Search - He Is Legend :: It Hates You

I really like this album

Ryan Smith | Atascadero, California United States | 02/27/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"He is Legend is a band that really seems to polarize people. And, not just people in general, but even to their fans as each album is so much different in sound to the preceding album. From "91205" to "I Am Hollywood" to "Suck Out the Poison" to now "It Hates You," He is Legend continue to morph their sound. And that really is the crux of the matter. They became very popular with the awesome album "I Am Hollywood," but have ever since tried to distance themselves from that album, for right or wrong. I don't want to get into the two similar debates that seem to dominate any review of He is Legend, which are: "What happened to Schuylar's voice ever since the southern metal album "Suck Out the Poison?" Answer: it changed due to who knows what. And to the similar question, "What happened to He is Legend after "I Am Hollywood?" Answer: they decided to not make "I Am Hollywood" part2. Both of these questions are the chief issues that divide He is Legend fans and are the reason that so many of the reviews on here seem to be either, "He is Legend has never been better!" or "'I Am Hollywood' is SOOOOO much better!"



I'll start right off and say that I really like this album. There are a couple of really important differences in this album from all of their previous albums that really make this album unique. First, they lost guitarist McKenzie Bell. This fact is felt, in my opinion, all over the album and is really the only thing that I wish was different. The second thing is that this album is on a new label that gave the band freedom (mainly Schuylar) to write and do what they want without labels being attached to them. Namely, that they are a Christian band because the were on Solid State records, when they aren't a Christian band at all. Thirdly, there were really low to virtually no expectations with this album compared to their previous album "Suck Out the Poison."



With all that said, "It Hates You" is really good. "It Hates You" is a straight up post-hardcore rock album. Gone is the sing/scream dynamic and spasticness of "I Am Hollywood" being replaced with dynamic guitar work and powerful vocals without the scream that is more heavy and experimental than metalcore or southern, for that matter. Along those lines, gone also is the southern rock sound that dominated "Suck Out the Poison." But Adam Tanbouz makes up for missing McKenzie's solid rhythm work by layering each song with multiple guitar parts. The thing that really stands out to me and makes this album such an enjoyable listen is the ambient sounds that Adam gives to each song. These songs are more thought out, dynamic, complicated than anything He is Legend has done before. Adam really seems to be matching the song's dynamics with Schuylar's lyrics and he really makes the album work. The rhythm section is also a highlight to this album as the interesting bass work that was missing in "Suck Out the Poison" and was a highlight in "I am Hollywood" has returned.



In my opinion, this album needs a little bit of "growing" time unless you have never listened to He is Legend before as this album sounds nothing like any of their earlier albums. But after a couple of listens, this becomes an awesome album. Highlights for me include, but are not limited to: "Dicephalous," The Primarily Blues," "Stranger Danger," and "Mean Shadows."



Please, if you're on the fence about this album because of the negative feedback you've read, ignore it and get this album. It is definitely worth it."