THOSE WHO TELL THE TRUTH SHALL DIE, THOSE WHO TELL THE TRUTH SHALL LIVE FOREVER

My first experience with Explosions In The Sky came with their magnum opus and undisputed classic, 'The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place.' Having moved me beyond words (literally; the band's music is almost entirely instrumental) I took it upon myself to look into this band more, and see what other great music they had done. Being firmly rooted in the post-rock genre and sounding like they have found a tight niche for themselves, I knew what to expect going into Explosions' earlier material; something that still had the same sort of emotional resonance and direction, with alot less finesse and polish. Turns out; that's exactly what I got with this album.

With the poetically titled 'Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Live Forever,' Explosions In The Sky show that they were still in the process of developing themselves as a band, and working on realizing their talents as a four-piece. However, while the great atmosphere and resonance that post rock generally aims for is here in good supply, it certainly feels inconsistent in comparison to the following album, which would take everything to a level of perfection. Parts of the album (specifically, the first half) are really beautiful and acheive the beauty that first attracted me to the band. The second half; while certainly pleasant, does not seem to have the same sort of impact however.

The song 'Greet Death' is a superb way to start out the album, although many of the albums problems are evident from the start. While the composition itself is spectacular, Explosions In The Sky really do not do the 'heavy' thing well at all. It always comes as a system shock to have such a drastic change from quietness to blistering loudness. Perhaps it is the fault of the mixer, but the overall, raw feeling of the album does not treat the band's dynamic switches well at all.

The album hits it's high point with 'The Moon Is Down,' which takes a while to get going but hits a streak of aural beauty once the percussion kicks in and the ball starts rolling. From this brilliant composition, the foundation for greater things was certainly in place; but the band just needed this record to work out alot of the kinks in their execution. The latter half of the album is not much to comment on in comparison. There doesn't seem to be the same careful attention to building the romantic feeling of awe that Explosions is so good at doing. 'A Poor Man's Memory' for example, does not feel like it goes very far; ultimately sounding like a few musical ideas thrown together than sound like they could have had potential with a bit more tweaking.

'Those Who Tell The Truth...' is definately not the album you want to start with if you're looking to get into the band or the genre. While it is definately a competent piece of work, it shallows in comparison to many of the more polished and more meticulously produced albums in the post rock realm, especially the album that Explosions In The Sky would make after this one. However, for all intents and purposes, this album was but a stepping stone for the band it seems, helping them to gain some more exposure and gain the band maturity needed to make masterpiece as stunning as 'The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place' would end up becoming.

Share this EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Conor Fynes
• Report this review (#289910)
• Buy EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY music online with PA partners
• Show all EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY MP3/Stream
• Go to EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY related discussions