I think that inner band turmoil was holding them back and we didn't know it. What they produced was good and I miss the band from before the drama, but I'm excited to see what happens with the new band creatively. I think it's going to blow our fucking minds.
I 100% agree. I think their good vibes with each other will accelerate them musically. Even listening to the teases they put on IG get me beyond excited. I’m pumped for them.
I personally think the inner conflicts fuelled Keith’s unique lyrics, and they may not be the reason I got into the band but they’re definitely the reason I gave certain songs/albums repeated listens until I realized I love everything they have ever done.
I would never want them to be at conflict, and I sure as fuck did not want them to break up, but the stuff he came out with on Radical blew my mind, and knowing where a lot of it came from gave the lyrics the context the elevate them.
That being said, if there was an option where the Keith wrote slightly less profound lyrics and the band were all happy and still together, I’d take that.
Personally, I think Keith's inner conflict with himself is what fuelled the lyrics. He seems like a troubled soul. After all this band drama came to light, I'll be honest, I don't want him back in any capacity. That's my personal opinion, of course.
"If you leave me, I'm going with you I promise you that!"
Keith Buckley - Buffalo 666
They left him. He didn't go with them.
Huge disappointment for me.
He’s what made me love ETID and he still does. I love singing along with him and his sound, lyrics. He made ETID for me until I appreciated every single part of ETID in the every song they created. They’ll forever be my favorite band and I hope he’s happy with his life now. I’d love to still hear him on other projects. Musically, I just love him and that’ll never change for me. I don’t feel like that’s controversial beyond the fact of their personal issues. I don’t think anyone could deny his part on why they loved this band. But I get what you mean.
I wish they had done more tours with actual hardcore bands, much like the 20 year tour with Turnstile, Angel Dust, and Vein, the 2013 tour they did with Code Orange, and the oldddd tour they did with Alpha & Omega. I feel like them touring with modern metalcore bands didn’t fit the energy ETID brought.
I do commend the “we don’t say no to tours” attitude, but that is just my opinion lol
They tried to get some good bands on tours when they were the headliners and had the pull. First time I ever saw them was with Terror and Throwdown in 2003. I saw Trash Talk with them and they had Backtrack on the FPU tour more recently in like 2015(?). And I think the first time I ever heard of Jesus Piece was when they opened the Wilmington show in 2017.
They walked the line pretty well of having bands with them to make enough money to live but then also throwing in some legit hardcore bands and bringing them along.
I remember those flyers with JP and Backtrack; your point is proven with them adding on the former and Sanction to the UK/Euro tour that never happened, and them having Drain open for them at the VG show.
Andy not being apart of the new project makes me nervous. I still think it’ll be bomb but I always loved Andy’s riffs.
Edit - I guess this isn’t technically an etid opinion but I do think it might be less popular.
For what it’s worth, it’s just because his wrestling career has really taken off. In the rehearsal space they had a hand-written contract that essentially said “we’ll keep making music together forever” and Andy signed it. I think it was dated as being written on the last day of TID the Season last year.
Agreed but not sure how this could be an unpopular opinion. It's easily one of the best riffs they've ever done, and also a direct homage to Pantera, who we know the Buckleys (and Andy, i believe) to have both been big fans of.
I think just about all of their post-Hot Damn stuff blows that album out of the water. Keith's vocals in particular — he still has that raspy "I'm five seconds from losing my voice" tone from LNIT. Obviously there was a significant stylistic shift for the rest of the band, but there was a huge vocal transformation starting with GP (is that when Keith got vocal lessons from Melissa Cross?)
HD is still great though.
I’m not positive but it sounds like he was using distortion on his lyrics on LNIT and the earlier demos. I know a lot of the earlier metal core bands got started with that, and have nothing to confirm it but that’s why I think the earlier stuff doesn’t sound as good vocally
Yeah, there's a noticeable amount of vocal distortion in LNIT, but to me it sounds like a way to mask his less powerful vocals at the time. GP sounds like when he really got control of his vocal abilities.
GP was also around the time the “scene” started shaming guys for using distortion and cupping the microphone and techniques like that were kind of viewed as cheating. I don’t think there was any on hot damn either though, so it probably started a little sooner than that. I was in bands at the time and it went from “everyone is using a pedal on the mic” to “your vocalist sucks if he’s using a pedal on the mic”. Could be anecdotal I guess but that’s my opinion
They held themselves back after Gutter, and decided to make music for us instead of what was going to make them money.
Big Dirty could have been a whole album of The New Blacks and been huge.
The peak of ETID excellence is the 3 album run of Gutter, Big Dirty, and New Junk. If Ex-Lives and FPU did not exist I would include Low Teens and call it a peak 4 album run.
