Comments on: THE HUMAN ABSTRACT’S MIDHEAVEN: PROOF THAT WE DON’T ALL ALWAYS AGREE HERE AT METALSUCKS

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:02:16 +0000

@Majestic Ice Unicorn:
This album was, admittedly, too brilliant for me to understand on the first take. But after a few half-hearted attempts at liking it, I sat down and pulled up windows media player and my Lyrics Plug-in and actually followed the story and the lyrics all the way through. It’s an incredible progression and story that’s told, and some of the lines are in my opinion simply amazing and inspiring, like the spoken part of Procession of the Fates that describes that the world is and will always be what you make of it. Took me a while for it to click, but I see it now. This album is phenomenal

@Sammy:
Absolutely did that with Between The Buried And Me with their 2007 album Colors and their 2009 album The Great Misdirect. Thought Colors was the ultimate album but then I began to see how incredible TGM was also.

By: mickey hellfire

mickey hellfire — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:59:20 +0000

i found this cd to be a art fag gallery i mean im gunna agree with everyone nocturne is a much better record the front man won my heart with that records lyricism and technique but i find this just to be too much, it just dosent carry the same charm and for people who say they are just trying to break the mold and be different i can only say, if it aint broke dont fix it, just throw some glue on the bitch and be done

By: JW

JW — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:38:04 +0000

No band has any reason to take them self as serious as The Human Abstract does now. Someone please pop Nathan Ells’s head…Nocturne was their niche, now its like Rob Thomas got a hold of this band and now sings for them…

By: metalAC13

metalAC13 — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:35:07 +0000

See, I liked the new album. It’s definitely grown on me.

Also, something that really hasn’t been pointed out (or I got bored and missed it) is that it seems like Midheaven is a way more accessible album than Nocturne. The band seemed to get away from the hardcore sweeping and showing off aspects that was Nocturne. I feel that Midheaven is a way more mature album that has it’s sweeps and proggy parts where they need to be.

By: Sammy

Sammy — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 21:41:34 +0000

Bought the album (physical CD), listened to it, really like it. Progressive without going into “Hey listen to how progressive we are” territory. And I do like the vocals. My only real criticism is the sometimes too-stick-to-scales lead fills that they tend to use, an almost always doubled too perfectly. But other than that, it’s prog metal I can get into.

So that must means it sucks, judging by Metalsucks reader/commentor standards.

By: cpo

cpo — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:37:20 +0000

this album pissed me off, tha was one of my gilty pleasure, one of the gayer metal bands. but midheaven really whpped out a dick and went down on it. can barely take it sorry tha nocturne was upwards of ten billion times better

By: iwrestledaferretonce

iwrestledaferretonce — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:18:24 +0000

OK, so I’ve dug THA since before anyone I knew even heard of them because of the great technical playing, and the songs with underlying stories (Iron Maiden’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner, To Tame a Land, anyone ANYONE????)
When AJ left the band because he didn’t want to play metal anymore, the rest of the band said they were gonna “always be heavy.” I was fearful that they were gonna lose what made them unique.
You can’t blame THA for wanting to stay away from the “chugga-chugga, breakdown, bridge, guit solo, breakdown, etc.” model. They’re trying to take metal to an ethereal level. Midheaven is good, just don’t expect another Nocturne. That’s exactly what Nathan Ells said.
(no they didn’t pay me to make this ringing endorsement.)

By: -gODGRINDER-

-gODGRINDER- — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:32:18 +0000

I like this. It kind of reminds me of the direction BTBAM took with “Colors.”

3.5/5

By: billybob

billybob — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:09:36 +0000

Meh, it’s alright. Sounds like Human Abstract. Haven’t quite figured out what the concept is though? Should probably figure that out.. Right after I listen to Fortress again lol

By: Corey Mitchell

Corey Mitchell — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:10:53 +0000

@Sammy O’Hagar: The whole album comes off as a bunch of guys whose entire knowledge of the human race is taken from dystopian fiction and instructional shred videos.

Brilliant line.

