I don't know how many words I can use for how happy I am I liked this band as much as I wanted to.
It's been a while since I've really come across a band who's a little more fun. Usually with progressive tal and rock you get more serious and emotional music. And technical wankery can only go so far, I think I got burned out of it for a while. So when a band like this came along, they just seemed so fun in concept. And my goodness are they exactly what they seem.
These guys have an incredible ability to meld super catchy and poppy melodies with some really cool and subtle progressive ideas. They can go super hard a lot of times, but you'll never really see them being considered as a band that does.
Add that to the fact that their discography is just... oh man. It's something else. Not only do they have a top tier golden era filled with banger after banger, but even after that they've made so many incredible albums. And even have so many incredible songs in their lesser albums. On TOP of that, they managed to do this while having a pretty massive discography. For a band that put out their debut in 2002, it's pretty impressive how much material they've put out.
Let's get to the ranking.
11 - Vaxis - Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures
All right, it seems this album is actually quite well liked. Oops.
I just did not vibe with it at all. Most of the songs are just very forgettable. Maybe there's a few that are above average, though still not amazing if you ask me.
There's only one song I absolutely love in this album, that is Old Flames. Everything else feels so unmemorable to me.
It's biggest detriment, however, is it's length. This album is waaaay too long. It feels like a chore to listen all the way through.
I respect the ambition, but I think they completely missed the mark here.
Favorite songs: Old Flames
From their most overbearing of their projects to their most underwhelming.
It's the only album that's not part of the Amory Wars universe. Instead it focuses on Caludio's real life struggles with fatherhood.
I feel bad putting this one so low. Considering how personal of an album this was for him. But it's definitely the most vanilla sounding album of their discography.
However, I would actually not call this a bad album. You just have to be in a certain chill mood for it. It's like the soundtrack to a 90s movie. Sometimes it can really hit. But it's just way too tame and reserved compared to the rest of their albums.
Favorite songs: Peace To The Mountain, Eraser
9 - Vaxis - Act III: The Father Of Make Believe
Their most recent album is a bit of a miss for me.
Most of what I said for Unheavenly creatures applies here. But this album is just way more solid and consistent. The hooks are stronger, the melodies way more solid.
I also like how much they experiment with more modern genres here. The electronic and indie elements here are very welcome.
Still, it just doesn't match the strenght of the later albums. I still think it's overly long, and it has a lot of filler.
Favorite songs: Searching For Tomorrow, Goodbye, Sunshine
I've seen quite a bit of bashing towards this album. And while I do think it's not as good as many of the others, I still think it's pretty good.
This is by far the darkest record they ever made. It's sound is evil, industrial. I also think it's really experimental. For a band like this, I think it's quite welcome.
About half of the songs here are absolute hidden gems. The heavy songs are actually really heavy and pretty metal, and the ballads are so strangely haunting and beautiful.
It's got quite a few weak songs, and I wouldn't call it a masterpiece. But I think it's a super solid record.
Favorite songs: Guns Of Summer, Far, Pearl Of The Stars, This Shattered Symphony
7 - Vaxis - Act II: A Window Of A Waking Mind
Now THIS is a great album, to me it's the peak of their modern sound by far.
This is such a strange album, because in theory, there's no real difference between this and the other Vaxis albums. They're all polished pop rock/indie albums with a bit of an electronic edge to them.
The only difference between this and the other two is that this one... is kind of filled with bangers?
Seriously, almost front to back, this thing is just loaded with super catchy and memorable songs. With a pretty wide range of sounds. Sometimes all you need is super tight songwriting and no filler.
Favorite songs: Comatose, Love Murder One, Blood, The Liars Club, Window Of A Waking Mind
The Afterman duology shocked me more than anything in their discography. In theory, this album (and it's predecesor) shouldn't have worked.
It's the first time they really started to lower their energy. The songs here are so much more mellow and polished than the prog punk they'd done before.
But my goodness they're just such good songs. I love how they keep the energy and gravitas with a much simpler sound.
The secret ingredient here is the production. It makes everything sound ethereal and I adore it.
Favorite songs: Sentry The Defiant, The Hard Sell, Number City, Iron Fist
5 - The Second Stage Turbine Blade
It is not common at all that debut makes it this high in an album ranking, but these guys just came out the gate swinging.
Aside from The Mars Volta, this is the craziest and most unhinged I've ever seen a band start off with. The energy in this album is unmatched, and it is what makes it.
This is one the best raw records I've heard. Most of the time that rawness is only a novelty where poor songwriting in present, but honestly the writing in this album is pretty amazing.