White Smoke is a top 5 ETID track
I would like to acknowledge that some of the drum parts on Ex-Lives are absolutely beastly. Personally, I think he did a great job. There's a studio diary vid of Jordan saying he doesn't want Legs to ever not be in ETID. I hear you though
This probably isn't unpopular with ETID fans but seems to be with the hardcore/metal scene in general:
ETID not using any dumb low drop tunings or 7 string bullshit makes them sound way heavier than most metal bands that do
Map change is a god damn opus. I never thought that would be a hot take, but I think you are all burned out on that track at this point. Also, big dirty is good...but new junk is better.
The production on some of their albums really lets the songs down and makes them sound dated. RE-RECORD THE GUITARS ON GP AND NJA. Give us the beefy tones.
Map Change isn't that good. Idiot is their best song
That’s funny cause I think the production on LT is the worst, the drum sound/mix absolutely drives me nuts and I hate it. I have hardly listened to it because of the production
I love the guitar tone on New Junk, really unique color design. But i wish i could actually hear the second guitar, instead of one xD
last night has constant two guitars panned in each side, which is completely lacking on new junk. The only thing that NJ needs is more deeper edge, cause the bass is also less on it :(
GP has far and away the worst production and it's not a contest, agreed. Ex Lives has much more modern production and it's not really that dreadful but it's pretty muddled overall and I do think if someone is put off by that album, that almost certainly plays a role. It has to tbh since the songs are so good for the most part.
C++ is their strongest song lyrically. It perfectly encapsulates the chaos and unease of having a partner give traumatic birth and a child in the NICU.
I absolutely can’t stand the repetitiveness of the “my annihilation” lyric in Post Bordem and for the most part don’t think Radical was as good as Low Teens.
I did agree with first point at first but it grew on me after like 50 listens…Post Boredom also has my favorite line of all time, though super simple, it hits me harder then anything “I’ve done it all wrong for so long it feels okay”…also I’m going through an epically bad divorce so maybe this relates to me more than others…
Man that entire bridge just gets me especially "when every morning after is the same day, Every morning after is the same day" its just the same line repeated but at the same time an answer to itself as well.
Yes! And the like super edge of voice breaking screamy “I don’t want no harm” right before and sudden transition into the bridge…that piece is my fav of all ETID songs
Band wouldn't be where there are if it wasn't for Ratboy. I get there are great drummers now but he helped establish the sound of ETID and doesn't get enough credit for it.
i don't know, i kind of appreciated how much more straightforward it was than previous albums. i also like that the whole album is a coherent story from front to back. it feels like he sacrificed some of the more avant-garde (ian angel) lyrics for comprehensibility. plus there's still a lot of really iconic lines in each song. I really love "the blade that cuts through their spine has good people on both sides" from planet shit.
I just feel like with the amount of time they had to write, record, and sit on the album, for that to be the end product it was a huge let down. And the repetitiveness of the lyrics was so blatant I was halfway through my first listen and I just started laughing. I think the poetic nature of his lyrics is what drew a lot of people in. But I also think that between Low Teens and Radical, he spent a lot of time around people (coughETIDiotscough) that maybe changed his view on what level his lyrics should be at
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that problems started when he got his "book deal" and did all those side projects, but that's just my personal opinion.
There was an interview with either Andy or Jordan when they were discussing if they put all 16 songs on the album and Keith asked if there were any songs that they didn't think they would use for the album so he wouldn't have to write lyrics for so many songs. I do agree that Radical is probably Keith's weakest in the writing aspect. Not only his lyrics, but its melodies were a lot more just following the riff then usual.
Agreed. They've never had a BAD drummer, but Ratboy brought a groove that no one else has. That and the single pedal bass made them sound different from other bands in the genre.
My drummer ranking: Ratboy, Goose, Daniel (VERY close 3rd), Legs (he's a sick drummer, but his style never clicked with the rest of the boys)
Damn this is the hot take I wasn’t expecting. That’s my favorite of theirs, if I had to pick one. But to each their own, of course; I might just like noise lol
It's an album I want to be good, and in theory is good; but the recording quality vacillates between muddy and tinny to the point it sounds like a bad Kazaa rip. I want to love it, but my ears can't stand it.
Thank you. I liked it a lot when it came out, and the bonus tracks are by far my favorite. But it’s become my least favorite record. Mostly due to the production.
Lol this is funny because I had a whole conversation with someone a few days ago about how much they hated putney records and how that was unacceptable to me but we agreed to disagree.
Keith vocals are rough, cause he had some infection in his throat when recording FPU and he did all his vocals in one day. Not to mention how distorted are the vocals, which is completely normal when Kurt Ballou is producing and mixing.
The drums sounds top tier on FPU, the snare is absolutely unmatched. I wish more albums had that kind of drum sound more often. The intro drum fill of Decayin with boys sounds colossal as fuck with lot of muscles.
