Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Prelude to the emo

Let’s get a couple things straight... I am a simple man. I like simple things. I like my albums to be 'conceptual' and I like my EMO to pretend like it’s not EMO and is actually just 'alternative' because the sad reality is that we all turn 30 eventually. We have to grow up and stop crying when we hear an American Football song, and we have to fight the primal urge to explode with joy anytime we hear a lone 'G' played on a piano because OH MY GOD IS SOMEBODY PLAYING WELCOME TO THE BLACK PARADE?!?! Wait... No... it’s just Bach. Fucking Bach...

Welcome to the BACH parade? Thank you, but NO.

the hot topic

So I also have to talk about concept albums because I will fall for any concept album... it’s a weakness. Tell me your 'Neo Punk/Ambient Horse Noise' band wrote a 40-track concept album about 'Iodine Clock Reaction' and I’m THERE... but my god, don’t flake out halfway through like the aforementioned The Black Parade and tell me all these tracks are related when they just aren’t. 'Teenagers' had nothing to do with the cancer/purgatory/EMO prom thing and MCR knew it... but they gave us Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, so they get a pass. We grit our teeth about it, but suuuure they got a pass. Forgive Durden (as far as I know) don’t have MCR levels of pedigree. If they give us a concept album... it better be weird and it better not decide it’s missing a Wake Me Up When September Ends (Crap! I guess Green Day got a pass on American Idiot too... no forgiveness for 21 Guns though, that album blows even if it was more accurately a ‘concept album’) or I’m going to be really disappointed by this band I had never heard of until Sam recommended them.

I asked AI for “The Emo Last Supper”. It got the greasy hair right. I don’t trust either of the Chad’s next to EMO Jesus giving him the ‘ERGGHHH’ face though.

"Forgive Durden" is listed most places as an 'Alternative' band (that name... its a fight club reference... sure guys, you’re 'Alternative'... suuuuuuureeeeeee....I am jacks eyes rolling into the back of his head....) and I am listed nowhere as a music critic so were both liars. Anyway, 'Razias Shadow' is their ‘concept album’ but also a ‘musical’ because when EMO’s grow up, they become hipsters before they become 40-year old’s. Here we go:

Track by track

Genesis

Ok were starting out on a good foot. We've got a narrator so its presumed there will be a story. 'Genesis' is exactly what I would call my EM...I mean 'ALTERNATIVE' rock bands concept albums first track too (because 'Bible' and 'smart peoples way of saying first') Weve got strings! Im a sucker for strings too... give me 80s Casio cheese or the real deal, no judgement here! Just make them sound lush and drench them in reverb and I’ll clap! Vocal hooks absolutely slay and the vocalist Thomas Dutton 100% sounds like Dollar Store Brendon Urie from Panic! At The Disco but this isn’t Panic! and there’s no way HE is going to make an appearance on this album...

Also, the narrators voice sounds suspiciously like Brain from Pinky and the Brain so that’s a plus. Wait, was Brain EMO?

The Missing Piece

Were bringing my boy Shel Silverstein into this too? Was Shel Silverstein EMO?

This track gives us a bouncy waltz groove with a killer chorus that brings in guest vocals from Lizzie Huffman whose sweet and almost somber delivery is an excellent contrast to Thomas Dutton’s kind of snotty vocal style. I dig this one other than the interlude that gets interrupted by the narrator telling us what these ‘cherubs’ are up to. I know I said I like concept albums and I get this is also supposed to be a ‘musical’, but I would much rather the music convey what is going on rather than stopping mid song to deliver exposition. A minor complaint, otherwise, this track has a great flow to it.

Life is Looking Up

I’m beginning to feel a pattern coming on… Again, this track has a massive chorus that really elevates the rest of the song. Musically it’s bouncy, bubbly and moves us quickly through its emotions but it really does feel like everything else exists just to setup the big chorus. It’s a GREAT chorus but I really can’t remember what I got out of it other than that. It slows down a couple times… then BAM back to the chorus because that is really all that matters here.

The narrator pops in again, at least this time its at the end of the song so it does not feel so jarring. I like that a lot better… keep giving me the music THEN drop the story beats… what the hell is the story about? Seraph? Angels? Billy Idol?

The Spider and the Lamps

Alright… FINALLY! This track actually uses the concept album format to allow the music to build the scene. Narrator mentioned a spider bro was coming and this song… actually feels like a spider is crawling through it. They pull it off Boris the Spider style with the bass and drums playing some sharp staccato attacks to punctuate creepy spider bro legs and I am totally fine with that. It works, I actually felt interested in what the spider had to say because he is talking directly with the character in this scene. This one I am finally vibing with! The chorus is a lot more reserved, but it fits so much better with the track as a whole.

Toba the Turba

Would it have killed you to call it ‘Toba the Turtle’?

