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 | A Wilhelm ScreamMute Print2004 Nitro 
 Review by: Scott See others by this writer ![[staff]](/images/icons/staffsticker.gif){kind=icon}
A Wilhelm Scream (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on April 20th 2004
A Wilhelm Scream is a breath of fresh air into the punk rock scene today. Equal parts Hot Water Music and Good Riddance, the band rips through 11 tracks and never looks back. This is melodic punk rock with influences all across the board, wrapped up into one of the best half hours of this year thus far. The tempos are breakneck, the harmonies are crystal clear, the metal riffing isn't cliche, the palm muting is perfect, the breakdowns are inventive - I could go on all day. People who liked this also liked:       ![A Wilhelm Scream - Diver [7 inch]](/images/covers/thumb/a_wilhelm_scream-diver.jpg)    Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
Heard about these guys while visiting Nitro's website. "Famous Friends" was playing on an e-card, it immediately caught my attention. My family went to New York the next week, and I saw the album on the shelf. Disappointed with the indie-label picks, and having a great first impression, I picked it up. I put it in my cd player (that's right, these were pre-iPod days), and heard the opening title-track. I don't think they could have picked a worse song, or at least a worse intro...The full two-second pause after the gritty solo vocals, the indistinguishable vocals that ensued save for the words "toliet-tissue, words are sexy", the stop-and-go jerking of the track...really turned me off. Lucky for me, "Famous Friends" was the next track, and I was hooked (or hook'd to make the pun more apparent). From there-on-out, the album tore me apart. The intricacy during the intro of "Anchor End" twisted my head, the sincere lyrics of "William Blake", the epic outro and overall darkness of "The Rip", the catchiest chorus of the album on "Stab", the originality of "Kursk" and the bittersweet beauty of "Dreaming of Throwing Up"...After hearing the album in its entirity, returning to the title-track was much easier on the ears, and I was able to appreciate it for the brief of-things-to-come track that it is. I don't even know what to say - these guys are great song-writers in every sense, great musicians, and they bring it full-force live. I remember seeing them weeks later open for Rise Against at the Metro (ah, the good 'ol days...) and I was one of about six people in a crowd of 100 that was jumping around and yelling out all the lyrics with them. Great This album kills. I love this album. This album rocks, but Ruiner is even more fantastic. 37 for both cds Bought this cd and ruiner after i read the reviews and it was the best 37 dollars i ever spent. NOt counting all those hookers. GReat technical and lyrics to think over too. What could be better. This hasn't left my stereo in seven months. I got this cd when it first came out because i heard the rip on the ska punk show in phoenix. I must say i liked it. It totally rips. I could give a fuck who they sound like. Nufan sounds like bad religion a million bands sound like nofx, a thousand like lagwagon and pennywise the list goes on you will never find a band who is completely original and hasn't been influenced by another band save maybe atom and his package and the aquabats. But regardless the cd rips and is good for a spin in the player that being said i haven't listened to this cd for months it got kind of stale but after stumbling on this review i'm gonna have to pull it out and bump it. All in all good cd hell at least isn't simple plan or blink 182 This CD is in the top 5 of the year without a doubt... these guys are soo soo dominant.... On top of being some of my neighbors, these guys are rad musicians, brilliant lyricists and genuinely nice people. They love what they do, they love each other, and you can just feel it beeming from them when they play. Trevor is just a complete genius with words, everyone in the band is so talented at what they do, and the best part about it is - they are amazing live.. finally something i can listen to in it's entirety. Wow this band is great, i thought good bands were extinct, AWS is really playing punk rock, and not just whining and heving feelings and shit, great stuff. Well when I saw them live the guitarists did double backflips in choreographed motions while the singer and the drummer did handstands, switched instruments and lit themselves on fire! Then they blew up the giant inflatable guy with a TV for a head and it went over the stadium! IT ROCKED! YEAH! then came the jetpacks and it was all over man! mute print is INCREDIBLE. whether your into this style or not there is no way you can say this cd isnt amazingly talented and original, if so, go to a proctologist and get your head out of your ass. whats better? the fact that their live performance is better. when they played "willam blake overdrive" live, i was amazed at the fact that the 2 guitarists could play the intricate finger tap solos perect AND sing at the same time. they are amazing,and mute print gets a 10. Alright I'm seriously fucking laughing right now! Dude, Romeo, you're on the money man, I'm not being sacrcastic, you've proven to me once and for all NEVER to go on punk news.org when drunk, I still stick to my opinion of the record though...too much butt rock guitar=a record that sould've used