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"The Chain" Music Video

Taking Dawn premiere new video for Fleetwood Mac cover "The Chain"!!

Check it out at one of the following locations:

Metal Hammer

Noise Creep

SUCKED DRY

What is this death metal meets Mickey Mouse Club movement sweeping modern-day music? I mean, yeah we all knew Disney was evil, in league with Satan (that Walt was a Venomous motherfucker). And I GET Hannah Montana melting achy-breaky hearts...I do, and at least it makes sense, I mean I GET that. Why would I begrudge pop music for being pretty and predictable? It's what makes Justin Beiber a lot closer to the Antichrist than Cannibal Corpse will ever come (blood...if you must). But this shit is pathetic. I mean, what do I even call it? Glam-Goth post-hardcore melodic death pop? I came across a Warped Tour comment on Facebook where this kid described his band as "post-hardcore pop thrash dance", but all I heard was "post-op crap flashdance". And it couldn't have been more appropriate cuz all the androgyny amassing is slowly turning me gay. I can't even tell who's a girl and who's not. I thought Jefree Star was a chick being "clever" with a dude's name. Half of these guys are hotter than Hayley from Paramore, and it's pissing me off when they turn out to have dicks. Shit, THEY could teach HER a thing or two about make-up (not that I don't adore Ms. Williams au-naturale appeal...and by "adore", of course I mean "wanna fuck the shit out of"). Andrew kept going on to me about the hot-ass singer from Tokio Hotel only to scroll down the web page and find her name was BILL! It's not that I can't keep up with the sub-genre telephone tranny name game, it's that there's no point cuz these miserable misguided miscreants aren't even bothering to make sense anymore...but, as often, I digress.

This "music" is just the most pathetic, 3rd string, regurgitated, soulless, hackneyed hodge-podge of frankensteined plagiarism I've ever heard, and it's only getting worse with each new generation. These little fuckheads don't even know whose graves they're robbing anymore. Hell, they don't even know what CEMETERY they stumbled into, let alone the name on the headstone. They just know they came dressed for the occasion and zombies are SOOOOO in right now. Oh wait that's VAMPIRES, my mistake. Whatever, schlock on the eye-shadow and hop on the horror-pop bandwagon before it passes you by! But don't worry kiddies, cuz the doombuggy'll come full circle soon enough. All the tweens will grow half a brain, some curly new hair, and bail with puberty and we'll wind up right back here with a fresh batch of children of the night to paint their fingernails black and make sad faces at the perpetual creep-show: same ghoul time, same ghoul place...only this week it'll be fucking mummies...good thing that eye-shadow goes a long way. I can just see the hordes of toilet paper-macheted morons heading to Hot Topic for their hyper-inflated $15 dollar roll of 39 cent gauze.

They sell this shit like fresh cadavers to surgical seminars. Like they're cutting edge songwriters. Like they're that NEW shit. Like they're not ripping off Escape the Fate ripping off Bullet for My Valentine ripping off Atreyu ripping off From Autumn to Ashes ripping off In Flames/At the Gates ripping off Iron Maiden/Testament ripping off Rainbow/Diamond Head...see, 3rd string was being NICE. And OF COURSE, you can say the same of ANY modern ensemble, yours truly being all-too-obviously no exception. Go ahead, pick your favorite band and I'll be more than happy to let you know who they're stealing their songs from, I know where I pilfered my "inspiration", lol. Without Black Sabbath,Bon Jovi, Ozzy, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Deep Purple, Pantera, Skid Row, Shadows Fall, Guns n Roses, Megadeth, Arch Enemy, and Metallica (to name a FEW), Taking Dawn doesn't even EXIST. But plagiarism itself is an artistic institution. Your influences are going to show through, whether you button up the cuffs or wear 'em on your sleeves. It's all in the arrangement. But at least ATTEMPT, however failed though it may be, to bring a new take, SOME different perspective to the music that made you want to become a musician in the first place instead of just piercing it through the heart with your unimaginative little dick and raping the soul out of it utterly.