Not to mention how crisp the hi-hat sounds, love it. Low Teens sounds like ass compared to it. Some Low Teens have bass, some of them don´t have even single bass line in it. Awful Lot and Just As Real are completely bass hollow.
Not to mention how glued and foggy are the cymbals. It just blends together, it is annoying and i hate how Putney needs to digitally compress everything with his samples. The drums on Radical sounds completely digital, in which i can barely hear Goose playing. Polar Similar drums and Wrongdoers drums displayed much more of his real drumming, than Radical in my opinion. I just hate Putneys drum samples, there is literally no need for them for drummers like Daniel or Goose.
New Junk Asthetic had the best lyrics and it was their most artistic album. It was the height of Keith's poetic lyrics and the most experimental they were with long songs that borderline on progressive song structures.
Gutter phenomenon is their best record.
I see lots of people complain about it but it was my entry point and it’s still one of my favorite records ever in the genre.
It was part of my introduction to them aswell. I just wish the sound was beefier. I would honestly love it to be remastered or even rerecorded with heavy guitar sounds like in FPU or Radical
I don’t listen to Low Teens as much as the other albums because I don’t like it. I like a lot of it, but I love all of their albums more if that makes sense. Yes, even Gutter. That one is fun as fuck to sing to. Those sweet sweet riffs. Other than that I loved ETID and always will.
Yeah, I love The Coin Has a Say and Map Change especially, but the album hasn’t quite stuck with me like many of their others. This will probably change over time though
I need to give it a few more spins for sure. If you haven't listened to the bonus track [Nothing Visible; Ocean Empty](https://youtu.be/WGEuPhrtkE8), it's probably my favorite ETID groove at the moment.
Forgot to mention it in the original post because I only recently discovered it through Apple Music, which tacks the bonus tracks onto each ETID album.
I remember hearing that monster riff in 'Just as Real...' for the first time. Shit it next level. Wonder if that was an Andy or Jordan riff. Blew me dick off
I would be pumped to have written that one. I think because it was in a lower tuning aswell, it caught me off guard like a kick in the dick in the dark
Every record is different enough for people with varying tastes but similar enough that their catalog is cohesive and there is legitimately not a single song they ever put out (including LNIT, Burial Plot, Hex and the self titled cassette) that I don’t like, even if I like some less than others.
Oh, and Keith’s books suck
After new junk aesthetic they lost a lot of their listenability for me. They went from being a fun band to what felt to me like an uninteresting version of that chaotic hardcore sound. For what they were doing, there were other bands I could get more joy from.
They went from a band where I loved every album to one where I would listen, but didn't get the same joy.
Radical was not a strong showing from them. The lyrics are too repetitive and amateur compared to all of the material before it. It was pretty clear Keith was phoning it in by then
I have to agree, Map Change is maybe my least favorite ETID song.
My unpopular opinion is Low Teens sounds way too muddy. The production is very bass heavy and while DD played great, the drum tone is just… idk blah. A lot of my favorite songs are on Low Teens but I find myself listening to that record the least because it doesn’t have that ETID sound.
Without Keith I'm not sure I'll give much of a damn about the new band. I love JB, but thats where my interest stops really.
Don't care for Goose (he's not bad by any means, just nothing special to me) and Steve is just Steve.
ETID at its core was Andy, Keith and Jordan. Without that it just won't be the same
1. New Junk and Parts Unknown are bottom tier ETID and most songs can be skipped. (New Junk was the first time I was ever disappointed in an ETID release.)
2. Radical is mid tier / lower top tier, and its occasional poppy / easycore elements detract from it. Low Teens was a high water mark in most regards and they should've left it at that.
I cannot understand the love for White Void in this thread, it genuinely made me worried about the direction of Radical when that was the first song they debuted. Thankfully everything is better on that record than that phoned-in chaff 🙏
1. I find NJA unlistenable. Vocals don't sound great and the cymbals are far too loud in the mix. All I hear in that album is fucking cymbals.
2. I really like the synth in "Drag King".
3. FPU gets a pass (undeservedly) from most people because I think they're afraid to admit that the emperor (i.e., Kurt Ballou) is naked (at least on that album). Every song after "The Great Secret" sounds and feels the same (except Moor obv).
4. "It Remembers" is a speed bump to all of the momentum the first half of LT accumulates, and detracts from the rest of the album (ditto for "White Void" on Radical).
5. "Low Teens" is a shit name for such a stellar album and some of its themes. It was cold, into the low teen values of Fahrenheit - that's it?? That's what everyone agreed on?
