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By JEFF MAKI
Riding the coattails of recent diversified bands like Avenged Sevenfold and Fear Before the March of Flames is Everybody's Talking from No Hollywood Ending, an album that could have people talking if gets heard. If the band doesn't sound familiar, don't worry because I had never heard of them either. The CD was sent to me from No Milk Records, a small independent label out of Jackson, N.J. It is the band's second album. Their debut, It's All a Nightmare, was released in 2004.
From the start of the album with “ATM,” No Hollywood Ending's sound is hard to pinpoint. Sure, the above references give you an idea, but they don't fully describe the sound. Multiple genres of rock and metal are featured here: hardcore, experimental, classic, heavy metal, netalcore and psychedelic, to name a few. A song like “Hot Without a Heartbeat” features keyboards and synths straight from Faith No More's equipment truck. Then there's the first single “ChaChaChasity” or “Under a Magnifying Glass,” with their catchy, albeit somewhat annoying emo-style choruses. Lead vocalist Frankie Osler has a vocal range and style comparable to Faith No More's Mike Patton. His vocals vary from melodic singing to a furious roar to that funky delivery that is Patton's trademark.
“Do You Copy”'s infectious harmonies and disturbing lyrics bring A7X to mind, but just when you think you have this band trapped, they escape in another musical direction. Sample lyric: “You look so precious hanging there though you can't trace a chalkline/When the body is in the air/I'll watch/I'll watch/You'll hang/You'll hang.” In fact, much of, if not all, of the album's lyrics are addressed to an ex-girlfriend that apparently victimized and did something awful to Osler. A sample of a girl explaining her reasoning for being unfaithful precedes the angst ridden fury of “I? Guess That's It,” a song which seems to serve as a self-therapy session for Osler. Phenomenal snyths jump around behind the guitars, creating a unique sound. “Deceiver”'s guitar harmonies and awesome solos revert back to the heyday of heavy metal. The album also ends with a 17-minute medley of sound effects, acoustic guitar and voice-overs, adding to the strange mood. Everybody's Talking leaves a lasting impression with the listener, like great rock albums used to do.
No Hollywood Ending has taken a cue from a number of different bands and influences, and it has helped them create a masterful work of art. This is not just noise for the sake of being noise or a band being weird just to be different. Enough of that already. It's a rarity that a band today can blend this many styles and sounds and be not just listenable but remarkable. Everybody's Talking will require repeated listens to fully appreciate, but it's well worth it. Everyone has CDs from little or unknown bands in their collections that they frequently spin—desert island discs, so to say. As of now, this would have to be one of mine.
For fans of Avenged Sevenfold, Fear Before the March of Flames, Faith No More, CKY, Bullet For My Valentine, Eighteen Visions, Poison the Well, Every Time I Die
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