The rape of Gothenburg has become the musical equivalent of the rape of Nanking. Don't get it? Look it up.

And that's just SONICALLY. Let's not even GET STARTED on the aesthetics here...no let's.

BELIEVE me, I'm NOT the "keep the underground UNDER GROUND" kinda guy. Zombies are SUPPOSED to roam the earth unchecked, inducing mass hysteria and converting the masses. THAT'S fun. If you keep 'em underground then they're just corpses..and only the creepy, albeit dedicated, necrophiliacs get to enjoy them. Man, that metaphor wrote itself! I WANT my gruesome anti-pop death metal to bleed buckets into the mainstream and infect it with scores of STD's (that's SONICALLY transmitted diseases). But instead I get neon wigger-glitter and pussy-ass pastel puffy-paint monsters and murder scenes plastered on sleek slim fit tees...that ARE or AREN'T for girls? I still can't tell, and the girl with cock ring in her ears behind the counter can't tell me either. Folks, the key word here is SCENE, and the murderSCENE stole the show...leaving the production bankrupt at best. Frankly, I admire Hot Topic for bringing extreme music that would otherwise be condemned to obscurity (if you're a REAL death metal fan then you'll get that reference...and you can't buy it at Hot Topic because it was discontinued before anyone in Suicide Silence was even born) to America's malls by the HEARSE-LOAD. Go ahead and ask any Morbid Angel fan over 30 if they picked up Altars of Madness at the same place some asshole was buying their parachute pants. No, they probably had to get it in the basement of specialty record store, while you couldn't go ANYWHERE without seeing Vanilla Ice or Hammer and those FUCKING PANTS! lol. Hate them as you will, but Hot Topic is not only bringing extreme to the otherwise clueless masses, but they're SHOWCASING it. Meanwhile, @ most any other multimedia retailer (cuz let's face it, there are no more MUSIC stores) you'd swear Nickelback, Jay Z, and Rascal Flatts were the only bands in America. So if HT wants to rake it in with all the re-re's buying fake blood fruit snacks and ephemeral social acceptance by stocking up on the latest, greatest trend, then more power to 'em. Corporate exploitation of the common man's ignorance and self-loathing is America's credo. Just don't tell that to Jon Schaffer, he still thinks it's liberty and justice for all...god bless him!

Bram Stoker's definitive tome was one of my most engaging reads growing up. Fright Night and Monster Squad were tapes my brother and I watched until they wore the fuck out. Palahniuk's 'Haunted' is a deliciously demented top contender for Champion of my Chuck-encrusted heart. Interview with a Vampire is STILL leading the pack of repeat offenders in my dvd player. 'Dracula' is (arguably) my FAVORITE Iced earth track off my (hands down) FAVORITE Iced Earth album, Horroshow. For all their awful audacity, Romero flicks are my guilty pleasure, though Zack Snyder's modern re-imagining of Dawn of the Dead is without rival (pretty much anything that cat touches is unequivocal and awe-inspiring). I've been a Poe pupil and appreciator since I was 7. I haven't yet, but I can't wait to get into H.P. Lovecraft. The Walking Dead is THE GREATEST COMIC OF ALL TIME. Two words: Evil FUCKING Dead! Er...whatever you know what I meant! Pantera...'Avoid the Light'...'nuff said.

