Emanuel Album: “Black Earth Tiger [Bonus Track]”

With a title variously described as sounding like a Mortal Kombat finishing move, a pose Jet Li might strike, or a post-apocalyptic robot terminator shaped like a feral cat, the press kit for "Black Earth Tiger" stresses one thing above all others: this ain't your daddy's Emanuel, apparently. Much like Mr. Hyde turning into Dr. Jekyll, they are now "experimental." One almost gets the feeling that Emanuel wants this to be their

-- migrating like the Deftones from a straight riff-rock/metal sound into something slightly more cerebral and rewarding, yet still heavy -- but until they start selling eight different versions of "Black Earth Tiger" in different colors, they're only part of the way there. Still, everyone has to make a record about the end of their world, and this is Emanuel's. And, thankfully, it's a pretty damn solid one.

True to form, opener "Whiteflag" is initially quiet as it stews like Godspeed! You Black Emperor after losing their string section to radiation poisoning, then fires up into more standard "doom rock" fare, with throaty, booming, downtuned guitar chords sustaining under Matt Breen's wailing "the end is near." This brings us to "Cottonmouth," with familiar Emanuel tricks showing up in full force, but with added techniques like droning, bent guitar leads, and harmonized screaming to usher in each chorus.

"Anathamatics" sees the band busting out an octave pedal along with whatever dictionary they were using when they came up with a few of the titles on the album. As

fans might already have guessed, the song is instantly groovable, destined to become a mosh pit classic at live shows.

The clear winner among the pack, though, as far as living up to the promises of the press kit, is surely "Phobos," which begins with a truly space rock, "fried electronics" guitar collage, and quickly turns around into simultaneously one of the catchiest and headbangingest tracks on the entire record, topped in accessibility by only "Let Them Die," a poppy, head-nodding bubblegum metal song about pulling the plug on your friends.

After this, the record tends to be a bit dronier than necessary, but finishes strong with a 'reprise,' extended version of "Whiteflag," which, while also drony, closes out the record nicely in much the same way that "Pink Maggot" lands the quietus on

.

After a listen or three, it's hard to hear much that has changed from 2005's

aside from a diminished emphasis on vocal hooks and more attention paid to guitar effects, layering, and texture. But the old Emanuel was a godsend in the face of more generic, blandized metalcore, and overall, "Black Earth Tiger" delivers more of the same spitfire punk-metal aggression as "Soundtrack to a Headrush."

I loved soundtrack to a headrush, and emanuel is the best band to see live. The last time i saw them, they played a bunch of their new songs before the cd came out, and took the time to personally introduce themselves to me and chat with me about how sweet the new cd is, etc. So when I finally got my hands on it after it came out, I was blown away. Finally a band that can make a second album without messing it up. They didn't lose their edge or attitude, but they still managed to create a different experience. The aggressiveness and screaming is all used appropriately, and tastefully, which I can definitely appreciate. This band is dedicated to making good music, and they treat their fans so well. They just mailed me a poster and a bunch of "Black Earth Tiger" post cards, which was super nice of them. Emanuel rules, listen to this cd.

Fans of soundtrack to a headrush prepare to choose a side.

One side will be the fans that loved make tonight and the hey man and want a more pop oriented rock band then a band that would prefer deftones over fall out boy

Another side (my side haha) will embrace the new emanuel with open arms and see this album as a masterpiece and will support emanuel.

Black earth tiger is a album that while deals with the same angst as its debut (friends,drugs,ect.) It has a underlined theme of "this is the end of the world". The album opens with the song "white flag" its a intro that gives you insight to what is coming. Then "cottonmouth" comes on and rips you a new one. The song is both about drugs and at the same time a metaphor for romance. Other songs such as "my antapex" and "let them die" is songs that will make the "we love make tonight by emanuel!" fans happy and both songs are even better than the popular track from headrush. Other tracks such as "scenotaph" and "abandonment star" are raw and obvious to what bands inspired them (deftones,smashing pumpkins,ect). Bottom line is that this band could have done what most bands do and make a soundtrack pt. 2 and make all the fans happy but they choose to be a real rock band instead of your average scene screamo band and I appreciate them for that. Besides the nice transition to full rock they all stepped up their game. Matt breen the vocalist isn't just screaming anymore he's throwing his voice out! The man screams like the world is coming to an end when he isn't singing or crooning over choruses. And the guitars are lovely as well.

