CD reissues are a mixed bag. Sometimes you get true labors of love, with good remastered sound, expanded liner notes, and fancy packaging. Other times you get horribly brickwalled sound, worthless “extras” (screensavers, anyone?), or blatant cash-ins released a year after the original with maybe a bonus track tacked on. I’m not naming any names, but we all know who they are.
Chiodos’ All’s Well That Ends Well (on Equal Vision) came out last summer, so I was dismayed to see a reissue appear this October. However, the label’s publicist assured me that the purpose was simply to have product on the shelves for the band’s high-profile tour with Atreyu and Every Time I Die. Regardless of motivation, the Deluxe Edition is packed with content, and should satisfy both diehard fans and those who missed the album earlier.
By all rights, I should hate this band. Their sound draws from screamo and metalcore, they sing with high, boyish voices, and they look like indie rockers. Then again, The Dillinger Escape Plan look like indie rockers, and they rule. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised by this Michigan band’s second album (you can read an interview I did with them here). Sure, they have quasi-Swedish riffs, screaming alternating with singing, and so on. But the guitar tones aren’t heavy, and the band isn’t going for the usual “angst-ridden in eyeliner” vibe most bands of this type have. Rather, they seem to be looking at their genre from the outside and playing with it, inserting wacky prog passages and some gorgeous piano and keyboard work. And, man, can Craig Owens sing. I get a similarly colorful vibe from Between the Buried and Me and that band’s big inspiration, Queen.
Chiodos – All Nereids BewareChiodos – To Trixie and Reptile, Thanks for Everything
The Deluxe Edition adds three acoustic tracks that really highlight Owens’ voice. It includes a DVD with live cuts, tour hijinks, recording-of footage, and a particularly enjoyable video for “Baby, You Wouldn’t Last a Minute on the Creek.” Paul Romano, who did the album’s original and awesome artwork, also contributes a new slipcase to wrap up the package. Thus, the Deluxe Edition earns its name. It’s available for a time along with a T-shirt for only $12
(EDIT: To my astonishment, I discovered that Andee from Aquarius Records rated this his #1 album of 2005. If you search on the site for the record’s blurb, you’ll see he’s just gaga over it. Somehow I wouldn’t expect Aquarius folk to dig Chiodos, but what would you know. If only more black metal folks could be so open-minded…)