So you see, it's not that I don't dig VAMPIRES, or horror as a whole. It's that I don't dig FLUFF where GUTS should go. It's that I hate having to settle for PG-13 when "rated R" is the bloody name of the bleeding game. And they don't even give me THAT! I get this GA, fun for the whole family, Nickelodeon, Teen-Choice, Tiger Beat, bitch-ass, cloned corpse-paint clad Hanson horseshit. It's like the Partridge Family meets the Manson Family...only it came out about as menacing as The Munsters. Hell, the Adams Family actually IS scarier. Maybe I could get scared if I wasn't so busy being embarrassed. Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Mercyful Fate, Ozzy, Danzig, Type-O, Rob Zombie (& all inclusive 'zombie' projects), Marilyn Manson, Cradle of Filth, and for the next gen I'd say Dommin; THESE guys sold me (especially when you have the balls to spearhead your merchandising campaign with a shirt proclaiming "Jesus is a Cunt"...in the MALL...yowzers!) . Gimmick or not, these guys meant it with every cobwebbed bone in their body, and they brought something new to the embalming table with each incarnation and incantation. I need my NEW wave of bewitching wunderkinds to bring it like a double-barreled, ball-bearing blasting bazooka, not some bullshit-bubblegum-beebee gun bitches. I just don't buy it from the latest breed of teeny-bop brats. I mean, maybe it's cuz Peter Steele looked like a hard dude who'd actually beat my ass and snack on my soul if I so much as speculated condescendingly on his sincerity. But the only thing hard about these new kids on the block, these black-metal boy-bands, if you will, is their candy coated shell...which melts in your ass, not in your ears.*

I'm not even a Misfits fan and I'm pissed! I can't imagine how all the serious underground ghost-face fuckers are feeling with the cute little honor roll students from nice families drinking their Kool-Aid...and calling it blood. Didn't South Park already cover this shit like TWO years ago? Yet here we are...still, stagnant and stinking like so many neglected corpses in an understaffed recession stricken mortuary. Hey, we're all feeling it, some people's work just piles up more than others...get it? I don't even know who i stole that joke from. FUCK YOU, faceless Comedy Central Presents nobody! At least when I steal your jokes it doesn't come out of your pocket. And you probably get to tour in your own damn car instead of van full of sweaty snorers...I suddenly hate you.

Let's end it there. I'll just keep going on and on and on like this sparkly, smiley, fun & friendly vampire fad. Vampires don't glitter in the sun...THEY BLOW THE FUCK UP. And is there even BLOOD in any of those fucking movies?! I saw 'em all and I can't remember more than a drop. In the books, Bella bleeds more on her period than she does in those movies...yeah, yeah, yeah, I READ 'EM. And as awful as they were, I enjoyed 'em. Still, I wanna go Blade on these Carebear-core glamvamp bands...but instead I go off on more tangents than Anne Rice (and no, the irony is not lost on me). So put a stake in me, I'M DONE.


"It's wearing on my mind, I'm speaking all my doubts aloud
You rob a dead mans grave, Then flaunt it like you did create...
Pierce a new hole, if Hell was "in" you'd give your soul...
Buy it at a store, from MTV to on the floor,
You look just like a star, it's proof you don't know who you are.
...if I was God you'd sell your soul"
-Phil Anselmo



b shred or b DED
Chris

*no...no, I don't have the first clue what that's supposed to mean...it just made me laugh.

Taking Dawn Drum Tutorial video for "Fight Em With Your Rock" and "So Loud"! Check them out!!

Nicholas Crowder: Thought I'd ask if on your record do you use the same tuning all the way throughout? Is this tuning Drop down one full step ie low to high DCGFAD, or is it just drop d? Or does the tuning vary from song to song?

Yes sir, we are dropped down one whole step to DGCFADHelps make my range more consistent, where as the OLD days everything was so damned high it was a constant struggle to keep up. "There is no dignity quite so impresive and no one independence quite so important as living within your means"-Calvin Coolidge

Kris 'Ace' Mayers: UK HEADLINE TOUR WITH SAINT ROSE SUPPORTING PLEASE?

:'( SOMEDAY! We've all got to help get them a record deal first!

Kyle Karich: When will you finally come to Florida?

Kyle, we've actually played Florida several times, BUT hopefully we'll be back and someplace close to you.

Tom Hawcroft: Is there any chance of a headlining UK Tour anytime?

Not yet tom, BUT if you keep getting people to buy that record we'll be able to show the label that we have the figures to justify a headlining gig, SPREAD THE DISEASE!