So do I have any problems with the album? Well of course no album is perfect. I do wish more tracks was on the album. I do wish they had more songs like "phobos" and some songs take a coupple listens to take a liking to but once you learn how great the songs are you will find yourself blown away.

God bless emanuel and their integrity.

it seems like this record has been stewing all spring/summer long and after about 3 failed released dates, it was finally going to be released on aug 28th. now, after hearing the record i see why emanuel stalled with releasing the record. they wanted to make it the best they could as well as create some hype before they go out on tour in the fall. when i say "hype", i don't mean in magazines or commerically...the band created all the hype themselves. they had contests on their websites, frequent updates on their myspace, as well as giving out an 4 song acoustic ep for those who preordered. it was a true DIY kind of situation. just like bands such as thrice, thursday, and story of the year; they are kept alive and continue to make music by their fans and their fans only (even though all have been signed to majors they still don't sell many records). so for that, i respect emanuel greatly. well played emanuel...this record is fantastic. even though i was a HUGE fan of "soundtrack to a headrush", "black earth tiger" goes beyond what they were doing with that record and so much more.

the record is grittier, raw, harsher, darker, heavier, more complex, yet still have the grooves and superb melodic singing/wailing of matt breen which makes emanuel great at their craft. i agree with the other review on this sounding like emanuel's "white pony" record. their are definitely alot of similiarities between the two bands. the deftones influence is obvious throughout the record but sometimes a little too obvious. listen to the heavy progression and music going on in the last track "whiteflag (reprise)" and tell me you don't hear "minerva" by the deftones. furthermore, listen to the beginning of "year of the pig" and tell me you don't hear and awful close resemblance of the beginning of deftones "hole in the earth" song especially when matt breen does a little shout-out just like chino does in that song. as for the vocals, they are also deftones-esque but sometimes more like daryl palumbo from glassJAw which i love. other influences are smashing pumpkins (on the grunge parts), cave-in (on the spacey/experimental parts), and the always classic refused. even though they wear their influences on their sleeves (especially deftones) it still makes for one hell of an album.

it's not hard to pick up the vibe of the album as soon as the "whiteflag" intro kicks the album off. the guitars are trippy like the deftones, the screams are intense and not-forced (honest), and has a doom-gloom sound with a heavy atmosphere full of wailing guitars and experimental flourishes. even though you can hear some similarities between this and their first record, "black earth tiger" is in a whole different ball game for them and their peers. whether they claim to be or are in the genre of post-hardcore, screamo, etc; they are making music that actually matters, original, and has something to say unlike most of their peers.

unless you're completely dense, it's not hard to figure out what they're conveying throughout the whole record. it's not really a concept record but the underlying theme is constant throughout---the anxiety of the end of the world. it's a great theme cuz i can relate to it easily and i think alot of others can to (that is if you're paying attention to anything going on around you). the lyrics and theme tie together with the feel and atmosphere of the album perfectly. it's a great record to drive to blaring through your speakers at night or just sitting back on top of your car hood and looking up at the stars while absorbing the soundscapes of songs.

even though i like some songs better than others, their is not one track that is bad on here. they all standout alone all awhile having the same feel to them...amazing. one thing i love about emanuel's music are the grooves laced witin the heavy structures of the songs. "anathamatics", "abandonment star", and "whiteflag (reprise)" are great examples of this. other standouts are "cottonmouth", "scenograph", and "phobos". overall, a standout album. definitely one of the top 3 of the year behind thrice's new album.

like i've read on their websites, this record depends on if they make it as a band due to their DIY attitude and experimental nature. it would be a shame to lose a band like this in the music world. so i'm telling anyone who's reading this review, if you like heavy/post hardcore music with integrity and sincerity of the likes of glassjaw, deftones, refused, and even thrice...pick up this album and support this band because they're one of very few that are still making "real music" today. i can only hope these guys can stay together to at least put out one more album cuz i think their next one is going to be epic, maybe even groundbreaking. maybe i should be on the optimistic side and say "hey, maybe people will latch onto this honest sound and they will go on to sell 250,000 records...but with the way the music industry and scene are today i have my doubts...

EMANUEL, congrats on a stellar record and i hope i hear more music from you in the future. thanks for reading...

Emanuel is pretty awesome. Most songs on this CD are pretty sweet. They know how to write music.