WAKE PIG

A lot of what I wrote in my review for The End Is Begun holds true for this album too. 3 have a wonderful sound. They have wonderful talent. They are probably the most exciting live act I have ever witnessed.

However, their music is progressively stagnant (that sounds silly). They don't change their sound much; they don't play around much. To be redundant, they don't progress much. If you like their sound, you'll like this album. With the exception of Amaze Disgrace and Bramfatura, all the songs on this album are pretty well mirrored in all the songs on The End Is Begun, and for someone like me, who started with their latest on account of so many recommendations, Wake Pig ends up seeming like a weak copy of that one, despite the fact that it came first.

The music is inherently the same, which means that the music here is awesome too. We're talking crazy acoustic guitar work, drums and percussion duos, Joey's unique vocals--the usual works. The songs themselves aren't terribly progressive (and this will sound a bit narrow-minded, be warned): very little in the way of alternate time signatures, standard chord progressions, not much in the way of drawing sounds from other musical disciplines, and so forth. However, that funky, syncopating acoustic guitar proves that 3 is not just a standard rock band.

I mentioned Bramfatura and Amaze Disgrace earlier. In all honesty, these are the only two tracks off this album that I play very regularly, and without them, the album would be struggling for a two star rating from me. Bramfatura showcases Joey Eppard's virtuosic acoustic work, with him smacking that wooden instrument like it owed him money in three different currencies. This is the primary example of prog showing up here. It is very complicated and very fast. Something everybody who enjoys listening to fancy acoustic work should give a chance. Secondly, there is the final track Amaze Disgrace. No, it is not 16 minutes long, though it says so up there. Rather, it's something more like eight minutes with some silence and a bonus track. The song itself, though, is a perfect statement of the band's artistic desires, a monument to their creativity and talent, especially vocally. The hidden track features a long drums plus percussion solo section, making it a fun way to close off the album.

In all, again, this is fun music. It is fast paced and clever. But when it comes to being progressive, it falls short. The tracks blur together because most of them are basically the same. The two titan tracks (one being a bit shorter than titan would seem to imply), though, make this album necessary for anyone who heard The End Is Begun and is curious about more.

To any person interested in the band, I would recommend starting with The End Is Begun and seeing if that appeals to you first, as it's musically stronger and a bit more diverse. If it works for you, though, jump right into Wake Pig, and chances are you'll like what you find.