Scott Carey: How did you guys get noticed? Any tips for aspiring guitarists? ;)

We got lucky! The better your band is, the less anyone in the industry will give a shit. Write quirky music and give up hope now so it doesn't crush you later, lol. Seriously though, bust your ass to promote, practice till you're perfect and then practice some
more (apparently I skipped this one), and write songs that matter, instead of writing what everyone else is writing. Music rules, but the industry blows. And I hope all you pirates catch skurvy on your privates. Eat my dick, you peg-leg pukes. That sorta reminded me of how Sgt. Slaughter mighta told off these little pissants. How the hell was HE ever the champ? Can you still be out of shape, unathletic, and the WWF (it will never be "E" to ME) Champion of the world?

Nichi Dodds: When are you fuckers coming back to montana? Missoula or Kalispell WOULD FUCKING ROCK!

This is going to be a popular answer...or at least a frequently repeated one. WHEN YOU GET EVERYBODY DOWN THERE TO BUY OUR RECORD, REST ASSURED WE SHALL RETURN! We gotta show the label the figures before the logistics come into play. I know, I know...broken fuckin' record, but it's a broken fuckin business and we need every number we can get to motivate these lazy labels! Like anything and it seems EVERYTHING in life, there are only a handful of phenomenals busting their asess while the rest rot on their laurels and let it all spoil. Unfortunately it's the wallflowers you have to convince to come to the party, cuz everyone bleeding on the dance floor ALREADY knows what's hot, that's why they're cuttin' a rug like jitterbugs and the rest are just slugs. What kind of a FUCKED UP retarded answer is that? Give me an inch and my metaphors will take miles. Too bad it doesn't work with my manhood, I'm just stuck with the inch, lol.


Lee Booker: What non metal bands do you guys love?

Well I can't vouch for the rest of the band, BUT I'm a HUUUUUUUUUUUGE Tom Petty fanEminem is ALMOST at
a tie with my all time fav Black SabbathSage Francis, Busta Rhymes, Bone Thugs, and Biggie Smallz are some of my other favs in the hip hop arena. I adore SRV's early work. I love Chris Daughtry, I just wish someone would write less trite and more classic material to compliment his unfailing chops. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are relatively unrivaled. As far as country goes I'm pretty savvy on David Allan Coe (the old stuff, not the OTHER stuff, lol) and Mr. Johnny Cash (though, to be honest, I don't think he's particularly any good, I just enjoy his voice and his lyrics). I dig on Elvis, Roy Orbison, Chuck Berry, and Carl Perkins. Nearly all the old Motown masters, especially The 4 Tops and The Temptations. I like Lil Richard and I LOVE Ray Charles. Wow...there are just SOOOOOOO many, and I'm trying to avoid rock/hard rock bands, otherwise this'll turn into a damned dissertation. I actually really got into the 1st Panic!@thedisco record, very modern Tinpan Alley with an infectious indie twist. But the second album I found...wanting. My Chem is one of my favorite new bands, along with the last Alter Bridge record. But like I said, let's not get me started on the rock realm!

Barney Wain: what does burnt yogurt smell like?

Well, right after I pop, I usually keep thrusting away. So incessant friction usually induces combustion and stream of smoke that often emanates is reminiscent of smores in the seconds prior to oxidation. So something like that or microwaved used condoms.


Simon Tinsley: when is there gonna be another time to learn or flaming drummer

I'll get on some "tutorial" tapes in the very near future. A lot of requests for Take Me, so I think we'll start there and see where it goesAlan has an exciting assortment of new locations for all his drum vids, so stay tuned here at takingdawn.com!


Kevin Judge: When r u coming back 2 dublin,ireland?!

When you have converted the Irish nation into the next legion of the Taken! Just get that word out and make people BUY the record and our label will be forced to look at the figures :)


Cherl Hearon: Boxers,briefs or commando?

Wellllllll, it depends on the dayFrom briefs as a boy, to boxers as a teen, I'm now a boxer-brief man. I save commando mode for my nastiest of hook-ups ;) mostly with men lol ...is he kidding?!

