The introduction of a review is usually a chance to capture the reader with something funny or even insightful. Considering it's 2:27 AM and I can't go to sleep, all that's on my mind is this Welcome the Plague Year album and how much it's going to suck when I have to get on an airplane in 5.5 hours. There it is! Welcome the Plague Year is in many ways like an airplane, due to its rising sounds (plane taking off), explosions of fury (the engine), or technology that keeps getting better (this album is a great progression from the demo).
Something almost all the songs have in common on Welcome The Plague Year is their tendency to start low in volume, with some soft guitars or bass line, and then rise to epic heights, only to land (plane metaphor!) with tranquil melodies. Take "Into Twilight," seven minutes of dynamic rock music. The first 2:30 of the song is a repetitive - not in a bad way - bass line that harpoons whoever is within close enough proximity. This, coupled with some floating guitar riffs that make good use of delay effects, creates a perfect lullaby. A lullaby that, at the 2:30 mark, is shattered with intensity. The energy (the engine!) runs through a quick rhythm layered by soaring guitar melodies and double vocal combustion. While both are definitely on the higher spectrum of screams, it's cool how one singer is a male and the other female. At 5:00 through the song our flight lands softly, and "Into Twilight" ends how it begins. Although, this time the drums settle with a nice drum roll type beat.
The rest of Welcome The Plague Year is not that different from "Into Twilight." Sometimes the songs do get prettier, faster, or heavier, but the style of mixing post rock crescendo with screamo is a theme prevalent throughout the 40-something minutes of adrenaline and dopamine. Although this type of sound is attributed to both City Of Caterpillar and A Day In Black And White, it doesn't sound like either really. It's almost in between the two sounds, as it's not as rough/punk sounding as City Of Caterpillar and not as polished/clean sounding as A Day In Black And White. While those two factors could be attributed to the recording, one thing that transcends all that is the beauty of the guitars. No matter how hard/soft Welcome The Plague Year gets, it's always nice to follow the guitars' flight.
Lyrically, there seems to be a theme of doom. Although the actual style of writing isn't my favorite due to some of the phrasings ("admire the smoke and chemicals rising in the distance from the big phallic fuck you to nature") I wouldn't say they remind me of any band in particular, which is always a good thing. Just don't expect to find little quotes to put in your AIM profile; the meaning is derived more from the overall feeling in the songs. It would've been nice if they could've let the listener read what the sample is saying in "Doomsday Parade," due to the feedback making some parts not listenable.
If the words "screamo" or "post hardcore" capture your eyes/ears, get this immediately. Get the split with Funeral Diner while you're at it too, which features two of the best songs of 2004 thus far. Hell, Welcome the Plague Year's three song demo (review can be read here) was my favorite demo of 2003, so naturally I had high expectations for Welcome The Plague Year, which were thankfully accomplished. For whatever reason, this album seems to be overlooked (similar to the great customer service of United Airlines) but that's no excuse for you to do so.
