This was supposed to be a magical month for music.
My wife and I are fans of American Idol, and this past year we were big fans of James Durbin. We thought his voice and his music stylings were just awesome. Obviously, before him, we were big fans of Chris Daughtry. My favorite band in the world is the Finnish symphonic metal outfit: Nightwish.
All three released albums in November. At the beginning of the month I was about as excited as I get about music.
So now that it has all dropped, I get to respond...
I expected more of the same from Daughtry, and he did not disappoint. The album is solid. A few of the songs will probably slide into the top 40.
Durbin's album is not good. I was expecting a metal anthem album that crossed Skid Row with 30 Seconds to Mars. What we got is Michael Bolton crossed with Bon Jovi. Several of the songs are actually painful listening. The lyrics are trite, the music is simplistic, and the vocals are uninspired. I was very disappointed after we had leveled such high expectations on him.
Durbin probably deserves a pass because this is his first album. I mean, he can only get better, right? I had no reservations about Nightwish. They are incredible. Dark Passion Play had several five-star tracks and the entire album was a solid offering. The band members were saying that the latest album, Imaginaerum, was like Dark Passion Play times six!
So I downloaded the album. I listened. At first I tried to convince myself that it wasn't too bad, then I made excuses, then reality set in.
Imaginaerum sucks.
There's really nothing else to say. Half the songs make me cringe. There are three songs on the 13 track album that I will never listen to again, and even the couple that aren't horrible, reek of familiar riffs and vocal styling. There were several sections that were lifted right from other songs, and I'm not talking about the compliation track that revists all the themes of this lamest of albums.
What should have been a great month of music turned into a dud. At least I don't have to fight with my kids when we're driving somewhere. After all...Veggie Tales songs aren't bad at all...