more fucking power chords... "Are you sure you're not listening to the new Northstar?" I reme when me and mberJimi Hendrix grew up, I knew him back when he started the Toasters, he was the founding drummer; good times we had. I personally like Jimi's work in the Toasters better than the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Alright, I've had a long standing history watching this band grow up. I grew up with these guys, saw them when they were Adam's Crack then Koen then Smackin' Isaiah then what they are now, they are really cool kids, though I don't know Chris too much, he's from Boston, we're from new bdeford. Anywyas.. "I dont know what you guys are listening to but this cd is very weak in my opinion. The songs are not very memorable." I dont know what you guys are listening to but this cd is very weak in my opinion. The songs are not very memorable. all hail jeremy for bringing these guys off the streets of massachusetts, giving them beer, chicks to bang and helping them to kick ass. one of the best things to come out in awhile. sucks that major labels are eating bands up and nothing is getting released. major labels suck and delay so many albums www.punkrocks.net just posted an interview with these guys. I've seen this band 3 times in Montana, and they are probably one of the best live bands I've ever seen. The guy a few posts down talking about how they nail the parts live is totally right. They're unbelievable live, and when I saw them the dueling guitars just....I cant describe how awesome it was. And the guitarist was drunk on top of it. Fucking amazing album too. Holy Christ this shit is bad. This is total generic cookie cutter pop-punk shit with metal fillers. That is my review. Thank You. if anyone is in a good mood.....i would appreciate if they could tell me the best braid songs (or ones they would play) to put in a mix.....i have only heard a couple songs because i have been putting them off for a while... and on a completely unrelated note, everyone check out the latest from Belle and Sabastian. seriously, it's a masterpiece. I just realized nobody has really mentioned the incredible lyrics. I won't claim to get what every song or every line refers to, but i know that as a whole these are the kind of angry poetry that all the pop punk and hardcore bands have been trying to fake, but this is clearly for real... and the funny thing is many of them are self-mocking on just that very topic. Favorites are The Rip, Brand New Me Same Shitty You, and Dreaming of Throwing Up fuck this cd go out and buy the new northstar yeah. I remember hearing a lot about them back when they were Smackin' Isaiah too, I liked them. Recently got my hands on this album, and as far as melodic albums go, I like it muchly. If you don't want to order online, I've seen it at Tower for like $14... i can't find it anywhere either btw, where y'all buying this? i had to have my local indie store specially order it for me If these mp3's are not convincing for any of you, there is another song on the bands' Purevolume site. Yes, this is the best record AWS has ever put out. Even if you didn't like the smackin' isaiah days, they've improved immensely on this record. the style is pretty similar but they learned how to make each song stand on its own and get in your head rather than just put a bunch of cool parts together. MULLETS are fucking coming back!!!! =) Im with dazed a couple of posts down, ill take good riddance any day over this-oldpunker- this could be the one band to revive nitro from it's stupidity phase...rocknroll nitro...not stupid kid punk or indie rock... oh yeah and benefits of thinking out loud DOES NOT SUCK. if you don't like this record...thrice is playing with dashboard at an amphitheatre near you...i'm the singer is sure to hit at least three of the notes he hits on the record..go pay 25 dollars a ticket and 30 dollars a shirt...you won't be missed. this record rules and so does pumpkin pie.... I heard the mp3s and thought it sounded like Break the Silence with a better singer mixed with Bigwig. Not my cup of tea, this type of metal riffing in melodic aggressive punk. I'll take a band like Good Riddance over this any day. is this better than when they were called smackin isiah? Score is for the rash i have on my testicle. absolutely brilliant!! i can't wait to hear more. nitro lucked out. these guys are rad as hell in my humble opinion "the best thing about this band and this record is the fact that everything you hear on this record is in fact 100% of what the band can do live." sickest guitar duo in years these guys fucking shred on the guitars yo. bought the record today and the real crazy songs aren't on mp3s...kursk and brand new me same shitty you are sick all you haters are selling more records for this group. these guys are the new maiden. stew on that! i don't think i've posted this many comments under a single thread on this website in my entire life, and i think this will be my last for this one.... I love how as soon as a band has even a slight metal influence they supposedly sound like Thrice. Yeah, because we all know that Thrice invented melodic, two guitar riffing. Score is for Jesse and his spelling, grammar, and stupid ideas. What the fuck is a hype band? How is Thrice one of these? If you haven't noticed, most people on this site talk trash about Thrice. Somehow, people compare them to Thrice but AWS are considered good by most. Hype-Fuck