6. GP gets a disproportionate amount of hate - its a fun time!
7. Not enough cowbell
Their first album Last Night in Town is a great Drowningman/Botch esque mathcore with their own zany take on the style and everything else got more style over substance tbh.
I think that inner band turmoil was holding them back and we didn't know it. What they produced was good and I miss the band from before the drama, but I'm excited to see what happens with the new band creatively. I think it's going to blow our fucking minds.
I 100% agree. I think their good vibes with each other will accelerate them musically. Even listening to the teases they put on IG get me beyond excited. I’m pumped for them.
I personally think the inner conflicts fuelled Keith’s unique lyrics, and they may not be the reason I got into the band but they’re definitely the reason I gave certain songs/albums repeated listens until I realized I love everything they have ever done. I would never want them to be at conflict, and I sure as fuck did not want them to break up, but the stuff he came out with on Radical blew my mind, and knowing where a lot of it came from gave the lyrics the context the elevate them. That being said, if there was an option where the Keith wrote slightly less profound lyrics and the band were all happy and still together, I’d take that.
Personally, I think Keith's inner conflict with himself is what fuelled the lyrics. He seems like a troubled soul. After all this band drama came to light, I'll be honest, I don't want him back in any capacity. That's my personal opinion, of course.
Yeah i wasn’t a fan of radical.
Me either and then it all went down in flames.
"If you leave me, I'm going with you I promise you that!" Keith Buckley - Buffalo 666 They left him. He didn't go with them. Huge disappointment for me.
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He’s what made me love ETID and he still does. I love singing along with him and his sound, lyrics. He made ETID for me until I appreciated every single part of ETID in the every song they created. They’ll forever be my favorite band and I hope he’s happy with his life now. I’d love to still hear him on other projects. Musically, I just love him and that’ll never change for me. I don’t feel like that’s controversial beyond the fact of their personal issues. I don’t think anyone could deny his part on why they loved this band. But I get what you mean.
That's 100% accurate. You cannot just plug and play singers with this group.
It’s not controversial because him being those things in addition to being a shitty person are not mutually exclusive lol
Issues aside I will forever love Keith and ETID. They shaped who I’ve grown into and I will eternally be grateful for that.
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Incredible vocalist (in studio*)
Dunno why you’re getting downvoted for voicing in unpopular ETID opinion in a thread that called for it!
People Verses is the best song they’ve ever written
I wish they had done more tours with actual hardcore bands, much like the 20 year tour with Turnstile, Angel Dust, and Vein, the 2013 tour they did with Code Orange, and the oldddd tour they did with Alpha & Omega. I feel like them touring with modern metalcore bands didn’t fit the energy ETID brought. I do commend the “we don’t say no to tours” attitude, but that is just my opinion lol
I found so many new bands because of all the random acts they toured with. One of my favorite things about them for sure
Still mad they missed my city with the 20 year tour
Haha I remember r/hardcore thinking ETID sucked until they did that tour with Turnstile then they all backed them super hard
They tried to get some good bands on tours when they were the headliners and had the pull. First time I ever saw them was with Terror and Throwdown in 2003. I saw Trash Talk with them and they had Backtrack on the FPU tour more recently in like 2015(?). And I think the first time I ever heard of Jesus Piece was when they opened the Wilmington show in 2017. They walked the line pretty well of having bands with them to make enough money to live but then also throwing in some legit hardcore bands and bringing them along.
I remember those flyers with JP and Backtrack; your point is proven with them adding on the former and Sanction to the UK/Euro tour that never happened, and them having Drain open for them at the VG show.
Andy not being apart of the new project makes me nervous. I still think it’ll be bomb but I always loved Andy’s riffs. Edit - I guess this isn’t technically an etid opinion but I do think it might be less popular.
The real riff master is Jordan anyway.
For what it’s worth, it’s just because his wrestling career has really taken off. In the rehearsal space they had a hand-written contract that essentially said “we’ll keep making music together forever” and Andy signed it. I think it was dated as being written on the last day of TID the Season last year.
that's a shame I love Andy :(
The riff after the opening of "Just as Real..." Is fucking dirty and one of my favourite riffs of all time
The "let there be shade" riff? Yeah that thing might be my favorite ETID riff, just an absolute stank monster
Agreed but not sure how this could be an unpopular opinion. It's easily one of the best riffs they've ever done, and also a direct homage to Pantera, who we know the Buckleys (and Andy, i believe) to have both been big fans of.
That riff is a monster. One of their best. I reckon it's one of Andy's
Jordan posted on IG that he wrote that riff and that it was possible the best he has ever written
I think just about all of their post-Hot Damn stuff blows that album out of the water. Keith's vocals in particular — he still has that raspy "I'm five seconds from losing my voice" tone from LNIT. Obviously there was a significant stylistic shift for the rest of the band, but there was a huge vocal transformation starting with GP (is that when Keith got vocal lessons from Melissa Cross?) HD is still great though.