James Barber: any idea of an instrumental song or use of the song "force fed up" in the next album?

Lol, is my voice THAT bad? Just ruins it for ya, hun? HAHAHAHAHa! Actually, James, I kicked around several
instrumental ideas, but they always end up with words. I still have so much material that I'm torn between rocking with no vox or injecting with an epic hook. It's a fine line, but I'm still dandling the ideas. No Force Fed Up just yet, but I do enjoy some passages from that song, and they may surface in future material :)


Rocky Petty: Favorite Video game growing up as a kid? and not just you chris, the whole band for this one =)

Hmmmmmmmm...Abe's Oddysey & Resident Evil (PS1), Wrestlemania 2000 (N64), and Counterstrike (PC)
Andrew-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 (NES) Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
Mike-Mike Tyson's Punch-out (NES)
Deuce-Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Genesis)


Alex Easey How many cats can you stick in your arse?

17 1/2...now KITTENS are another story ;)

Taking Dawn announce slot on 2011 Soundwave Festival!!!!!!

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2011

SATURDAY 26 BRISBANE, SOUNDWAVE FESTIVAL
SUNDAY 27 SYDNEY, SOUNDWAVE FESTIVAL
FRIDAY 4 MELBOURNE, SOUNDWAVE FESTIVAL
SATURDAY 5 ADELAIDE, SOUNDWAVE FESTIVAL
MONDAY 7 PERTH, SOUNDWAVE FESTIVAL

Motivation.

A word on critics:

"Of course, this is just their opinion. But there it is, showcased next to real news...there it's given the same sized type. Somebody's gripe...As if their opinion is an Act of God. A negative guarantee. The opposite of an advertisement. To my mind, those who can, do. Those who can't, gripe. Not Journalism. Not objective. Not reporting, but judging...That kind of negative endorsement, it's the opposite of an advertisement...what critics do with their snide reviews, printed only to show how clever and bitter they've become...We all want to be the one standing furthest back. The one who gets to say what's good or bad. Right or wrong."
-Chuck Palahniuk

"Within consciousness rages two warring impulses, the first, to build, and the second, to destroy...these impulses are not separate but unified"
-Daniel Way
"Those who don't build must burn"
-Ray Bradbury
"A man can be defined by the things he hates"
-Terry Pratchett


Being bereft of blood and brethren on the barren byways abounding, I can bore only YOU poor bastards with my babbling. I want more than anything to be having these conversations with the friends & family I miss back home...because they know what sort of incessant asshole I am and put up with me anyway. But now it's just YOU and me. So fuck Pandora, and let's bust her little box right open ;)

AVENGED SEVENFOLD: NIGHTMARE
My take on the new record, track by track! So read straight through or choose your own adventure, but you'll miss the running jokes if you skip around. And I ABSOLUTELY understand the mournful mitigating circumstances surrounding the recording of this album. Please don't misconstrue any of the bite in my poor attempts at wit to be espoused as spite, but rather as the most sincere surmising of a genuine admirer. This is the shit I'd spit with fellow fans in a parking lot somewhere.


Nightmare- Kickin' it off right! Classic A7xEvery bit as compelling as it is accessible. Straightforward riffing that digs in without getting too far up it's own ass trying to be technical (like some sheepish shitheads who shall remain nameless). KILLER arrangement and development. These motherfuckers are overdoing it on thebells a bit, but I'm only bothering to point that out because I WANNA OVER-DO THE BELLS! Shit, save some production value for the rest of us! Six savory minutes walking the line on that silver blade of shred and simplicity that captivates at every turn. This is the evil THESE men do that will live on and on! Avenged just topped Testament's "Nightmare (Comin' Back to You)" for my favorite "nightmare" song. Honorable mentions include Maiden "Nightmares", Iced Earth "Nightmares" (NOT a cover, lol metal is as metal does, I mean how do you not cite a song that lives up to it's title like none other; chorus-"Night, Nightmares...in the NIIIIGHT!" hahahaha), Arsis "We Are the Nightmare", Kanye & Weezy "See You in My Knightmares"(

