Hoobastank Album: “FORNEVER [1/27]”

I liked their self titled debut, I really liked The Reason (the album, not so much the song), but after Every Man For Himself I was ready to never give this band another chance. Born To Lead and Without A Fight were the only saving point of that album. Surprisingly For(N)ever is a much more melodic attempt at an album than Every Man For Himself and is definitely worth a listen. Nice to see they decided to actually put some effort into their recordings again even if this cd isn't as heavy or hard-rocking as I would like it to be.

The cover art is atrocious just like their previous album, the songs are middle of the road with absolutely no standout having any chance at decent radio play. "My Turn" is already lost in the woods.

It's very obvious that this thing is going nowhere fast. They blew it big time. If it sells 200k copies I will be surprised.

It's always a good feeling when you find out a band you loved that you would have thought was dead and gone suddenly throws another album at you. While it maybe hard for a band like Hoobastank to find its place in the music scene it doesn't seem to bother them at all. That is why their new album 'For(n)ever' is here.

Hoobastank is a band that really doesn't know how to disappoint its fanbase. Their new album just Hoobastank doing what they do best. Putting out a great bunch of blast worthy songs. Hoobastank never was one of the best bands out there, but for what it's worth their cds are fun to listen to. It is great to know they are still around and rockin' hard.

This is a great CD and showcases this band's great songwriting ability. Great guitar, vocal harmonies, catchy intros and unique rhythms. This CD will get you in the mood for some spring and summer partying. Leave it in the player and you'll be hooked in no time! Thanks Hoobastank!!!

It's difficult to lay your dollars down for any album these days, especially when you get under 40 minutes of music, so my rating of 4 stars doesn't include a recommendation to buy this CD. But while you may not be getting a lot of bang for your buck here, you're still getting a lot of bang...as far as the music goes.

Don't expect any songs like "The Reason", because there aren't any. This is pretty much straight-ahead hard driving rock, and it's difficult to pick favorites because the songs are all on about the same footing. The guitars are hard and edgy, Doug Robbs vocals get pushed to the limit on most songs, and there are only a few songs where he uses his 'non'-edgy voice.

Collaborater/producer Howard Benson is back, and while there are signs of "commercialized" production (mainly, a smattering of the vocal special effects that seem to be so popular these days), this is mainly a guitar record. Sure, you get your three or four slower songs, but even those have an edgy character to them...there's only one song close to a true ballad, "You're The One", but songs like "Don't Think I Love You" and "So Close, So Far" are also laid back, and "Tears Of Yesterday" does away with distortion for the most part. But that doesn't mean the songs aren't very good. There's a good flow to this album...nothing really jumps out at you by being so different from the others. The intros are varied, but in most cases by the time you get to the chorus the songs are rocking pretty hard.

Other than the already released "My Turn", it's possible to see rock radio airplay out of all off the slightly slower songs, and "The Letter" has mainstream radio written all over it. So while this is definitely hard rock for most songs, catchy choruses are still there for every song. And if you don't like the more "commercial" songs, the end of the album has a few songs bordering on heavy metal at times (Gone, Gone, Gone).

So while I won't say "Go out and buy it", if you have a chance to hear this somewhere, you may find yourself thinking it's good enough to pick up...despite how short it is.