This one is similar to Spider Lamps as we again hear the song sung from one of the characters. I gave up long ago trying to follow the story… angels or something… it’s pretty subordinate to all the hooks we keep getting slapped with. The hook on this one is really good too, arguably my favorite on the album. The narrator comes in at the end and gives us more story: angels doing angel stuff and etc. Solid track.

The Oracle

Really liked this one! Unseats Spider as my favorite track, the hook is killer and fits perfectly with the rest of the track. Danny Stevens guests and his vocals sit really well in the mix and Thomas Duttons harmonies are fantastic! No notes, really wish some of the other songs could have balanced the chaos as well as this one does. Narrator craps all over the end of it to setup another plot about brothers fulfilling a prophecy or something and with all the angel’s stuff earlier (and knowing what I know about EMO’s) I’m just assuming and now picturing Matt Damon and Ben Affleck from Dogma. Thanks for that narrator. Yeah, they were EMO too. You and I both knew that.

A Hundred Year, Minute-Long Intermission

Short interlude song… THEY DO THE THING THOUGH! They bring back the melody from the first song (thread the needle…) further cementing their commitment to do the concept album correctly! Bravo guys! Bravo! It’s also short and we still have more angels to hear about on these airwaves so thank God it is a minute long.

The Exit

Oh HELL YES! This one is so good! Brendon Urie’s voice is tailored so damn perfectly to these types of theatrical tracks. You can feel him wearing a suit with tails and a top hat, this track is the musical version of a top hat. No notes, love this one. Why was this the only track FD utilized him on?!?! It’s a shame because so many of the others are DESPERATELY trying to hit these big theater kid highs and fall just short of their goal. More Urie would have absolutely been a blessing. You had Brendon Urie in a hat RIGHT THERE in the studio… and you didn’t let him do more than one song?! Was Brendon Urie EMO?

It’s True Love

Well they are not lying, I do love this one. Production dials back a bit on this one and lets guest vocalist Greta Salpeter soar on her verses that she trades back and forth with Dutton. The verses build nicely into the chorus and once we get there the big chorus feels earned. Truly feels triumphant by the time we get to end and have to listen to the god damn narrator again… could the story have just been provided in the liner notes? This song is another example of the narrator being completely unnecessary, the song just told me what you wanted me to know about the characters, I could feel it and understand it perfectly. Leave it at that, let the songs tell the story or express the emotion.

Meet the king

This song is more or less an extension of the last, Greta Salpeter is on this one again and the chorus feels right at home as a toned-down version of the one we got on It’s True Love which makes sense because YOU LET THE MUSIC TELL THE STORY again! There’s not much else to note other than when it opens I thought for sure the whimsical flutes were going to segue into a King Herrod’s song from Jesus Christ Superstar it doesn’t.. go in that direction but I would not have been dissapointed if it had.

Holy the sea

This one opens with the piano chords from Pure Imagination which begs the question… was Gene Wilder EMO?

Abso-fucking-lutely not. He WAS in a little known hardcore band with Mel Brooks though

The rest of this one is pretty bangin honestly. I like the hook in the chorus, not over the top and fits right in with the vibe of the verses. Stupid narrator ruins the ending again.

Doctor Doctor

Welp! I mentioned King Herrod’s Song earlier and Doctor Doctor goes full on camp to meet the quota of one ridiculously over the top song being allowed on every concept album. The Production on this one is off, it is way too loud with the orchestra and drums completely drowning out guest vocalist Shawn Harris. It is hard to argue with that decision though because I absolutely hate the stupid character thing he’s doing here. This one blows, it is by far the low point of the album. Hated it! Next!

The end and the beginning

Going into the final track your brain fully prepares you for what will CERTAINLY be the return of those massive hooks we had on the first half of this album. What is frustrating though is we get a lot of BUILD UP to something big but the payoff never comes until the 4 minute mark and it is barely a payoff at that point. The first part of the song is all story exposition and tries to wrap up whatever was happening in the story if you were actually following along with it… I was not. The ending is alright but that is all I can really muster here. It does not feel like the conclusion the album deserved.

conclusion: Its a Boop!

All EMO jokes aside, Razias Shadow was pretty good, not great by any means but pretty serviceable. The production is excellent and with few exceptions, manages to juggle tracks that are dense with instrumentations. Most of the songs pack orchestral movements, pianos, brass, harpsichords and anything else they had lying around the studio that would add a dusting of theatrics to the mixes. Every song feels like junk food, they are very sweet as you listen to them but by the end of most songs you are ready to take a break before digging into another one. The whole album definitely deserves more than one listen to appreciate fully and to pick out all of those little details that are included. That being said, it is tough to say what songs I would want to come back to on this. The stretch from The Spider and the Lamps till The Exit were my favorite tracks while everything else was interesting but not really memorable.

This one gets the prestigious honor of earning my first ‘Its a BOOP’ award. Worth checking out if you are into ‘theatrical’ songs or well-crafted concept albums, but probably not worth adding to your collection.

Forgive Durden - Razia’s Shadow (A Musical)