story of the year / albums

listener reviews

• emo 4 life

  By Anarchyis4me11/2/2008 21:53:19

  this album is there best i think and my favorite song is prob message to the world or choose your fate, but i love the whole album

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• Bre

  By bretinkpower10/11/2008 21:14:26

  This is my album of theirs. it is so amazing! i listen to it all the day! my fav song is Terrified/ that song is amazing.

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• hmm...

  By italianhardcore6/17/2008 16:02:24

  I have to agree with SoulBro311, and SpiffiestDaniel. They have really focused on this CD. Compared to "In The Wake of Determination"... a big step up to something listenable.

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• SOTY at Their Best!!

  By SoulBro3115/30/2008 01:01:05

  The Black Swan is an amazing CD. I'm not gonna spend the next twenty minutes writing a hardcore review. The guitar solo's are spine tingling and the lyrics are socially driven. The Black Swan actually refers to unpredictability in events that change society...or something like that. Look it up on Wikipedia. It's pretty interesting. Anyways, there's soooo much energy in this cd. Great to listen to while your working out, or to get you pumped up in the am on your way to work. Definitely one of my favorites, if not, THE favorite of the year. Check it out.

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• Found their focus?

  By SpiffiestDaniel5/23/2008 00:44:08

  The Black Swan, Story of the Year's latest offering, is easily at its strongest on the riffing front. The riffs are more creative than quite a few bands can lay a claim to, which makes for an entertaining listen on the surface.<br/><br/>There are a few solos scattered around the album for good effect, including a shocker that explodes after a quiet moment in the bridge of 'The Antidote,' which takes the listener completely by surprise. That moment is easily the highlight of the album.<br/><br/>The rest of the band is excellent as always, and an increase in gang vocals makes the music significantly more rousing, which will work wonders once these guys get on tour.<br/><br/>The only place where this album is lacking is the lyrics department, where incredibly clichéd lyrics litter the album like a rash, most significantly on 'Tell Me (P.A.C.),' with stanzas like "Tell me / That I'm not alone / That everything's alright." It gives a definite been-there-done-that feeling, which is disappointing, since that song has one of the downright coolest riffs in the album.<br/><br/>The band has claimed that they found their focus on The Black Swan, and if that means they combined the styles of their previous two albums, they've certainly achieved it.<br/><br/>(By the way I reviewed first, I just edited a bit)

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• Same sound, but a great album.

  By JoE 155/7/2008 04:49:57

  I'm not going to beat around the bush, The Black Swan is a great album, and already my favorite CD of Story of the Year. <br/><br/>The album starts off with a bang with Choose Your Fate. The riffs are fierce, and the vocals are powerful. It's really a great song to lead off a new album. It really shoves the message the band is trying to get across with this album. Another track that really stood out to me was The Antidote. The song has a great balance of vocals and guitars and really mixes together well. <br/><br/>Most vocals on this album are superb, but there are a couple of times where they dip back to the old, amateur lyrics that we all remember as a teenager. Tell Me (P.A.C) has very typical lyrics that are very run of the mill, and boring. However, the guitar and drums really keep the song alive, as it's very catchy, regardless of the lyrics.<br/><br/>Overall, this is a great album, if you were already a fan of Story of the Year. If you haven't been a fan of their previous albums, then this will most likely not appeal you, since it has a familiar (yet somewhat fresh) sound that the band has maintained. Other than that, the vocals are great, the instruments are intense, catchy, and "edgey" that should please fans. Almost every song is premium quality (except Pale Blue Dot (an interlude) and should not be missed. What are you waiting for? Go buy it or download it!

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