Welcome to the Family- Drumroll please! HMMMMMM...where have heard THIS before? lol. There's a fine line between forte and formulaic, but I think Avenged dodges the bullet on this one. I mean, if you've got the guns then you go gaga or get goin'! What's the point of having an arsenal if you don't deploy? This is always the BULLSHIT argument I hear from mod-rock commercial musicians, about how they CAN rip they just DON'T for the sake of "taste". That tastes like some BULLSHIT to me (is there an echo in here?). "Those who can, DO. Those who can't, gripe". When Greg Howe is playing for J-Timbers (that's Justin Timberlake, c'mon people KEEP UP!), he still let's loose like none other, he just doesn't FORCE it, and therein lies the tastiest of the
taster's choice. Nuno from Extreme melted faces with his licks as much as he doused panties with his ballads. Paul Gilbert knew WHEN to knuckle-up, and sometimes he was stuck waiting on a line instead of racin'x. But when I hear the dude (not Chad) from Nickelback (whose last record I'm in love with) talkin' about he'll
go "toe to toe" with ANY shredder out there, you can understand how I might have my doubts (although, if he's a 10th as good at guitar as the IN-SAAAAANE drummer from Nickelback is on the kit then he might be preachin' the gospel truth). ANYWAY, this tune took more than a few listens to grow on me, maybe because it's hard for me to NOT hear that Saliva song, lol. Got a little 'tallica Sad But True-ness vibin, but for like 2 seconds so not enough to bust balls about. And frankly if that's a bad thing then we're clearly not on the same page. Solid chorus, but not life-altering or anything...man, there is no pleasing me! Awesome melody in the solo, but the call response licks leave something to be desired. An excellent device, even if not exceptionally executed. Still the harmonies are rockin', and it gives way to a killer bridge. The outro doesn't shake my soul. Definitely a par track, fun to rock out to, and if that's not the point, then what is?!


Dangerline- Roger that, we have a confirmed hit! This mother right here sunk my fuckin' battleship. If you don't like this song, you're probably an asshole. The marching/melody intro is killer, alluding somewhat to Metallica (again, if that's a bad thing then you can fondly fondle my taint with your tonsils). Lol, it's definitely
hard not to sing "danger ZONE", but the chorus is rightoues regardless, especially prefaced by that little facemelter of a lick. Bust into one of my new favorite Avenged bridges (which they are often, if not unfailingly, adroit at crafting). The trumpet immediately has my mind jumping simultaneously to Penny Lane and that Megadeth track off of World Needs a Hero (Scorn, i think it was). That whole spaghetti western soundtrack style has become something of a staple for A7x, and I'm definitely a fan. Obviously very GnR, but Avenged has always been a band who wears
their influences on their tattered and tatted sleeves, ever emerging from the shadows of their heroes in a light all their own as more than a mere amalgam of meager immitation. Epic outro fade...to black, as it were. This is the stuff of great albums :)

