The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - Danza IIII: The Alpha - The Omega
Rating
RIYL
Glass CloudThe Acacia Strain
Meshuggah
Release Date
10/23/2012
Label
Black Market ActivitiesTracklist
1. Behind These Eyes2. You Won’t
3. Rudy x 3
4. The Crossfire
5. Hold the Line
6. Death Eater
7. Canadian Bacon
8. Paul Bunyan and the Blue Ox
9. Disconnecting, Pt. 1
10. This Cut Was the Deepest
11. Disconnecting, Pt. 2
12. The Alpha The Omega
13. Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid
14. Don’t Try This at Home
15. This is Forever
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Two years ago I set forth in reviewing The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza’s third album. It’s title, Danza III: The Series of Unfortunate Events,was apt in that the band had just lost all of its members aside from vocalist Jessie Freeland. That, and it was the band’s third album. Nonetheless it marked a new era for the name on its cover. Guitarist Josh Travis stepped up to the plate, proving his immense skill in writing and recording the entire record and immediately becoming the face of the group. The album was as musical as a bonesaw, giving the impression that cogs and gears were behind its layers of dissonance. Its mechanical atmosphere blew me away at first, as echoed by my hastily chosen rating (what it gained in atmosphere it lost in replay value). Either way, I now get to review the band’s fourth and final album. Not IV, but IIII, The Alpha – The Omega heaves back and forth between 15 weighty tracks before closing the door on the Danza name for good. Does it do it justice?
“Behind Those Eyes” opens the record, immediately as devastating as previous Danza outings yet allowing for more play in progressions and the music overall. Toward the end we even hear a bit of clean guitar, something new for the group. “You Won’t” picks up the pace, letting things get a little wild and playing around with a bit of Stray From the Path flair (Travis toured with the band on guitar in 2010). The track was the first public taste of Danza IIII and acts as a nice segue from the third album in style. “Rudy x3” keeps it coming as well, an ultra-heavy jam with a sum greater than its simplistic parts. After a zone-out track that echoes the newest Meshuggah record, we hear Jessie Freeland dedicate the next tune to the Armed Forces. “Hold the Line” is the first of a few off the wall tracks on the record, ones that the band wouldn’t have done on anything but their last record. The zone-out section from “The Crossfire” is reprised at the end of track, ensuring that you… zone-out again. That’s quickly removed from the equation for “Death Eater,” an instrumental descent into down-tuned hell (or the end of an Acacia Strain album) and “Canadian Bacon,” which is somehow even heavier.
The second half of the record is a bit long-winded and can be hard to get through, but for a fan of the band this will probably be a good thing. Stand-out moments are evident in “Paul Bunyan and the Blue Ox,” “This Cut Was the Deepest,” and the album’s title track, but they are unlike the ones found in the first seven. Everything else tends to have trouble withstanding its own weight as well, with unnecessary flourishes on nearly every track and sections that grate on the listener after extended listens. The end product feels a bit rushed, like some ideas were never upgraded to anything more, but at the same time there is still a lot of Danza to take in. Again, something that may hinder the album overall but a fan will enjoy nonetheless. The best way to sum this lethargic feeling up is to say that the group can be heard winding down as the end approaches.
Danza IIII as a whole is a bit underwhelming. Half of the record is the rightful successor to III, while the other half drags along in an attempt to not leave anything behind idea-wise. Once this album is released, so is the name of the group and it seems that Travis and Freeland definitely wanted to pull out all the stops just in case. Travis’ new Glass Cloud project seems to have crept some of its twinkly melody into the record as well, half adding a new dimension and the other half falling short of its intended purpose. Being a musician of his caliber, it isn’t hard to tell when Travis is out of inspiration. Fortunately, that feeling only creeps up a few times over the course of the album and if anything, it says the band is going out on top. If Danza IIII is the last piece of your collection, then the record is a must have. If this is your first foray into the band's material, then I would recommend Danza III beforehand. Either way, the last slice of Danza is a necessary one.
--Cody Rogers
Comments
Fishers, Indiana
I really liked the last album, having never found them listenable before. Bummed this didn't follow suit exactly, but you offer such hope at the end. haha
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Lehigh Valley, PA
Mike D and I agree on something with the same exact rating. Holy shit.
San Borja, Lima, Perú
I totally dig their old albums, this one is kinda a reggression to that I guess. If you only could find listenable the last one I can see how you can't bare with this, for me is a great example of a hyper technical heavy album that holds great sense of humor at the same time.
Edmonton, AB
I actually enjoy this album more than III. Solid stuff
West Haven, CT
There's some real tasty heavy areas that deliver the goods. But that's far and few on this CD. This stuff for the most part makes me want to stab my self in the face, for me wasting my time on this trendy trash. I've given this record a few tries and I'm just not feeling the connection.
Fuckings Greatest Hits: 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008
Minnesota
It may be a tad overlong, but I am enjoying this album for what it is--face-smashing with brief spacey interludes.
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