I am, however, surprised that you were so kind as to assign this one 1.5 horns…

By: ZapBranigan

ZapBranigan — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:16:54 +0000

I think that when you’re absolutely floored by an album, you wait, and wait for the follow up. You almost build it up too much, to unreachable expectations and no matter how good it is, you’ll be disappointed (Protest the Hero’s Fortress is a rare exception).
That is what happened to me with this album. I fucking love Nocturne and I’ve been waiting for Midheaven for over a year and a half. With that much time to anticipate the new release I knew I was going to be let down by it in some way.
A couple weeks ago I saw The Human Abstract on the Warped Tour, (them and Protest are the main reasons I went), and they were great except one really weird slow song they played. That’s when I started to have doubts about this album.
I’m only about halfway through my 2nd listen, but I definitely feel let down. I’m not going to give up on it though. I always have to listen to an album (especially one as layered as Midheaven) many times to fully digest it. The first 2 songs are great, but I’m starting to get bored after that. I can’t give it my full attention at work, but I hope it grows on me.
I thought they parted ways with AJ because he wanted to mellow the band out, and everyone else wanted to keep it heavy. It sounds like they mellowed out an awful lot…

By: Majestic Ice Unicorn

Majestic Ice Unicorn — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:58:55 +0000

One more thing:

The album clocks in at a somewhat short 43 minutes, 10 minutes less then Nocturne. If they would of given us 1 or 2 more truly shredtastic tunes (in the vein of Nocturne), I think it would turn around many of the negative reviews this album is bound to receive from “TROO METLAHEADS”.

Why do people refer to me as “Majestic Ice”. I am “Majestic Ice Unicorn”. 2 very different things.

By: Majestic Ice Unicorn

Majestic Ice Unicorn — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:44:54 +0000

If your expecting a Nocturne part 2: This is not it

If your open to a N-E-W album with different emotions and playing: You should like it.

Gotta give it a few listens before you can really judge it.

I would say Nocturne is “Organized Chaos”, whereas Midheaven is “Organization and Chaos”, with a bit more stress on the latter. Nathan is excellent, but it’s clear there are new members in the band, who are excellent players, but do not possess exactly the same neoclassical style writing ability of A.J.

I enjoy emotion in my music (no, not emo), which is why I am a huge fan of black metal and such, and this album’s lyrics and riffage both possess a unique romance to them. I also admire the lack of depending on protools. Production is still excellent, with lots of haunting synth and samples…you’ll hear a new one every time you listen.

But honestly, did anyone REALLY think it was possible to make a better album than the masterpiece that is Nocturne? Really dudes?

By: Natalie - MetalSucks Intern and Badonkadonk Queen

Natalie - MetalSucks Intern and Badonkadonk Queen — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:10:07 +0000

their last one was a better attempt.

By: vegard

vegard — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:35:52 +0000

right now i’m not too crazy about this album, but it might be a grower. nocturne was such an amazing album that i’ll give this one a few more chances.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:12:10 +0000

@Majestic Ice Unicorn

Yeah. That’s how System Of A Down was for me.

By: fearo

fearo — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:52:41 +0000

I’d probably think it was a good album had they never made nocturne. But that album was, musically, one of the most insane albums ever created. I ‘d been waiting for like a fucking year on this album and I’m dissappointed. While I liked some songs on Midheaven, these dudes can do a lot better. They have so much musical talent, and they make an album that’s half filled with pop songs? Come on… A violent strike is good, procession of the fates, and metanoia are also pretty good. I can live with ‘this world is a tomb’. But the rest? Please…

By: Aaron R Albrecht

Aaron R Albrecht — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:27:40 +0000

I just finished listening to the album for the second time, and I certainly beg to differ with the masses. While the vast majority of reviews I’ve read for the album have been negative, I found it to be an incredible piece of work. My opinion is more than likely greatly impacted by a love for experimental music (including the vocalist’s side project NRE), but I honestly don’t understand what’s bothering everyone so much about the album. All I can reccomend is that everyone disregard the reviews, good or bad, and pick the album up themselves before making any judgements. I, personally, will be listening to this album many, many more times, and may count it among my favorite albums of the year.

By: 36Thoughtless

36Thoughtless — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:00:28 +0000

After listening to the album on their myspace (full stream, apparently), I’d have to split the difference between these two reviews, like a 7 out of 10. It keeps things fresh without becoming incoherent, a definite plus, and there are several really unique and interesting parts. I have to agree with Daren, though, in that the vocalist seems a little off-put by the task of this album. He’s just strong enough in his singing to really make a great impact.

@ Sammy: I know exactly what you’re talking about.

By: Daren

Daren — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:20:00 +0000

I agree that it is 180 degrees from Nocturne. They tried really hard and I dig that; however, the vocals are the main sticking point for me. I didn’t particularly care for the vocals of Nocturne, but these, especially the spoken parts, really just don’t do it for me. I appreciate where Nathan is going and it has loads of potential, but he’s just not honed his craft to the point he’s trying to achieve on this album. The hooks are very catchy. Ninety percent of the album is polished and well done. Some of the time and/or odd key changes leave me with a feeling that I’m listening to a rough cut of the album. I can see where they are gonna loose some fans with this album, but maybe they will gain some new ones as well. It has enough interesting bits that will keep me listening until the new Cynic album is released.