilliant percussion sections make this a truly beautiful record. in particular, i am in love with 'yasmin the light' (ignore the amazon tracklisting, its wrong, choose 'die') and how its changes from this melancholy slow, sombre-mooded instrumental, to a ravenous, highly-charged, drum infested magnum opus, mkaing me want to cry. other stand-out tracks are 'have you passed through this night?', and the opener 'greet death'.. buy it!
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