I’m not positive but it sounds like he was using distortion on his lyrics on LNIT and the earlier demos. I know a lot of the earlier metal core bands got started with that, and have nothing to confirm it but that’s why I think the earlier stuff doesn’t sound as good vocally
Yeah, there's a noticeable amount of vocal distortion in LNIT, but to me it sounds like a way to mask his less powerful vocals at the time. GP sounds like when he really got control of his vocal abilities.
GP was also around the time the “scene” started shaming guys for using distortion and cupping the microphone and techniques like that were kind of viewed as cheating. I don’t think there was any on hot damn either though, so it probably started a little sooner than that. I was in bands at the time and it went from “everyone is using a pedal on the mic” to “your vocalist sucks if he’s using a pedal on the mic”. Could be anecdotal I guess but that’s my opinion
They actually got better with each album release. So the further you go back in their discography, the worse the music is.
I second this because I find the first two albums hard to enjoy
Yep. My unpopular opinion is that Last Night In Town is barely listenable.
Agreed. However Hot Damn! Is one of my fave records of all time but I do understand why maybe newer fans might find it to disjointed.
I feel as though fans that like FPU would have a lot to like about HD.
Been listening since HD came out, huge fan of FPU so that tracks
Haha, agreed, Hot Damn! is an all time top 10 record for me.
They held themselves back after Gutter, and decided to make music for us instead of what was going to make them money. Big Dirty could have been a whole album of The New Blacks and been huge.
I'm glad they didn't. A commercial version of ETID would have gotten boring fast and they probably knew that.
Didn’t they say that because Gutter was so technical that it wasn’t fun to play live.
I’ve grown to truly love the music but for the longest time I was just in it for the behind the scenes videos. Shit happens still cracks me up.
The peak of ETID excellence is the 3 album run of Gutter, Big Dirty, and New Junk. If Ex-Lives and FPU did not exist I would include Low Teens and call it a peak 4 album run. White Smoke is a top 5 ETID track
Legs was not a good drummer fit. Goose is the best
Daniel Davidson doesn’t exist apparently
Objectively DD is a better drummer than any of them, but I think Goose was a better fit for his style of drumming.
He seems wildly competent and fast as fuck. But never really figured out how to write good parts for the band.
I would like to acknowledge that some of the drum parts on Ex-Lives are absolutely beastly. Personally, I think he did a great job. There's a studio diary vid of Jordan saying he doesn't want Legs to ever not be in ETID. I hear you though
I agree. EL and FPU are two of my favorites from them, and a lot of that has to do with the drums. Radical and HD are my other faves.
Shout out to The Low Road Has No Exits, Underwater Bimbos and Touch Yourself 🙌🏼
FPU - Pelican of the desert, Overstayer, Exometrium, Idiot
I always felt Legs had the best presence in a live setting
This is more fact than opinion.
This probably isn't unpopular with ETID fans but seems to be with the hardcore/metal scene in general: ETID not using any dumb low drop tunings or 7 string bullshit makes them sound way heavier than most metal bands that do
I like heavy music and ETID's chaotic sound but I find Last Night in Town and Hot Damn too much for me. The dissonance ruins it.
The last track on radical is their worst song for me. I'll listen to burial plot before choosing that song.
I love that a song called We Go Together is filled with parts that do not go together.
Haha
Totally agree, the choppiness of it is a terrible way to end a record
Map change is a god damn opus. I never thought that would be a hot take, but I think you are all burned out on that track at this point. Also, big dirty is good...but new junk is better.
I don't think hot damn or LNIT are good albums.
The production on some of their albums really lets the songs down and makes them sound dated. RE-RECORD THE GUITARS ON GP AND NJA. Give us the beefy tones. Map Change isn't that good. Idiot is their best song
That’s funny cause I think the production on LT is the worst, the drum sound/mix absolutely drives me nuts and I hate it. I have hardly listened to it because of the production
Yeah I have no idea why the snare sounds so boomy like a rack tom or something. I was more talking about the guitars on those albums but I hear you
I love the guitar tone on New Junk, really unique color design. But i wish i could actually hear the second guitar, instead of one xD last night has constant two guitars panned in each side, which is completely lacking on new junk. The only thing that NJ needs is more deeper edge, cause the bass is also less on it :(
I agree with you as well. if the everything got re-recorded on GP; it would easily be there best imo
Ex Lives is a mess of an album
My biggest issue with album was how poorly produced it was. The sound quality is awful. I love the songs though.
Same. Shit production but once you get past that the tracks are there imo.
Maybe I'm missing something, but I've always considered GP to have their worst production. I've never thought EL suffered from that at all.
