Artist: Floor
Album: Oblation
Source: http://pitchfork.com/advance/403-oblation/
Pre-listening Notes: The first time I heard Floor was on a No Idea Records compilation, with a song being that was a heavy, sludge tune that didn't really separate itself from a lot of the stuff I was listening to back then. Fast forward about five years later and the next time is another No Idea Records compilation and the song is Scimitar. This is the first listen of what I found out to be the first track on one of my favorite heavy albums of all time. Floor self titled is a mix of equal parts heavy, melodic, upbeat tempo, sludgey riffs, and just about everything a metal band could want to put together and it blends it pretty amazingly. I could not say enough good things about that album and the memories of all the times I've listened to it. Then they broke up. With Steve Brooks forming Torche, another awesome band, and Henry Wilson forming Dove, who were completely underrated. Many years later, a reunion tour took place and it appeared to all the people involved that maybe there was more Floor left in them and a full on reunion was announced last year. Here is the first, of let's hope many, album to come out.
Initial Reaction: The album starts out with a promising sludge riff and then the outstanding vocals that came about on the self titled album and continued on into Torche, which treaded more into a poppy metal sound. The first song, the title track, continues along at a slow pace with a heavy riff topped with sung, repeating vocals to form a nice intro.
Random Thoughts: The second song opens more upbeat with a song that sounds similar to an early Torche song, which is where I think Steve Brooks songwriting might have been going before the Floor breakup. The song may touch a little more on the poppy side of things, but it still has an underlying heaviness to it. There is some cool heavier breaks towards the end of the song. Trick Scene opens and separates itself immediately from the poppier sound. Thick, sludgy guitars that plod along until about the halfway point of the song and it breaks into a doom part. This song is what I was hoping for from this. Not that the first two songs were bad, but this one just sounds like classic Floor. Find Away, which was the second song that was premiered off this album a few months ago, didn't hit me immediately back then. It has since, with repeated listens, faired a little better over the months. This is another one, though, that almost has an early Torche sound to it. The slip a quick, upbeat, instrumental song into the mix before breaking the song New Man, which is a cool driving rhythm to it some quality melodic vocals to it. The second pre release song, Sister Sophia, is up next. This song has a similar sound to New Man to it, and was easily my favorite of the three pre release songs that came out. The Quill, the album's second instrumental track, brings back in some more heaviness to it. Love Comes Crushing has a slower, more sludge feel to it. War party is the final pre release song on the album, but was the first taste of new Floor that I had heard in a decade. Homegoings and Transitions opens with a weird guitar sound and ends with vocals over silence. The song, Sign of Aeth, which is about nine minutes in length could have been shortened in my eyes. The album ends on two shorter songs that basically fit in with the album as a whole.
Final Reaction: There are elements of what made the self titled Floor album so perfect in this album. There are also hints that the first few years of Torche material is probably a similar sound to where Floor was going to head had they not broken up a decade ago. This isn't as heavy as that album, but it still has it's heavy moments. It's different and with any band that puts out such an amazing album, the follow up is going to be hard. Then magnify that with the fact that there is a 12 year gap and a whole heaping pile of praise and hype have been layered on top of that timeframe. I find it hard to believe that this album is going to get a fair shake from most people at first glance, myself included. I will have to give this repeated listens to really digest everything. But, on first glance, it's a good Floor record, but not great.
Final Grade: 7.0/10
Album: Oblation
Source: http://pitchfork.com/advance/403-oblation/
Pre-listening Notes: The first time I heard Floor was on a No Idea Records compilation, with a song being that was a heavy, sludge tune that didn't really separate itself from a lot of the stuff I was listening to back then. Fast forward about five years later and the next time is another No Idea Records compilation and the song is Scimitar. This is the first listen of what I found out to be the first track on one of my favorite heavy albums of all time. Floor self titled is a mix of equal parts heavy, melodic, upbeat tempo, sludgey riffs, and just about everything a metal band could want to put together and it blends it pretty amazingly. I could not say enough good things about that album and the memories of all the times I've listened to it. Then they broke up. With Steve Brooks forming Torche, another awesome band, and Henry Wilson forming Dove, who were completely underrated. Many years later, a reunion tour took place and it appeared to all the people involved that maybe there was more Floor left in them and a full on reunion was announced last year. Here is the first, of let's hope many, album to come out.
Initial Reaction: The album starts out with a promising sludge riff and then the outstanding vocals that came about on the self titled album and continued on into Torche, which treaded more into a poppy metal sound. The first song, the title track, continues along at a slow pace with a heavy riff topped with sung, repeating vocals to form a nice intro.
Random Thoughts: The second song opens more upbeat with a song that sounds similar to an early Torche song, which is where I think Steve Brooks songwriting might have been going before the Floor breakup. The song may touch a little more on the poppy side of things, but it still has an underlying heaviness to it. There is some cool heavier breaks towards the end of the song. Trick Scene opens and separates itself immediately from the poppier sound. Thick, sludgy guitars that plod along until about the halfway point of the song and it breaks into a doom part. This song is what I was hoping for from this. Not that the first two songs were bad, but this one just sounds like classic Floor. Find Away, which was the second song that was premiered off this album a few months ago, didn't hit me immediately back then. It has since, with repeated listens, faired a little better over the months. This is another one, though, that almost has an early Torche sound to it. The slip a quick, upbeat, instrumental song into the mix before breaking the song New Man, which is a cool driving rhythm to it some quality melodic vocals to it. The second pre release song, Sister Sophia, is up next. This song has a similar sound to New Man to it, and was easily my favorite of the three pre release songs that came out. The Quill, the album's second instrumental track, brings back in some more heaviness to it. Love Comes Crushing has a slower, more sludge feel to it. War party is the final pre release song on the album, but was the first taste of new Floor that I had heard in a decade. Homegoings and Transitions opens with a weird guitar sound and ends with vocals over silence. The song, Sign of Aeth, which is about nine minutes in length could have been shortened in my eyes. The album ends on two shorter songs that basically fit in with the album as a whole.
Final Reaction: There are elements of what made the self titled Floor album so perfect in this album. There are also hints that the first few years of Torche material is probably a similar sound to where Floor was going to head had they not broken up a decade ago. This isn't as heavy as that album, but it still has it's heavy moments. It's different and with any band that puts out such an amazing album, the follow up is going to be hard. Then magnify that with the fact that there is a 12 year gap and a whole heaping pile of praise and hype have been layered on top of that timeframe. I find it hard to believe that this album is going to get a fair shake from most people at first glance, myself included. I will have to give this repeated listens to really digest everything. But, on first glance, it's a good Floor record, but not great.
Final Grade: 7.0/10
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