No it isn't. Seasonally adjust for Christmas and the New Year and we're doing just fine. If we're still like this halfway into January then, yes, I would start worrying. But for now, no. Just slowed down, is all.

This was a decent album, but kind of just that. I'd call it progressive metal but I would certainly refute the thrash metal tag thrown up by Discogs. I can kind of see the Maiden comparisons, to a degree, but I hear more Theocracy or Threshold personally, though I have to say nowhere near as good. It's not a bad album, but I'm not sure why MicShaz is going on so much about how good it is. It's okay but that's about it. There's nothing particularly new or exciting or different about it that I can see. I voted Like; best I can do. I'll give it a 7/10.

It was mismatched from the beginning with this piano part that's on the same level as Suzuki grade level one mixed in with Metal. When you go further into the album, you realize that this cutesy piano part was a premonition of things to come, and every so often something happens where you think what is this doing in a Metal song? The rest is just trite Metal, nothing to write home about. Oh there is a lot of palm muting which I guess it would appeal to those who have teenage aggression they was to get out of their system. I find it rather boring. So with the cutesy piano playing on track one, cheap violin pads ominous shouting chorus on track two etc etc the more you get into the album the more you realize you have nothing in common with people who retain teenage aggression well into adulthood. The same riffs I've heard in every other Metal song. Nothing truly remarkable happening anywhere.

But Polly, you love teenage angst and aggression. I seen you in da Plug, playin dat Post Punk.

I don't really listen to metal for aggression and I don't think this album is really characterized by such. To me, it often has an oddly calm vibe about it. There's something about the mood and flow of this album that I think is pretty unique. I see I'm the only one who think it's anything special, and it's fine that no one agree that it's great, but show me an album that sounds like this one and you'll be showing me another Stam1na album.

Well, I liked it, and that's saying a lot from someone who isn't really a metal head.

Careful, someone could turn that around and use it to suggest that it must be a watered down metal album for metal newbies :laughing:

You confusing existentialism of Post Punk with teenage aggressiveness of palm muting Metal.

So Gang of Four didn't have a youthful aggression?

Tbh, plenty of Post Punk isn't far off from the early Metal sound. Metal Postcard by Siouxsie and the Banshees could have been a Black Sabbath song.

To me, this didn't sound any different from countless other metal bands playing this sort of style. Nothing stood out and grabbed my attention or interested me much in any way. It seemed rather typical and wore thin pretty quickly. It started to sound tedious after a couple of songs. Probably a blessing that I didn't understand the lyrics.
Metal in general is one of my least liked genres to begin with and this album didn't do anything to change my taste. Can't say I hated it but I have to say I disliked it.

2.5/10