Buried Alive-SPEAKING of Fade to Black! The clean intro, solo, verse, chorus, harmonized melody break, rinse and repeat arrangement of your standard balladesque power-epic is pretty prevalent here, but enough of the comparisons. Coheed and A7x are often at their best when crafting compositions of such an intimate nature. The clean passage is haunting and sincere, and brilliantly coupled with a somber string arrangement. Launching into some harmonic payload, each section develops into the next seamlessly, like the learned strokes of an aged asian hand. And don't you fret, there are happy endings a'plenty! Now, I'll be the first to say that I feel the chorus COULD be stronger. Perhaps it's the layering. Following such a rich tapestry of melody in the prechorus, it seems like the lead vocal drops out without a harmony behind it, which really detracts from the ultimate impact of an otherwise powerful chorus. That being said, the vocal transition from the chorus erupts into the bridge/solo serves as so succinct a segueway that envy surges through me at every listen...I fucking love it! I love the melody motif from the intro returning to preface the the urgency in Haner's tremolo lines. Now you COULD argue that the mechanical technique overshadows the soul of his playing (as I did tonight with Adam from 2 Cents, lol). BUT I feel like Haner emotes in a very distinct fashion, one more akin to Petrucci than, say, Zakk Wylde. I think he lets his soul shine more in the sheen of his composition and less in the grinding sparks of unweildy vibrato. And Syn even flies off the handle ever so slightly to culminate his arpeggio lines with a
noisy lil Slash bend for good measure. So much for "enough of the comparisons", lol. And on THAT note, how about this fuckin' MEGA-MEGADETH section they pop into? "This was My Life" must be SOMEONE in the band's favorite Deth
jam, cuz this isn't the first time it's been...ummm...how do i put this delicately? "cited"? How 'bout "referenced"? Yeah, that sounds academic! But let's not start in on the "reference" game, because I'll tear apart ANYBODY'S band (Taking Dawn, included) and leave them hewn in a heap of of failed plagiarism. Anyway, the attitude in this section is rockin', and the follow-up shred is primo. Slammin' outro!

Natural Born Killers- Actual Boring Filler

...sorry, did you need more? Reminds me of when Shadows Fall* just stopped trying, and they even do that same choke followed by the small bell before the vocal. This was a b-side at best, and I say that as an enormous admirer of their work. I understand that my education in thrash hinders me from enjoying anything about this song, but you can write modern speed-metal with a little savvy. Trivium does it with their eyes closed. These are more like GuitarCenter training riffs. In case anyone who knows me thought I was taking it too easy on this album. Avenged Sevenfold has built a reputation of innovation and exception, and this track only lives up to HALF by being an exceptionally average song on an all-too exceptional album. When you set the bar for yourself so high, you will be measured by the instances in which you meander from that mark. That being said, rather than this track paling in comparison to the others it serves to enhance their overall image, like an ugly wingman on a blind doubledate. I suppose, for a new generation of listeners who associate Metallica with Cyanide, this might be a legit tune, but it can't even keep up with the title track, so why bring the overall value of your club down by starting your third string center in the playoffs, right? ...that make sense? I still haven't learned to avoid the sports metaphors...moving on.

So Far Away- Cut me to the quick! This one takes a page from the Babbitt Book of Bedding Babes: Whip it out now, worry about it later...like in court. There's plenty of foreplay on this album, so this subtle and unexpected dry-stick is a welcome surprise. Not so much as spit on the hand or a slap in the face, just gettin' to business...and business is good. Not the show-stopper, but nothing if not solid. A somber track with some soul. And some SOLE! This song's kinda like makin' love...makin' love for two...makin' love for two minutes...two minutes in heaven is better than one minute in heaven. You know when I got my socks on it's business time, they're business socks! Business hours are over!!!
...Flight of the Conchords...anybody? ...nobody?...hunh


God Hates Us- And he wanted to prove it by letting this song try to ruin the record. What's worse is it psyches you out with a totally decent intro! A totally decent intro that my boy Rob (maybe the biggest A7x fan I know) points out is STARKLY similar to Vigil, off of As the Palaces Burn (honestly, I prefer Avenged's take). So I guess it's fitting that after that little "reference"(or were we calling them "citations"?) the closest thing to a cool riff in the onslaught of genericpalooza that ensues would be the Lamb of God section that drops into half-time before the...is it the chorus? I can't make heads or tales of the arrangement, which really doesn't matter to ME because I like surprises, but I feel more lost than anything else...and not lost in the music, lost in the logic behind letting what I can only discern as a b-side, at best, off of Sounding the 7th Trumpet taint the tremendous achievement that is this album. And
that breakdown...are we serious?!Wow, and I just realized I don't even like the solo. This makes Natural Born Killers THAT much more relevant. But come on, the ugly wingman brought his OWN ugly wingman? This is becoming less like the dating scene and more like a murder scene.