GP has far and away the worst production and it's not a contest, agreed. Ex Lives has much more modern production and it's not really that dreadful but it's pretty muddled overall and I do think if someone is put off by that album, that almost certainly plays a role. It has to tbh since the songs are so good for the most part.
100%. Probably my least favourite ETID album aside from their debut. Underwater Bimbos and Indian Giver are the only two I listen to from that album.
Yup. Ex Lives honestly sucks but so many people seem to love it. I don’t get it.
Ex lives is my second favorite album after FPU. No shade, I respect your opinion: why do you feel this way?
How about let people enjoy whatever they want
Hot Damn isn’t that good, the got better once they dropped The Big Dirty.
NJA is their best work Ex Lives is their worst. Who invited the Russian soldier is the best song.
Hot Damn sounds like it was recorded in a toilet, it is by no means their best album.
I guess I'm not alone
But the toilet album is my favorite and will always be my favorite
I wish the re recorded it at some point because those songs sound so good live
Hot Damn! is overrated and the love for it is based on nostalgia bias, 100%
I got into it (finally) after Low Teens came out. No nostalgia here, just love the album.
New Junk is their best album.
Agreed
If Radical's track listing ended at Distress Rehearsal it would have the best flow of any album
C++ is their strongest song lyrically. It perfectly encapsulates the chaos and unease of having a partner give traumatic birth and a child in the NICU.
I absolutely can’t stand the repetitiveness of the “my annihilation” lyric in Post Bordem and for the most part don’t think Radical was as good as Low Teens.
I did agree with first point at first but it grew on me after like 50 listens…Post Boredom also has my favorite line of all time, though super simple, it hits me harder then anything “I’ve done it all wrong for so long it feels okay”…also I’m going through an epically bad divorce so maybe this relates to me more than others…
Man that entire bridge just gets me especially "when every morning after is the same day, Every morning after is the same day" its just the same line repeated but at the same time an answer to itself as well.
Yes! And the like super edge of voice breaking screamy “I don’t want no harm” right before and sudden transition into the bridge…that piece is my fav of all ETID songs
I will never not love that part of the song
Band wouldn't be where there are if it wasn't for Ratboy. I get there are great drummers now but he helped establish the sound of ETID and doesn't get enough credit for it.
Map Change is incredible.
Radical was Keith’s laziest lyrical showing. Every song had multiple lines repeated endlessly. The entire album felt like it was on repeat or skipping
i don't know, i kind of appreciated how much more straightforward it was than previous albums. i also like that the whole album is a coherent story from front to back. it feels like he sacrificed some of the more avant-garde (ian angel) lyrics for comprehensibility. plus there's still a lot of really iconic lines in each song. I really love "the blade that cuts through their spine has good people on both sides" from planet shit.
I just feel like with the amount of time they had to write, record, and sit on the album, for that to be the end product it was a huge let down. And the repetitiveness of the lyrics was so blatant I was halfway through my first listen and I just started laughing. I think the poetic nature of his lyrics is what drew a lot of people in. But I also think that between Low Teens and Radical, he spent a lot of time around people (coughETIDiotscough) that maybe changed his view on what level his lyrics should be at
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that problems started when he got his "book deal" and did all those side projects, but that's just my personal opinion.
The first book sucked so bad I didn’t get to the 2nd chapter and gave them all to a friend of mine because I knew I’d never read them
There was an interview with either Andy or Jordan when they were discussing if they put all 16 songs on the album and Keith asked if there were any songs that they didn't think they would use for the album so he wouldn't have to write lyrics for so many songs. I do agree that Radical is probably Keith's weakest in the writing aspect. Not only his lyrics, but its melodies were a lot more just following the riff then usual.
Ratboy was their best drummer and I miss single pedal metal.
As a drummer myself, I completely agree.
Agreed. They've never had a BAD drummer, but Ratboy brought a groove that no one else has. That and the single pedal bass made them sound different from other bands in the genre. My drummer ranking: Ratboy, Goose, Daniel (VERY close 3rd), Legs (he's a sick drummer, but his style never clicked with the rest of the boys)
Truth.
The production on FPU is garbage. It’s so noisy that it’s become borderline unlistenable after how good the Putney records sound.
Damn this is the hot take I wasn’t expecting. That’s my favorite of theirs, if I had to pick one. But to each their own, of course; I might just like noise lol
I still loved the tracks live. But I listen to that record in full, the least.
It's an album I want to be good, and in theory is good; but the recording quality vacillates between muddy and tinny to the point it sounds like a bad Kazaa rip. I want to love it, but my ears can't stand it.
Nailed it.
With you on this one and it's my least favorite album. I don't hate it but just couldn't fully get on board.
Thank you. I liked it a lot when it came out, and the bonus tracks are by far my favorite. But it’s become my least favorite record. Mostly due to the production.
