Singles Roundup: Emerson Hart, Avatarium, Candlemass, & Nickelback

Emerson Hart - Everything's Broken

This one hurts a bit to write. I mentioned when Emerson released the first single from his upcoming EP that I've been less interested in each of his solo releases, as he and I seem to be diverging. This is the massive blow to the face that proves the point. I'm not sure I understand what to make of this song, which is almost entirely centered on a doomy riff and background vocals, which is unlike anything he's ever written. I get experimenting, but putting out a song that doesn't even sound like yourself is going to be a tough sell. I know it is for me, as this song is already fighting it out as perhaps my least favorite he's ever written. I'm at a loss.

Avatarium - Death, Where Is Your Sting?

I wasn't as fond of the first single Avatarium released for this record as I wanted to be, but this song turns things around. The band's doom roots are still there, but their affection for classic rock takes center stage, which is as it should be. They are at their best when they blend dark heaviness with a more traditional melodic sheen. It even has a bit of a folk feel to the melody when the chorus opens up, and we are once again greeted with the feeling of a midnight campfire. They are able to take the foreboding of doom, and give it a silver lining. That's the power of Avatarium at their best, and this is a fine example of it.

Candlemass - Scandanavian Gods

This makes for a nice juxtaposition, as Avatarium shares lineage with Candlemass, and the end results are wildly divergent at this point. I won't drive home the same point about them yet again, but this latest chapter of the band's history is making a strong case that they should have retired when they announced it. I know doom is repetitive, but I'm struggling to find more than a minute's worth of ideas in this song, and even those aren't good ones. The song drones on with the most boring chords, and no sort of hooky melody at all. Honestly, it sounds like doom being written by people who have done nothing but listen to doom all their lives, but had never tried writing a song before. Candlemass is supposed to be so much better than this.

Nickelbck - San Quentin

Nickelback have always been a bit meat-headed, and that's never more apparent than when they want to prove how much they actually rock. That's what this new song aims for, but I don't think it succeeds at all. First of all, Nickelback doesn't rock. They can be heavy, but it's the artificial kind where you can tell they're trying to jazz up a mediocre songs by turning the dials higher. The guitars sound fake, the gruff vocals sound fake, and the lyrics tell the story about being driven to commit acts of criminal destruction by rock and roll. I thought we did away with the psychological connection between songs and people being complete assholes long ago, but I suppose not. No one is going to be burning anything down because of the power of Nickelback, and it just sounds so ridiculous for these guys to be taking this approach. They were pretty good at writing pop songs with a hint of rock to them. They're not good at trying to rock so hard they put you in jail. Give me a fucking break.