Progress For The Welsh Wizards (Fake Sound Of Progress - Lostprophets)

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Product:	Fake Sound Of Progress - Lostprophets
Date:	27/02/02 (164 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: New Sound

Disadvantages: Repetitive

I am back, after literally months of being quiet, I have returned to voice my opinion on all of those
important things, like just what has the music industry been doing, who has been releasing what,
and is it actually any good.

Well, this is my first pick from the albums I have invested in, it is the latest offering from the welsh contingent
who have once and for all said that just because they are a small part of the world does not mean
that they can be forgotten about, and after this piece of mastery, I do not think I could argue.

Well, let us have a brief look at the band - a look which has taken a lot of stick, and I have to admit
that I am not overly impressed myself. Now obviously, unlike some, I am not shallow enough to say that
just because they are a lot of males, with expensive hair styles, and the latest fashion on them,
and looking like they would fit in nicely with a Toni & Guy fashion shoot that they are attepting to appeal
as a new age boy band. Instead, I am going to choose to ignore how they dress and just remain stuck on the fact I do in fact like this album a great deal and move on.

This next bit will probably be the hardest bit, how do you explain their style, as I would assume their
will still be people that have not heard of them yet, even though they are due to release their second single off the
album any time soon. They are a brilliant mixture of metal, mixed with some heavy bits, and some fastly
done lyrics just to wrap it up.

So here comes the album review now.

This album, which is a debut, off the nicknamed 'Welsh Wizards' really is an album that you do not want to take
out of your CD player when it has gone in, it has truely superb songs, and it is rare that you can look at a band and
think that they are offering something new. This is not neccesarily a bad thing all the time, for instance, Spineshank are one
of my favou
rite bands, but they offer nothing new to the music industry, the style has been done by a lot of other
bands before them, it is merely because they do it very well.

This is not the case with Lost Prophets, it is true that they have been accused of being like a new age boy band, with the
good looks and the likeness to what bands like Linkin Park do, which by the way, they band realise the similarity, and I have read
an interview where the band state how annoying it is to see bands like Linkin Park doing very well with music that british bands are doing a lot better, and there is not a lot of doubt that the Welsh Wizards are doing it better than the boys from linkin Park.

01. Shinobi Vs Dragon Ninja

No this song was not made for a terrible arcade game, it can sometimes be hard to really know what these boys
are singing about, as they come out with a lot of random lines, so I will not hazzard a guess, instead I will say this; this
is the debut single off the album, and it really is an amazing song. The video is a bit lacking in my opinion, which really just shows
the boys doing a gig on top of a car park, which I am sure would be a great thing to witness in the flesh, but not a video that
really gets the blood running.

It kicks in with some gentle singing followed by a heavy crash of a guitar, it is literally a beautiful mix of vocals, drums, guitars
and all things mixed between. If you wanted to find out what this band were really about, then this is a really
good song to understand what they do, and just how damn well.



02. The Fake Sound Of Progress
Now all you intelligent people out there have probably realised that this is indeed the title of the album (I really can sneak nothing past you guys can I?) This is the second track released off the album, now I would say this one does have a good video, even if it does make the band out to be really good, by rebelling f
or the fans, and insulting the hell out of LA.
This song leaves you bopping your head, in a way you probably shouldnt be doing to metal, but never mind, you will find yourself singing along to this one in no long, and if you hang around in the rock clubs, it really is a good song to dance to. It does compare easily to the first track, it mixes well decks, guitars and almost meaningful vocals, this is one that will appeal to a lot of people.
On that note, that is worth mentioning, this band are playing the type of music that will appeal to the music industry, as a more appealing option into the type of music. This actually works well, because it can lure people into going deeper into the trend, and you find a lot of people who started off liking Papa Roach and Linkin Park, may well try and explore what the music really has to offer.