Victim- There's that bell again, lol! And it's never sounded more epic! The female passage, ever so reminiscent of Dark Side of
the Moon, is that innovation I was going on about earlier. MOVING and HEARTFELT. This song comes across so genuinely to me. Not a an ounce feels forced. No superfluous filler or needless notes. The vocal performance is easily one of Matt's strongest to date, and I find it poignant and touching. The background vocal layers on the chorus give it a breadth and mass with ambient overtones that carries the chorus to soaring heights while juxtaposed to the choked guitars and their menacing staccato delivery. The bridge lends itself to hints of hope amidst a desperate atmosphere and climaxes with Haner's most moving and sincere solo on the album. This is a defining piece for this band. It's not their take on a Guns n Roses song, a stab at Metallica homage, or borrowed Bon Jovi. It's a fucking AVENGED SEVENFOLD song, and it rules.

Tonight the World Dies- STP with a dash of Alice in Chains, and it's OOOOOOZING with aura. I get tingly just talking about it. I think the chorus notes are perfect and passionate (and not just because they're the EXACT notes I would've picked, lol). There's true culmination to the tension mounted by the eerie cliffhanger melodies of the verses in the bellowing refrain of this motherfucker of a chorus. This isn't the ever emulated Nickelback formula in effect, this is a song writing itself. This is the kind of rock n roll I miss. Papa Gates lays some slippery pipe in this one...sexier than a trunk full of hookers.

Fiction- Wow

...can't I just leave it at that? BEAUTIFUL. FULFILLING. WHOLLY UNEXPECTED. Equal parts Queen, Faith No More, and Danny Elfman. The easy show-stealer of the album. A tragic testament to the loss of James Sullivan.

And does any one else hear X-Files when they listen to this one? lol

Save Me- Fiction's a tough act to follow, but Save Me doesn't disappoint. Songs like this are why I can't cut Avenged any slack when it comes to Natural Born Killers and God Hates Us. They're just not up to snuff when you're pumping out explosive rounds the
caliber of Nightmare, Dangerline, and Save Me. Almost too epic for it's own good...almost ;)



B SHRED OR B DED my pretties!
Chris

*Shadows Fall is one of my ALL TIME favorite bands. I'm too heavily invested into them emotionally and financially for the last
10 years to not be allowed to call them out when they're not living up to their potential. but that's another useless blog for another
useless time.

Check it!

My friends, it should come as no surprise to you that the economic status of the world is far from ideal. The music industry in particular is feeling some of the most powerful swells of this black tide and Taking Dawn is no exception. I don't mean to undermine the monumental cornerstones that we have
marked thanks to you, the fans. From getting signed to Roadrunner to our arena tour with KISS and the most recent culmination of everyone's hard work; playing the main stage at Download Festival. But there is still much work to be done. I know we ask much of our fans but its only because we as that much if not more of ourselves. Right now is probably the most difficult time to be in rock 'n roll. We know this and despite the gargantuan sometimes hideous obstacles we gladly carry on because this is what we know and love. So before we ask you
once again to spread the word in every way you can know that we too are pledging to do everything in our power to keep creating and performing music that inspires in all corners of the globe. So if you STILL don't own "Time To Burn." What are you waiting for?! Go buy it! Already own it? But it again! I myself have purchased dozens of copies with what little money I have! Don't have the money? Who cares! Do something! Write blogs, make flyers, call everyone in your phone book, mass texts, bulletins, tweets, yell out of your car window whilst driving down a busy street. The important thing is to do something! Every little bit helps! I know you have already done so much but now is the the time to do more! Ourselves included! So thanks again for being the best fans in the world and I'm confident that thanks to you we'll be propelling Taking Dawn to the next level!

Yours TRULY

Alan Doucette

Playing while flaming.

Check out our write up in the new Metal Hammer! Fuckin Badass! You might even be in a picture!