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| GradeHeadfirst Straight To Hell2001 Victory 
 Review by: coldjuly See others by this writer Official site (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on August 24th 2001 Grade is one of those bands you just cant help but be drawn to, They have helped shoot victory records to the top of the heap of independent labels. Their unique sound and brand of hardcore just kinda hits you in a way that most music dosent....And this album will speak no less. Always known for their incredible display of emotion both in their albums and live shows, The band writes incredible lyrics and leaves the listener in complete awe. and so far, all of their records, including this one has made me a true fan. But to tell you the truth, I was really skeptical about this record at first but without hearing anything I guess because of all the negative talk about this record going around...... but, I heard the first 3 songs yesterday, and went right out and bought it. They've definitley taken the sucess from Under the Radar, and run with it. This album shows much better guitar work, better song structures and Kyle actually sings a little more this time around. The first song "termites hollow" is awesome, great song to kick it off with. They keep it going with great songs like "becoming not being" "overthrowing creation itself" "In ashes we lie" "20 moons" "will bending" and others. I had heard a lot of people say that grade seems to write 3 good songs per album, and the rest are songs to fill up space. And I felt the same way the When I first heard And Such is Progress a few years back, but it takes the listener some time to get used to them, really. Because there are not many bands who can capture and create their own sound like Grade can. Now the big question that will be coming: which is better? Under The Radar, or this record. Well, It's a little too early to make that judgement right now. I loved Under the Radar and was one of my favorites in '99 and HSTH has that similar sound. But HSTH is a bit more upbeat; when I say that I mean a faster, cleaner sound.
To bring it to an end, This is 13 tracks of some awesome hardcore. If you liked Under the Radar, chances are you will like this as well. But if you're not a Grade fan, why did you read this far?
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Hell yeah, Grade is an awesome band. Too bad they broke up. this is a good album, but for anyone who thinks that the production is better on this album than on under the radar, i just wanna know what fucking albums you have been listening to. I don't wanna harp on stupid shit like production on a record, but this production buuhlew. and its not just the vocals, the guitars seem all jumbled too. if this record just sounded a bit better, it would be up there with under the radar. because of that and because under the radar is one of my favorite albums of all time, i'd have to say under the radar is a better album. I think this album was great. I'm tired of ppl complaing about the lyrical content, this if fucking hardcore, not poetry, you want poetry, get a spoken word album, you want awesome metally hardcore, with high emotion lyrical presence, get this album. this is a good album, but the production sucks! what happened to the amazing sound quality on 'Under The Radar'? Anyway, the songs themselves are amazing, especially 'Overthrowing Creation Itself'. I think the artwork is a bit of pisstaking? Its cool to not understand the words. Its just one of the most important parts of music, but yea whatever Nah The cover caugght me off guard too...and the lyrics too some getting used to. some songs call back to the old grade style but some call to some old misfits. not as good as under the radar but good nonetheless, am i the only one who thinks the lyrics and imagery on this album are a bit uncharacteristic and dark for this band? Told ya... holy fuck, coldjuly was right. this needs to grow on you, i love it now just picked this one up, im only a few songs into it right now but sofar no problems, though its not quite as good as Under The Radar. I dont think they can better that album. i don't think the issue with his lyrics is that they're hard to understand, i think it's that they're pretty pretentious and cliched. I read in an interview that Grade's lyrics are very personal, and that most of their songs werent supposed to be understood. Some songs do confuse the hell out of me, but you can understand what their saying in some of them. Some of the lyrics are understandable...but some I agree, kinda make no sense......Maybe their just really smart and their lyrics actually mean something....nah probably not i was a pretty big fan of under the radar, despite the fairly poor lyrics (big words do not equal good poetry), but i'm not so sure about this one guys. what's this bit with trying to cop the darker image? i mean, it's bad enough that afi stole the misfits' imagery and made it cute, custom fit for hot topics and all malls across america, but don't try to rip off something that's already been stolen and bastardized! jeez... the music is also kinda lacking here. i don't know. there's a couple good songs, but overall...blech. I haven't heard the album and have nothing to say about it. The part about them having good lyrics is what I wanna talk about. Have you read the lyrics to Separate the Magnets? Some of the worst ever written in my opinion. I stopped listening to them after that, not cause of the lyrics though. Just cause I did, I guess. But shitty lyrics nonetheless. hmmmmm...Thats a tough one, man....Im diveded between the two evenly. both are great albums, but go ahead with under the radar. I agree it does hit you harder and you can tell it has a bit more emotion behind it. Under the Radar Hit me alot harder than this one did. My suggestion would be to buy Under the radar and then buy headfirst. It's a great record though. coldjuly: It's made me think about getting this. I wanted to get under the radar but never did, which one do you suggest I buy first? I hope I actually made some people go out and buy this....Its really good. The art alone is making me think twice about ever telling someone to go to hell. I have had the chance to listen to this 3 or 4 more times since I wrote this review. And its growing on me. Its starting to rank up there with under the radar now...something I didnt think grade could do again. But I have been proved wrong....fuck Ill even give it an extra half star. |
