Disco de Emery: “The Question”

To begin, Emery is one of the best rock/screamo/alternative bands ever, and if I could I would give this and their last album both a 6/5. They take screamo to a completely different level. I won't ramble here I'll just give out the pros and cons.

Pros:

~ Amazing voices! These guys can SING!

~ They can scream too! The background screaming UNDER the beautiful vocals of Toby Morrell and Devin Shelton just gives me chills. And the fact that screaming isn't focused on as much as vocals is what really blows me away. In screamo, vocals are underappreciated.

~ Complex. Two/Three guitars, two lead singers that switch off, and Josh Head screaming his last name off make one of the most complex and impressive sounds since screamo became a word.

~ Heavy yet melodic.

~ So much energy.

~ Emotion is relayed through the melody of the singing, screaming and even the instruments, which doesn't happen too often.

~ Power and emotion without swearing. Props to any band that does this. Emery doesn't resort to throwing in four letter words to fill in enough syllables or make lines rhyme.

Cons:

~ I can't think of one.

~ Some may consider this a con, some may consider it a pro; there is screaming in almost every song, if not every single one.

Emery is as close to perfecting their sound as any band in their genre. This album is worth every penny and then some. If you liked "The Weak's End", you'll love "The Question". Emery has only gotten better since "The Weak's End". If you haven't heard any Emery, but you like the screamo genre go buy both of their albums. You won't regret it.

Songs to check out for samplers:

- "Returning The Smile You Have Had From The Start"; one of the heavier, more screamy songs on the album. This song throws you right in the middle of heavy guitars and pissed off, scratchy screaming.

- "Listening To Freddie Mercury"; melodic, slowish, poppy

- "Studying Politics"; a single with a music video, good display of general Emery sound

- "The Weakest"; very little screaming, singers really sound great in this song. They sing over eachy other, different words, but it fits (that's one of the coolest things about Emery).

Follow-up to the acclaimed debut The Weak's End finds the band getting more aggressive but not letting go of any of the vocal melodies that make them who they are. Emery have made their name in the emo/screamo scene by saturating their songs with rich vocal tapestries. While other bands will let the music do the talking, Emery rarely leaves a section of music without a vocal section.

Emery's vocal attack consists of three separate singers, two of which sing clean while the other, their keyboardist, does all of the screaming. The band's sound focuses on the harmonies and melodies of Devin Shelton and Toby Morelle while being layered by the screaming of keyboardist Josh Head.

It's hard to pin an exact sound on Emery as they've been able to find their own niche in the emo/screamo community. While the band will deny most influences, it's very easy to pinpoint Thursday and Blindside as two bands they may have been listening to when writing this album... but the vocal arrangements will always give them that unique perspective (see "Listening to Freddie Mercury").

The band boarders on aggressive but never really gets much harder than Thursday does on Full Collapse. Imagine the sound that Thursday achieves on that album musically along with the vocal styles of Beloved on Failure On and you get an idea of what Emery sound like.

This band seems to have mass appeal due to the nature of the vocals; i.e: they're not whiney; they sing and are pretty damn good at it too!

By far one of the most interesting bands in the genre, this release is highly recommended, along with their debut album, The Weak's End. Be warned, this is a Christian band. I've always been a believer that Christians just seem to do it better in this genre than any other. This release is no exception! Another album of the year nominee!

For Fans of: Beloved, Thursday, Dead Poetic

(This is written by the users son, havn't made my own account for these things)

I just recently picked up this album, and the reviews don't lie. In my opinion this is the best album i have ever purchased/put in my cd player. Listening to Freddie Mercury is pure genious. Emery is one of a few bands with clever lyrics and a lead singer (actually 2) that can really sing without going out of there own range limits (i.e From First to Last).

I'm one of those typical Emo/Screamo teens, I've listened to many (numerous..i've lost count) local bands and more indie/mainstream screamo bands, some better than others. This band has ceased to amaze me in there screamo department, while most bands usually take time to become good at it, they mastered it before there first album.

Over all, this is about ten out of five, yea, its that good.

Now almost all bands either fall into a sophomore slump, or their second album totally blows the first away. Not with Emery. I am very glad that they found a steady level at which to keep their work. There are three main things that makes The Question such a buyable CD.

1. The clever lyrics. [funny, deep, thought-provoking]

2. The leads' voice [I love them]

3. The actual music. [still hard rocking, still knocking me down]

My favourite song to listen to is Listening To Freddie Mercury. This album has songs with hook after hook from the second you hit 'Play' to the minute your batteries in the CD player dies.

I have this album in constant rotation since I got it. If you liked The Weak's End, sample some of the songs before purchasing this. It's a little different. Don't listen to people who say the album sucks because Emery is "going mainstream." If they chose to make their music more accessible, it does not mean they are selling out. Don't think they suck because they are a Christian band. I'm a Catholic [not a practising one though] and I like it. They aren't Creed [bleh!], for sure.

The Weaks end was good but when i got this one, i was dissapointed a little at first, but then it grew on me and i was like, whoa, this is pretty good. I absoulutly love these guys voices(theres two singers), especially when they blend them together, it sounds really good. Really, on some of these songs(like song number one) i like the slower parts better because his voice and the guitars just sound so good together. The guitars are good in this one and there is some actually beautiful parts in some songs. Last two songs are the best ones on this CD.

If you like this Cd i recomend He Is Legend,Underoath,and Dead Poetic.