you! Maybe I'm crazy but Strike Anywhere, Challenger and these guys sound ALOT alike........that being said challenger is better than both adn strike anywhere second the new wilco cd > this shit it's about time someone finally called out the fuckin' maiden reference. this score is for Kill Bill Volume 2 these are the nicest guys in the world, and extremely good live! i don't listen to much music like this (fast "skate" punk/older epitaph or fat style), but i really like this cd. I'm surprised I like this band. But the harmonizing in Famous Friends and Fashion Drunks is fantastic. The house where I live is crawling with kids. I can't hear a thing! Does anyone else notice how the singer kind of sounds like a pre-"TALKING MONDO BIZARRO" Joey Ramone? My favorite part of this album is when they use the electric didgeridoo on "A Picture of the World". Holy shit that sounds awesome. i love when people say a record that was recorded, mixed, and mastered in 13 days is overproduced. this record was done for about 1/3 the cost of some of the other records that people have been mentioning on this thread. the fact that they could get this record laid down in that time frame and have it sound like it does.....well, that's just awesome. also, the record has 11 songs, of which, judging an entire record on two mp3s is fuckin' stupid. It's not pretentious to say you don't like something because it's generic - or over-hyped: those are great reasons not to like something. What IS pretentious is if you then assume that everyone else should feel the same way. I like it, but there's just something nagging me about them... I think what it is is that Famous Friends and Fashion Drunks sounds like faked rage, I dunno, it's good anyway. After reading all the comments other people have made, I thought, "Hmm...maybe I was wrong, maybe there is something special here..." this record is so good i'm making up a word to describe it "HOOOOOODEEEALLL!!!!" You people remind me of a good friend of mine, who talks crap on bands that I like because I listen to them and he doesn't. Then he "hypes" bands that he likes, because he found them first. Mind you, this person is actually 22 years old. Imposs1ble: Bitch all you want. You're going to keep bitching when everybody and their mother is in love with this band because they are amazing and deserve it. I've been a fan for years but this new record is the best record I've heard in a long ass time. I'm going to have to back sickboi on this one. A lot of people on this site aren't about the music, they use it as a tool to further their elitist agenda. This band is not hyped enough. Just because people think it sounds like Thrice, that doesn't make it hype. Jesse, just because I say you come off as a pretentious asshole doesn't mean I'm hyping you (does it?). Honestly, I think this is a solid release and no one's *look at me, i'm so indie* ass is going to change that. Well I can't wait to pick this one up. My new favourite band. To the idiot two posts below-you are alone in this. This score is for you being dumb as hell. Doug Marsh on guitar? Good lord... This band rocks hard. I have a question though, what's the big deal with this Modest Mouse album...am I missing something? Does anyone else think that these guys sound lind of like a super band consisting of Mark Trombino on drums and Paddy from D4 on bass and a cross between Doug Marsh and John Congleton on guitar and like maybe a cross between Dave from Harvest and Isaac Brock on vocals? Am I alone in this? Where is the "hype" surrounding this record? Some of us who had heard it, and really enjoyed, shared our opinion with us others? ugh. this score is for punknews not recognizing the plus key in comment text. I think Jesse's comment below is dead on. Although I still haven't heard the whole album I'm just not that impressed with the MP3's I've heard... and the Rise Against story is pretty much the same (decent music cliche lyrics production magic hype = yet another generic epitaph/fat clone band). In my opinion, the guitar parts on this album sound similar to rufio's stuff. The slightly sloppy but somewhat complex guitar parts prove it. You people hate too much...this record is the shit! the only reason why "people" (and i use that word loosley) compare this band to thrice is because they have 'intricate' guitar parts. KIDS... listen. just because they have alot of licks DOES NOT, REPEAT, DOES NOT mean they sound like thrice. get your collective heads out of your asses and learn some punk rock, and for that matter, some metal history. one band (as in thrice) will never spawn a flock of generic wanna be's. especially this band. this band pools their influences in a very unique and original way. every song just keeps on building and building. this IS the best punk rock record of the year. including the new bad religion and descendents. and if you dont know who bad religion or the descendents are, stop coming to this site. seriously. the reason lots of people think a certain band is good, especially when the band in question is not one who receives any major type of radio/television play, is usually because those people actually enjoy the band's music. hype doesn't come into question here. i like this band. i don't think it sounds very much like thrice. thrice is like hardcore mixed wtih powermetal via ironmaiden. a wilhelm scream does not fit that description. why am i not asleep? You need to listen to some