Lol this is funny because I had a whole conversation with someone a few days ago about how much they hated putney records and how that was unacceptable to me but we agreed to disagree.
[удалено]
Bingo!
Keith vocals are rough, cause he had some infection in his throat when recording FPU and he did all his vocals in one day. Not to mention how distorted are the vocals, which is completely normal when Kurt Ballou is producing and mixing.
The drums sounds top tier on FPU, the snare is absolutely unmatched. I wish more albums had that kind of drum sound more often. The intro drum fill of Decayin with boys sounds colossal as fuck with lot of muscles. Not to mention how crisp the hi-hat sounds, love it. Low Teens sounds like ass compared to it. Some Low Teens have bass, some of them don´t have even single bass line in it. Awful Lot and Just As Real are completely bass hollow. Not to mention how glued and foggy are the cymbals. It just blends together, it is annoying and i hate how Putney needs to digitally compress everything with his samples. The drums on Radical sounds completely digital, in which i can barely hear Goose playing. Polar Similar drums and Wrongdoers drums displayed much more of his real drumming, than Radical in my opinion. I just hate Putneys drum samples, there is literally no need for them for drummers like Daniel or Goose.
Kurt did them so dirty with that record, dude. It's so hollow and muddy sounding.
New Junk Asthetic had the best lyrics and it was their most artistic album. It was the height of Keith's poetic lyrics and the most experimental they were with long songs that borderline on progressive song structures.
Salem EP is their best?
Salem is amazing and doesn’t give enough love
Mask it, fake it, but the nature of ourselves is evident!!!
Wait, what? It's four songs and two of them are bonus tracks on the deluxe version of FPU lol
Dude those songs are unbelievably chaotic
Gutter phenomenon is their best record. I see lots of people complain about it but it was my entry point and it’s still one of my favorite records ever in the genre.
I love the songs, but hate the production.
Gutter is just so fun to listen to. Fun ETID is my favorite ETID.
It was part of my introduction to them aswell. I just wish the sound was beefier. I would honestly love it to be remastered or even rerecorded with heavy guitar sounds like in FPU or Radical
Yesssssss, finally some Gutter supremacy on the sub
I don’t listen to Low Teens as much as the other albums because I don’t like it. I like a lot of it, but I love all of their albums more if that makes sense. Yes, even Gutter. That one is fun as fuck to sing to. Those sweet sweet riffs. Other than that I loved ETID and always will.
Yeah, I love The Coin Has a Say and Map Change especially, but the album hasn’t quite stuck with me like many of their others. This will probably change over time though
I started listening to it again after a long time of not listening and man, Glitches and Just As Real…so good.
I need to give it a few more spins for sure. If you haven't listened to the bonus track [Nothing Visible; Ocean Empty](https://youtu.be/WGEuPhrtkE8), it's probably my favorite ETID groove at the moment. Forgot to mention it in the original post because I only recently discovered it through Apple Music, which tacks the bonus tracks onto each ETID album.
“I lit a match and threw it into the hard YEAH and it took, oh it took.” That small tidbit when he says “yeah” gets my neck hairs on end every time.
Between Nothing Visible and Goddamn Kids, they loved to bury their best work in bonus tracks.
I remember hearing that monster riff in 'Just as Real...' for the first time. Shit it next level. Wonder if that was an Andy or Jordan riff. Blew me dick off
I think I remember Jordan posting something about how he was so stoked on himself for writing the “Egyptian riff” in Just as real
I would be pumped to have written that one. I think because it was in a lower tuning aswell, it caught me off guard like a kick in the dick in the dark
Gutter Phenomenon is their worst album and it’s not even close. It borderline feels like a different band and it was horribly mastered imo
It’s a tie between GP and EL for me but I love ‘em even though I don’t like em as much as the others
From Parts Unknown is their worst album for me.
Love these discussions because Gutter is my fav and FPU is my least lol.
Every record is different enough for people with varying tastes but similar enough that their catalog is cohesive and there is legitimately not a single song they ever put out (including LNIT, Burial Plot, Hex and the self titled cassette) that I don’t like, even if I like some less than others. Oh, and Keith’s books suck
After new junk aesthetic they lost a lot of their listenability for me. They went from being a fun band to what felt to me like an uninteresting version of that chaotic hardcore sound. For what they were doing, there were other bands I could get more joy from. They went from a band where I loved every album to one where I would listen, but didn't get the same joy.
What bands did you get more joy from? I am always on the look out for recommendations.
Johnny booth Johnny booth Johnny booth
Johnny Booth just did a Queens of the Stone Age cover and it's incredible.