Off the bat, they had amazing choruses, super catchy riffs, and once again just the pure unhinged punk energy of this one is what puts it at another level.
Favorite songs: Time consumer, Devil In Jersey City, 33
4 - In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3
We're entering the masterpiece territory here.
This album is incredible. It's got everything the debut had, the super raw and unhinged vibe, but with a much more ambitious and epic sound.
This is the first time that they really embraced the sci-fi comic vibe. Something about it just feels like it just matters so much more.
And the songs? Oh man, this album is almost a complete clean sweep with bangers.
There's everything here. Long progressive epics, short and catchy pop songs, absolutely insane metal moments. This is the best of their raw sound.
Favorite songs: Every song except The Light & The Glass
This album is amazing in such a different way than any of these top ones. Everything I've said about their crazy energy, their epic sound. That's all turned on it's head here.
It shares a lot with Afterman: Descension, naturally. But this album right here is just something special.
It's such an interesting blend of super soft rock ideas and honestly very progressive and technical instrumentation that manages to stay super subtle all throughout, especially in the rhythm section.
The sci-fi grandeur is still here, but it's super soft to the point where you could almost miss it. But once you notice it, you realize how absolutely incredible this album is.
It also helps that, you know, every single song here is incredible, literally every single one.
Favorite songs: Did you not read what I just said? The entire album.
2 - Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV Volume Two: No World For Tomorrow
Just like Keeping Secrets is the peak of their raw sound, this is the peak of their epic sound.
This album is about the world ending, and by god does it sound like it. Every song here, no matter if it's a super soft love song, carries a huge weight and melancholy in it's sound.
This already makes it an incredible listen, the grander the better. But this is also the album with, in my opinion, the best riffs, the best licks and little solos, and the album with the highest highs in their entire career
The only reason it is not at number one is because there are some songs that I don't come back to as much as the top album, but man when this album goes hard it goes HARD.
It also helps that this is Claudio's best vocal album. He sounds absolutely incredible here.
Favorite songs: No World For Tomorrow, Feathers, Mother Superior, The Running Free
1 - Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness
This album took over, and still has a pretty tight chokehold on my daily rotation ever since I got to it.
I don't even know what to say about it. It's a culmination of every single one of their previous sounds. It's got the gritty and raw, the grand, the polished. And it's not like Keeping Secrets, where every song was a certain style. No. In here every single song has these elements all throughout.
Really there are two reasons why this album is the best for me. The first is the concept. I love the idea of the story's writer going into the story to screw everything up because of his personal issues.
This is also reflected so well in the lyrics and the delivery of them. I love how playfully psychotic Claudio is on this one. It makes it fun in a very macabre way.
The second is simple, there's not a single song that I don't blast from this one. Not a single miss here. Every time I come back to any song from this album I end up listening to it all. And it's not a short listen either. Masterpiece of a record for me.
Favorite songs: The entire album.
I don't know how to categorize this band. I've seen everyone call them so many different things ranging from emo to prog metal. That's a very good thing if you ask me. I love bands that mix genres together in such a seamless way you can't really tell.
That goes for every single part of it. Not only the songs they make, but the members and the instruments.
Claudio, as controversial as his incredibly voice is, is an amazing vocalist. And the band would absolutely not be what it is without him. I particularly love that he's not afraid to really give it his all with the theatrics of the lyrics sometimes. He can sound cartoonish at times, but I think it kind of fits their sound perfectly.
And let's not forget, he's not just the singer he's a guitarrist as well. Him and Travis are an absolute menace when it comes to both rhythm and lead. As I've mentioned in most of my reviews, I love that a signature sound of theirs is having a verse with backing guitars that just cannot stop movine, to the point where they're basically playing solos underneath the vocals. The riffs and licks they will just pull out of nowhere are so tasty, and have a bit of a classic 70s rock flare to them.
But the secret sauce is that rhythm section. First off, you HAVE to pay attention to the bass, cause it's sneaky. But oh my god this band has some of craziest basslines I've ever heard, especially when Michael Todd was the bassist. That man was insane.
And finally, there's Josh Eppard. The man is a beast of a drummer. Once again, his work is pretty subtle, but if you pay attention to the drum, you realize he's kind of holding the band together all by himself. He's the definition of a rock solid drummer, and if you've ever seen him play you know he's having a ton of fun playing. Honestly, it really comes across in the songs. The drums keep the momentum all throughout, and some of his fills are positively nasty.
What an amazing band. They've absolutely become of my favorites.
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