Reviews

I’m now familiar with three releases from Calico System. I hadn’t heard of them until about a year ago when I saw them open for Chiodos. Their set alone gave me more than enough reason to buy their record. Their first full length, The Duplicated Memory, was a great way for Calico System to establish themselves in the hardcore scene. Often, when a band is just starting out, their first album will have weaker production and a weaker sound overall. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but then when it’s time for their sophomore release, production quality can become a priority over the music itself. Calico System fell victim to this with the 2005 release of They Live. Although it wasn’t that bad, it became obvious that their talent was being corrupted by over-the-top production. Not quite sure what I mean? Another perfect example of this can be seen in Haste The Day’s transition from Burning Bridges to When Everything Falls.
 
Outside Are The Vultures succeeds where They Live fails in (just about) every aspect. One of my favorite improvements in the writing is how the singing supports the screams. The singing on this particular album is so very appropriate and I just can’t stress that enough…which is more than I can say for most of Calico System’s competition. I can’t tell you how many times I’ll listen to a “hardcore” band where the verses are nothing but screaming and the choruses just escort in catchy singing. The title track on They Live should illustrate this point relatively well. I was also shocked and taken aback when I realized just how little singing this record features; as a listener, it’s nice to know that now they care more about the quality of their music instead of what seems to be popular in the scene.
 
This album really made me happy. It displays positive growth in a band. I liked it so much that it’s hard for me to say anything bad about it…but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to. The drums on this album are terrible. I would’ve given this album four stars if they had a better drummer. He doesn’t do anything to define his own style as a drummer, which for me is a huge negative. You can’t expect to simply play along with the music and have people not notice. In addition, and I’d really like some feedback on this…the bass lines are very good but I can hardly hear them. Those complaints aside, this is as solid an album from Calico System as we’re ever going to get…so pick it up and enjoy.