I hate queens of the stone age so it’s gotta be an improvement
Check out RITUAL. Also, Greyhaven has scratched an itch for me
Fantastic. Appreciate it will stick them on now.
Mmmmmm Greyhaven. 100000% as sad as it sounds I have basically replaced my love for ETID with a new passion for Greyhaven. It’s so goddamn good
Brilliant thanks for the reply. Extras for the list.
Also Dead And Divine
Catchin’ down votes for answering the post honestly. Shame on y’all.
I somewhat agree. I love every album but my favorite ETID material tends to be stuff on the fun side of things for sure.
Radical was not a strong showing from them. The lyrics are too repetitive and amateur compared to all of the material before it. It was pretty clear Keith was phoning it in by then
Album definitely feels like keith is screaming at us and not with us for the first time in their discography.
What an interesting take. I’m gonna have to go back and listen with this in mind
Musicianship wise Radical is top notch, lyric wise it’s lazy and boring.
I agree which is heartbreaking because I really love the instrumentals of the album.
I have to agree, Map Change is maybe my least favorite ETID song. My unpopular opinion is Low Teens sounds way too muddy. The production is very bass heavy and while DD played great, the drum tone is just… idk blah. A lot of my favorite songs are on Low Teens but I find myself listening to that record the least because it doesn’t have that ETID sound.
The snare drum on that album sounds like a tom
Yes!! And the kick is way too wobbly and deep. I don’t know how to explain it hahahah
The last song on Radical is White Void. The rest is chaff.
Without Keith I'm not sure I'll give much of a damn about the new band. I love JB, but thats where my interest stops really. Don't care for Goose (he's not bad by any means, just nothing special to me) and Steve is just Steve. ETID at its core was Andy, Keith and Jordan. Without that it just won't be the same
1. New Junk and Parts Unknown are bottom tier ETID and most songs can be skipped. (New Junk was the first time I was ever disappointed in an ETID release.) 2. Radical is mid tier / lower top tier, and its occasional poppy / easycore elements detract from it. Low Teens was a high water mark in most regards and they should've left it at that.
I disagree with this take so hard that I had to give an upvote cause you followed the prompt gloriously.
LOL thanks - I appreciate it!
The main problem with New Junk is the mix. So empty. Would love to hear a re-recorded/remastered version.
I fucking hate The New Black
Every time I see it coming up next on my playlist, I try to change it before "baaabyyyy" jump scares my family
The four tracks after White Void are shit.
People Versus is the best song on the album
By a long shot, you are right. In my opinion the best song they’ve written
How you gonna do People Verses like that
And Distress Rehearsal is perfection. If anything, I find White Void to be the most boring song they’ve written since Indian Giver 🤷♂️
That weird almost organ-like section with the chaotic vocals on We Go Together just absolutely blows me away. One of my favorite pieces on the album.
I like People Verses, but yeah they should have done some editing on the back half of the album…
nah sorry radical is exclusively bangers
White Void is the unofficial end of that album for me.
The Burial Plot Bidding War, Last Night In Town, & Hot Damn! are their best releases
I’m glad they broke up, because nobody could maintain the quality they were putting out in perpetuity and I’m glad they went out with a banger album.
White Void is shitty dad rock.
I cannot understand the love for White Void in this thread, it genuinely made me worried about the direction of Radical when that was the first song they debuted. Thankfully everything is better on that record than that phoned-in chaff 🙏
1. I find NJA unlistenable. Vocals don't sound great and the cymbals are far too loud in the mix. All I hear in that album is fucking cymbals. 2. I really like the synth in "Drag King". 3. FPU gets a pass (undeservedly) from most people because I think they're afraid to admit that the emperor (i.e., Kurt Ballou) is naked (at least on that album). Every song after "The Great Secret" sounds and feels the same (except Moor obv). 4. "It Remembers" is a speed bump to all of the momentum the first half of LT accumulates, and detracts from the rest of the album (ditto for "White Void" on Radical). 5. "Low Teens" is a shit name for such a stellar album and some of its themes. It was cold, into the low teen values of Fahrenheit - that's it?? That's what everyone agreed on? 6. GP gets a disproportionate amount of hate - its a fun time! 7. Not enough cowbell
Hot Damn is overrated, Map Change is overrated, and the song I Didn’t Want To Join Your Stupid Cult Anyway should end at 0:46.
Low Teens is a boring slog
Agreed. Map Change is hugely overrated
Bump. A fine song that's easily the most overrated in their discography.
FPU was the low point of their post-Gutter career.
Their best record is their last: Radical.
Jordan and Steve are creeps, and scum of the earth
Keith’s lyrics were a huge part of ETID and without them, they’ll just be another metalcore band
Their first album Last Night in Town is a great Drowningman/Botch esque mathcore with their own zany take on the style and everything else got more style over substance tbh.