Underminded - Eleven: Eleven
Rating
RIYL
RefusedBotch
The Bled
Release Date
08/07/2007
Label
Uprising RecordsTracklist
1. Enfermia, Part III: The Recovery2. !YA Basta! (Feat. Marc from Atreyu)
3. Croatia
4. F.U.L.B.J.
5. Lords & Wolves
6. In Complacent Glass Cannons (Feat. Vic from Pierce the Veil)
7. The Chancellor
8. The Greatest American Sob Story
9. Empty Handed Painter (Feat. Marc From Atreyu
10. ..Ending In Secret Engagement
11. A Soft Prayered Whisper
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After being “dropped” by Kung Fu Records when the label decided to close its doors, Underminded were stranded without a label. Not too long after the band were without a home, however, Uprising Records stepped in and snatched the band up on what was definitely an intellectual move on behalf of both band and label alike. The band will release its long awaited sophomore full length and Uprising debut, Eleven: Eleven, on August 7th, and it couldn’t be any bigger.
After a hard hitting release in 2004’s Hail Unamerican!, you just knew Underminded were going to head into the studio with Paul Miner (New Found Glory, Atreyu, Thrice), and completely decimate anything and everyone in their path. The album opens up with “Enfermeria Part III: The Recovery”, a relatively slow, epic song with pounding and intricate drumming, while soothing guitars and strings ring in an ambiance you would most often see on an Eluvium record. As soon as the rather melancholic opener ends, Nick Martin’s blistering growl aggressively asserts its way through your speakers on “¡Ya Basta!” with the lyrics “Enough is enough / Now beg for forgiveness, you fuck”. As soon as these nine words are yelled at your teary eyed face, you know the tone of the album is set to seek and destroy, while the amplifiers are turned up to eleven.
Lyrically, Martin somewhat sheds the political subjects that were seen on their debut and more so focuses on sophisticated and insightful writings at a personal level, dealing with relationships and “adjusting your life and taking it very seriously if you want this world to be what you want it to be.” The political lyrics are still there, however, they’re just not as apparent as they were on the debut. They are just as well written and complex as they have ever been on previous albums, though.
Musically, the band haven’t strayed too far from the likes of Hail… with gut wrenching growls and guitars/drums that are busy as bees, but there are a few noticeable differences that separate the two. However, it more so has to do with the way the album was mixed with the polished yet gritty as fuck feel; vocals are less apparent in the mix, more mechanical and energetic, making the album a far more intense listen.
Although Paul Miner may not be the obvious standout choice for most in the hardcore/metal scene, he does an incredible job with Eleven: Eleven, and that’s unquestionably an understatement. On probably the standout track, “Lords & Wolves”, Miner introduces the song on a very delectable note; with both quiet guitars and reverberated drums playing in the background, while Martin’s vocals shoot vigorously from right to left speaker – “Oh, you! / Shiver when / I cut, / I cut your / lucid eyes. / And it's so / painful yet peaceful / just like you.”. As the last word is murmured, the band storms ferociously into the mix while an ambient, soaring noise echoes subtly throughout the climax of the song before pounding your nose into your skull with extremely chunky breakdowns.
I’ll personally be the first to admit that I’m not much for any metalcore anymore, as the genre’s grown tiresome and oversaturated with too many mediocre bands crowding the scene, but Underminded’s Eleven: Eleven is a record you hear 40 seconds of and instantly adore. They've infused this dying genre with some new life.
--Daniel Alcinii
Comments
"These are our lives, but did they ever even matter - are we worth remembering?"
- "Tip The Scales"
Rise Against
Minnesota
With those things said, however, I still like this disc and it'll be awesome for cranking in my car.
Find me EVERYWHERE:
Atascadero, CA
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Fishers, Indiana
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SCV, CA
The lyrics suck. I don't remember exactly how they go on the first song, but I heard it and thought how terrible and lacking thought the lyrics were. Sorry Decoy, this band isn't even close to deserving 4.5
Dubuque
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And if this CD is so good, how come I've never heard of this band on Decoy before?
Atascadero, CA
Ya basta lyrics:
enough is enough! now beg for forgiveness, you fuck.
so useless. dependent on giving the world nothing,
nothing but sorrow's and sorry's
please save you and me on these gold commemorative plates.
face it, we're losing but gaining,
the fear that made us happy but blind, deaf, and dead.
you won't subside. its a crime to kill all these kids lives.
you dont cry. you dont cry 'cuz it's not your own,
your own king of the kin.
beg for your life, you fuck.
so helpless. you're banging the drum to a beat no one,
no one will listen or follow.
please blow out my brains while i'm laughing at blank faces.
face it, i gave up on you long ago
i wont live long. no surprise. pretty vacant and nice.
you fuck.
i know. i gave up on you.
i wont live long. no surprise. pretty vacant and nice.
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Decoymusic.com (CEO/Founder)
Blue Reef Design Studios (Web Development)
http://aarontroy.tumblr.com
I'm looking forward to hearing this.
PA
Music Blog.
Depths blog. (my band)
Atascadero, CA
oh i know.. i didnt pick the person to review this disc or anything. if u all remember i was looking for someone to trash it. Jeremy was the only one who wanted to attempt it but I felt like that wouldnt do too much justice as he isnt a fan of the genre so i guess we could just do two now that i see more people think it blows. i just let whomever wanted to tackle it guess Dan did it, what can ya do.
Decoymusic.com (CEO/Founder)
Blue Reef Design Studios (Web Development)
http://aarontroy.tumblr.com
Dubuque
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hahahaha so true but what can he really do if the band kicks ass now? because they do.
I didn't mean to hate. Just trying (I guess unsuccesfully) to be funny.
And I need to get my hands on this disc. Hail! Unamerican was a lot of fun.
Green Brook, NJ
Fishers, Indiana
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PA
Hahaha. That's right.
Music Blog.
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San Diego, CA
Dubuque
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