more Power Quest. "It sounds like Thrice." You know it's a good album when people fight like mad over who the band sounds like. all the thrice and posts to that effect about wilhelm are kind of funny considering when these guys were smackin isaiah, they were blowing those bands away and nobody cared. Now, they care just enough to make there apathy an established opinion. "all the thrice and posts to that effect about wilhelm are kind of funny considering when these guys were smackin isaiah, they were blowing those bands away and nobody cared. Now, they care just enough to make there apathy an established opinion." yes it is but they just released their last album under this name Is this their first release after the name change? why is this CD being compared to Thrice and Rufio? a couple of you need to pull your head out of your Hot Topic tatooed assholes. anyway 'Mute Print' is a fucking great album. yes yes they were Smackin Isaiah for Jumpstart records. Hey lets all check out Jumpstart records @ jumpstartrecords.com !!!! Um dude I hate making you loook like an idiot but a wilhelm scream formed like 7 years ago. I dont think anyone said Thrice inspired this band. I think everyone simply said they sounds like Thrice. Lots of bands sound alike and have never heard eachother. It was just a comparison. while i agree "the rip" sounds thrice-ish, these guys are different and better. ive always described it as west coast talent meets east coast energy. am i the only one who sees the vocals as a crimpshrine meets bad religion? i guess that was more in smackin' isiah they used to be Smackin' Isaiah, correct? they were always my favorite Jumpstart records band, and now they're my favorite reference to wilhelm. I like thrice...but you wont be hearing their influence on music (if they even make any) for another 5 or so years. Saying thrice influenced this is just ignorant, considering the bands pretty much formed at the same time. Also considering that Thrice shamelessly rips off metallica every chance they get, they arent really the inventers of the wheel or anything. IOS era. Is this Thrice, "Identity Crisis" era, "Illusion of Safety" era, or "Artist in the Ambulance" era. Either of the first two would be fine. All I'm going to say is that I own "Benefits of Thinking Out Loud," it sucks, and I'm not buying this based on my dislike for their first full-length. this album is maaad good. all the thrice and posts to that effect about wilhelm are kind of funny considering when these guys were smackin isaiah, they were blowing those bands away and nobody cared. Now, they care just enough to make there apathy an established opinion. "Have you ever heard about this little band called T.S.O.L?" i saw these guys play some sorority house show about a year and a half ago when they were still smackin' isiah and they absolutely shredded. there is no way their drummer is human. i've never seen a man drum like that before. "This is the best thing Nitro has released in a while." If it sounds like Thrice how can it be good? william blake overdrive and stab,stab,stab make me orgasm. the score is for nuno, jon, trev, chris, and crazy nick (i'll get you back for pissing in my closet, you drunk bastard). this record shreds. that's all you have to know. Good stuff, lots of people will be pretending they knew this band "before they were cool." Just wait and see. The songs I've heard are pretty good, I might get this. It could do with getting a bit heavier though. The end of the rip is fucking immense mind. I heard these guys on All Ages Radio last week and the song started off cool, but I was sick of it by the end. Totally Strung Out Thrice. I'ma rock it! I view this as Strung Out Thrice. Can't wait to see them with Love Me Destroyer. Saw them with Pinhead Circus a few years ago. It's hard to say who put on a better show. Nuno is the man. "Couldnt you have just emailed scott about that." I've been listening to this kind of music for almost 15 years, and I think it sounds like Thrice. And it's good! The only reason you think it sounds like thrice, is because you probably only got into punk rock a year ago, and you have nothing else to compare it to. Ive listened the damn 2 songs atleast 4-5 times each and this is nothing to be excited about. It sounds like a Thrice CD except this guy has a weaker voice. Fucking idiot. This is NOTHING like "indie rock". I don't mind differing opinions, but at least know what the hell you are talking about. On another thought, "The Rip" sounds exactly something Thrice would/could have put out. If you combine Thrice's new style of lyrical delivery with their older guitar work this could so easily be a Thrice song. This shit is way too indie rock for me to ever like. I would expect that from somebody who would submit news regarding the civic tour and motion city soundtrack Dude EVERYthing has been done before. I listened to the mp3s, and you know what my first impression was? This has been done before. This band does not sound like rufio, you are a fucking dildo. "A Wilhelm Scream is poised to be 2004's Strike Anywhere or Rise Against - two bands that prior to their latest albums, showed massive amounts of potential and were poised to break nationally; once released both became the new "hot" band on the tips of everyones' tongues" This is the best thing Nitro has released in a while. Rufio's way poppier than AWS. the band sounds like rufio. the singer thankfully does not. |
