By Brandi Bunch, Managing Editor
Photo from primaryignition.com
As anyone who knows me or has ever been anywhere near my surprisingly noisy little truck can attest, I absolutely adore symphonic metal, especially Nightwish. Therefore, Pandora.com’s promise of delivering similar artists on my own personal Internet radio station was intriguing, to say the least.
Approximately four bands in, Pandora made good on that promise, and thus did I discover The Birthday Massacre.
The band was founded in London, Ontario in 1999 under the name Imagica, but shortly changed to its current title. Three of the four founding members are still present.
TBM is officially labeled as synthrock, and it’s a bit of a change from my usual symphonic fare. Where my beloved Nightwish deals with orchestral additives, TBM layers electronic elements over driving beats and hard basslines.
Upon running to Amazon’s mp3 store (much better than iTunes) and downloading the album based on my first hearing of the title track from “Pins and Needles,” I decided that their name is perfect; vocalist Chibi’s plaintive and powerful vocals are the ribbon-covered gift to the boys’ musical gorefest, a term I use in the most positive way you can imagine.
“Pins and Needles” hit on Sept. 14 of last year, and accomplished the unusual feat of having a wide selection of solid songs with only a couple of pieces I would deem filler.
The opening track, “In the Dark,” in addition to having a very bizarre music video (I guess you have to be freaky to get attention these days. Thanks, Gaga.), does an excellent job of letting you know what to expect from the band, even though it’s not the strongest song on the album.
Chibi’s haunting vocals skate over aggressive lines laid down by guitarist Michael Falcore, while synthesizer and drum programmer Rainbow (yep, actual name) adds in just enough of a creepy element to give the song some edge.
The second track, “Always,” is quite a bit softer, with music and vocals cooperating instead of contrasting. The electronic element is much more present here, though it is done very well and is by no means over the top. I really enjoyed the feel of this piece, in spite of my preference for faster music.
“Control” is the fourth song on the album, and while it picks up the pace from the somewhat unremarkable third track, “Pale,” it occasionally roboticizes (a word for the purposes of this article) Chibi’s voice, which I personally feel is something of a crime. The woman is seriously gifted.
“Shallow Grave” finds a return to the balance, mixing music and voice perfectly along a faster line. The lyrics are simple, yet addictive. This would be a good song to sample to get a feel for the band.
The seventh track, “Midnight,” is a very close contender for my favorite. The lyrics are amazing and the vocals ridiculously perfect. After a short, electric keyboard-y intro, the beat kicks in and the first line reaches out of your stereo to grab you with “I can’t decide which one of us will leave here alive, your fingers breaking as I place them over mine.” Plaintive and perfect. This is another good one to check out.
Next up is the title track, which explodes into aggressive bass the moment it starts. My only complaint with this one is that the intensity of the music fades during the lyrics, although I suppose this is somewhat necessary so you can, you know, hear them.
Either way, it was interesting enough to make me run off and buy the album, so that should tell you something.
“Two Hearts” is another solid offering, with slightly less aggressive music, but strong lines nonetheless. Unfortunately, it opens for the big guns, so it kind of gets eclipsed.
“Sleepwalking.” Oh yes. The 10th track on the album is definitely my favorite, even though “Midnight” makes a valiant effort. This brings back all the intensity of the opening of “Pins and Needles” and keeps it going under the vocals, with Chibi sounding alternately mischievous and angelic.
The album closes with the slower ballad “Secret,” which is by no means a bad song, but is stuck with the unfortunate task of following “Sleepwalking,” which would have been a stronger closer.
All in all, this is a very solid album. The musical style is a mix of one part Avenged Sevenfold to two parts The Killers, both of which I love, while Chibi’s amazing vocals give the whole thing an almost mystical quality.
Also, I love this band’s ability to place equal focus on the music and the vocals, rather than leaning too heavily on one or the other like The Amy Lee Band, also known as Evanescence (Not that her voice isn’t stunning, but I don’t recall ever seeing a single one of her band members).
Having sampled “Pins and Needles,” I’m now happily going through some of The Birthday Massacre’s older stuff. Notable pieces thus far include the title track from “Red Stars” and the deliciously creepy “Lovers End,” featured on their second album “Violet.”
One thing I’ve noticed is that the older albums seem to be more synth and less rock, which doesn’t work for me as well as the balance present on “Pins and Needles.”
In that regard, I hope this album is an indication of the band’s direction, because I would absolutely love some more of what it had to offer.