Aiden, in more ways than one, will always remind me of AFI. They were the make-up. They look pretty emo. They both released a short EP with cartoony art. They both started-off as dark, hardcore punk bands and evolved into something else. Sadly, the band that Aiden has evolved into has left me at a loss as to where the talent went.
I got this album for my birthday last year, a present from Dad, full of expectation as to how good it would be. Admittedly, I made the crucial error of not listening to any of the tracks before asking for it - but after loving Nightmare Anatomy and Our Gang's Dark Oath, I was in the opinion that nothing could go wrong. How naive...
The first track, The Opening Departure, begins a way which could be good. The piano chords set up a pleasant atmosphere. Suddenly, the vocals appear. They sound a bit weaker than those off the last album, but the song is acoustic. You could possibly understand the slow. Waiting for the song to get going, I set about glancing through the album booklet. My CD starting whirring, informing me the track was over. A wave of disappointment hit me - this album just wasn't going to be good.
As the first track faded out, I was treated to the poppy guitar/drum into to She Will Love You. It could be OK. But it just doesn't take off. And wiL Francis' vocals begin to layer over the music. They sound weak and choked, as if he's struggling to cope with the simplistic dull music the band are churning out.
Things improve somewhat in the next track, the instruments no longer sounding quite so faded. Teenage Queen starts of with a distorted riff, and continues into a gentle plucked guitar section, more reminiscent of their Nightmare Anatomy album on songs such as Genetic Design for Dying. The vocals, too, sound far more effective on this track, adding a strong, pounding rhythm, contributing to the overall sound rather than just being their for the sake of it.
The bassline for the next track, Hurt Me, echoes a post-Blur indie song, as does the rather pathetic vocal effort and twinkling guitar part. Whether or not Aiden have attempted to become a dull, indie-esque band, I do not know. The chorus of the song is quite possibly the best on the album, though, a massive improvement to the likes of One Love or Moment. Whatever talent Aiden formerly possessed appears wasted, the strength of their older songs, however AFI-like they were, is long-gone, leaving in its wake a churning pop-emo CD of mediocre songs, weak vocals and odd sounded guitar parts.
In amongst the remaining efforts, only one other track really stands out as worth mentioning - Son of Lies. One of Aiden's best ever tracks, featuring Efrem Schultz of Death by Stereo, contains all of the things which once generated so much appeal for the band. It has strong, heavy gang-vocals with the occasional scream, distortion actually applied and breaks. Truly excellent, which is far more than I can say for the rest of the album.
All in all, this is a weak effort from a young band that once showed so much potential. At least AFI's newest album held your attention, still featuring songs with that classic edge and darkness they were so famous for. This attempt to mirror their newer style is just dull.
4/10
_______________________________________________________________________
Footnote: It really bothered me that this album was so poor, particularly considering the strengths of their earlier release. Plus, they've lost of thier guitarists now, which can only make things worse...
Thanks for reading though ^^
Home 