03. Five is a Four Letter Word
Well now what do I say, I cannot talk about the video. Well the band kinda change direction with this one, as it is a bit of a heavier option, but yet still having a catchy vibe. Not one of my favourite tracks on the album to be fair, but still think it has its moments of excellence.
This track and the previous are broken by a small interlude, which means it does not have to run off the very good FSOP, Im sure you will figure it out, and can go on its own. It kicks in with a bit of screaming then a bit of melody, a good start, tried and tested and known to work. The chorus of this track is less melodic than the others, and not really one you can bounce to, but you still find yourself screaming or singing along, depending on how you look at it.
One thing that the welsh wizards are very good at is controlling pace, it is very impressive how they can speed up and slow down without even attemptingf to try, it flows into itself so well, I think this is because the vocalists do live off each other, and help each other hit the next note, I will leave you to make your own mind up.
>
04. And She Told Me To Leave
A problem I can understand. This is probably my favourite track on the album, although it is close, the band really let rip with this song, breakingbounderies, but yet it is very melodic, the singing is good, the words have meaning and you will find yourself running round the room. (I hope I didnt give anything away there)
At this point, I would like to point out that this band are very good with the old language, I feel I should mention this, as I know a lot of parents use this site, and probably don't want their children being forced to listen to vulgar language. This is an album I would let my own kids listen to, if that was an issue obviously.
I would suggest you download this track if you want to get into the band, as with it being my favourite it should be listened to. I hope you see the reasoning. He he. To be honest though, once you have heard one of the songs by this band, they are all fairly similar, but mostly all very good. Not everyone's cup of tea this one though.

05. Kobrakai
Once again you get an interlude to break down the album before this track (maybe just a little bit too much, could of done with letting it flow a bit more, this break is very Mogwai)
Cant say that I particualry like this one, I think the album at this point was beginning to become a bit too much alike, every song having the same code to it, the same concept of how to sell it, and you were just getting bored, that is probably my only fault of this album. That and the singers voice can get a bit whiney.
There is a nice general build to this song, but the main chorus is not a lot more than crap, to put it plainly, it is an unrecognizable piece of rubbish that even Mudvayne would say was pushing it just a little bit too far. That is my opinion anyway, I think this is one of the weaker points of this piece of mastery, to be avoided.

06. The Handsome Life Of Swing
I can remember now why I earnt so
much money on this site (bearing in mind I am a student and a fiver is a dream come true) because you really have to work to make your money, I cannot believe I have been typing for so long, mind you, I need to restore myself as one of the best there is.
You may be thankful to know, this is short, but not very good. I think the band lost it on the album a bit at this point, too much shouting came into play, and I don't think enough care and attention was taken to actually thinking about what they were trying to accomplish, this is just a bit of a mess to be honest.

07. A Thousand Apologies
Dammit, my album has begun to skip, fortunately I know the next song pretty well, it is led in by a slow fade out from the track before, which means it has the makings of being able to do what it wants.
Okay, from now on, ignore what I have said so far, all the crashing guitars and mess I have just been insulting they do very well here, which makes for a very good track, the band really do drag themselves out of a ditch with this, top class guitars, mixing and vocals make this a very nice track to listen to, so if you were beginning to lose faith in the band because of this review, then do not, because on the whole they are very good, I am just nit picking.

08. Still Laughing
A corking start to this, a beautiful bass intro, some slow sang lyrics, and the band seemed to have taken a change of pace, because lets face, all the rock bands need a little break in the album, or fans get headaches and dont put the album on as much, and nobody want that.
This was a really well welcomed break for me, I really enjoy this track, and I think that this proves that the band can do more than just shout, and play music for people to jump around to, this track will never be released, and if it does I will eat my hat, but it is the kind of track that makes you proud to own the album, and makes you see another side to a band, well done lads.

09. For
Sure
A very short track, all aiming to give the punters something to calm down with before the end. This track starts with the DJ finally earning his money on the end of the last track on a fade out. Making YET ANOTHER interlude, I think they really did push it a bit too far, sorry lads.
We get a bit of twang on the guitars, and dont hear a bit rush of violence in the vocals at all (phew) this is actually a REALLY good track, but it is just over a minute long, hopefully they will do something like this on the next album, which I will buy for sure, as I think this has been well worth the money that I have paid for it. This is a more melodic track, and I think if they calmed it down maybe just a little more with the guitars, which sometimes are a little bit too much, and worked more on the vocals which they have spot on they might go a lot further.
10. odetosummer
This is quick....so damn quick......argh, cant really type at the same pace...fingers feel like they are about to drop off, damn i hate writing to music, no crashing guitars.....nice drum beat.....very quick.......good vocals......oh hear come the guitars......oh thats even quicker......arghhhhh........hmmm......glad this is the last track, I think I might get blisters........good track.

Okay, on the whole. It was well worth the money I paid for it, the album gets a little repetitive, but on the whole is something that hasnt been seen on the shelves yet, I think this band may well go a lot further in years to come, these are young lads, and have a lot to offer the trade.

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