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| SpartaPorcelain2004 DreamWorks 
  Review by: CaptainCrunch See others by this writer Sparta (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on July 13th 2004
El Paso, Texas’ Sparta caught some by surprise with their 2002 debut, Wiretap Scars. A solid record from front to back, it toed the fine line of not too poppy and not too dark with excellent results. The band furthered themselves by putting on outstanding shows in the time since the album was released. Sparta had successfully carved a niche in the cluttered music scene and curiosity arose about how much they could continue their success with another album. Porcelain arrives and answers any doubts in a big way. People who liked this also liked:           Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
This album was a wonderful recreation of Wiretap Scars immense power. Especially after hearing the newest album "Threes" I can proudly declare this Sparta's best album. After a few listens i loved Porceilan and became a Sparta fan. Wiretap Scars is a good album too. It's just that this album sounds more mellower than the first album but in the long run I love After a few listens i love Porceilan and became a Sparta fan. Wiretap Scars is a good album too. It's just that this album sounds more mellower than the first album but in the long run I love To the guy asking what the hell theese guys are about: Sparta clearly out of control...saw the open for Incubus in Toronto and they fucking tore the roof off the place...they played for half an hour and I wish it was 2... This is a great album and even better then their first. End Moraine has to be their best song yet, when Ward screams "I want" its about as convincing as it gets. The only complaint I have with it isthe length. I think it could have been just as good an album with 10-12 songs. It's still solid work, though. something about these guys and and the other band too... -My name is rafaa- fucking great album. same style as 'wiretap' but a bit more mellow, melodic and atmospheric (thats a faggy art boy word, but listen to the outro to 'from now to never' and you'll know what i mean.). Dude, we don't have ketchup chips, and we just recently got the dill ones. I am lucky enough to live 15 minutes from Canada and always bring back some bags of chips when I go visit. You guys even have better candy bars and the kit kats have a much more festive packaging too. Damn. Darkest Hour is MUCH better than Atreyu in my opinion. Has anybody heard the Velvet Revolver record? I received a promo of it MAN IT IS BALLS! Appetite for Destruction was a good rock n roll record. Velvet Revolver is trife I eat balls! whats a ketchup chip? i'd rather eat Ketchup chips than listen to this cd Saw Sparta live..... thought they were pretty alright. so bored with the atdi / mars volta / sparta thing. are you saying your old band is on ozzfest? "ATDI went on "haitus" because they were not content making the same cd over atleast thats what they said." just got back from the free club show that they did. it was awesome! Darkest Hour is no Atreau?.... blah, sorry.... Darkest Hour blows them out of the water man that stuff at the link below is pretty funny...wonder if they have won their school talent show?? argue, argue. type, type. i'm so punk. anyone wanna hear somethin...check these out Sparta slays mars volta, those drug-induced big haired 'retro 70's hippie fags! Sparta are probably the most boring band I've ever heard. To go from At The Drive-in to this is a pretty steep drop. ESAD! BSD you are hereby invited to make a statement with any coherency and sense I actually don't mind Darkest Hour. They are no Atreyu thats for sure. after listening to both albums...porcelain is good...but wiretap scars blows it away in terms of rocking and just overall goodness. it's no debate. the new one is just so slow and laid back and just not rocking. sparta rocks live though. what band were you in, barko? We all lose, BSD, we all lose... Oh man touring with a shitty band like Darkest Hour! You lose, man! in my final post of the evening hopefully I just became aware that my old band is touring with Darkest Hour. Fuck me P.S I thought I was a cocky prick with anger issues, apparently BSD wrote a book on the subject Other noteworthy albums coming soon This "weird wording confused for deeply personal poetry" music has been so mainstream for so long... This sparta album kicks ass....totally a worthy succesor to Wiretap Scars. I think I like the mars volta just as much as sparta.... ever notice they write songs about nothing? Just words that sound weird together? Wiretap Scars? What the fuck IS that?! hey this At the Drive in album Rocks dude! you can't compare the mars volta and sparta. both bands do such different things then what atdi did that I think you have to compliment them both. at least there not rehashing the same shit and trying to put a different band name and album title on it. with that said, i still root for sparta over the mars volta, b/c i think omar & cedric walked out on those guys(jim, tony, & pall) thinking they were the fucking only ones who could be conceptually creative. when in turn jim and the boys have put some groundbreaking songs out, taking a big step away from there last band. rip atdi ! I like ATDI and Mars Volta but nice comment BSD. Haven't had a chance to listen to this but I never really liked Wiretap Scars so I doubt I'll be picking this up. Scores for the BSD comment below. mars volta sucks asshole. sparta is by far the superior of the two not as good as wiretap... How do so many people like this music????? I guess because i dont like tight jeans and shopping at salvation army i cant understand this music. oh well So I guess BSD doesn't like At the Drive In. if mars volta is the best album you own you may want to visit your local record store a little more often. ATDI breaking up forming sparta and mars volta in my opinion mars volta is the best of the 3, de-loused the comatorium is the best album i own, ill admit porcelan was incredible and i give them a lot of credit but how can you bash mars volta if you listen to ATDI, its the same thing with better lyrics, better fuckin everything. I sweat Mars Volta BSD, you are such a fuck ass. A stupid fucking comment for everything. And the funny part is, nothin you have to say makes sense, nor does anyone give a flying fuck. FAGGOT. separate is inherently unequal, you bigot. Hey! im from el paso! i'm debating whether this score is for the multiple toilet references or BSD's comments. hmmm, can i get away with giving it to both....? Relationship of Command was a sweet album. People will bash anything nowadays. Even Refused. I'm surprised anyone is bashing ATDI...if you do hate them I hope it's for a better reason than "their fans are idiots"... Fuck me, you're right. Not my fault the Texas flag is so god damn similar to Puerto Rico. I just assumed it was another Carribean nation. If you eliminate the Texan, there's still as many ex-ATDI international folk on both sides. Also, Cedric was the only Mexican guy batting for The Mars Volta. Fuck, it'd be fucking stupid even if he was correct about his nationalities. This band sucks, their fans are also idiotic. "Actually, not one of the dudes in At The Drive In was of American descent. Whoops, looks like someone doesn't own ROC." Also, both Sparta and Mars Volta claimed one Mexican from the band (that is if Paul is in Sparta, I never paid much attention past Omar and Cedric). Actually, not one of the dudes in At The Drive In was of American descent. Whoops, looks like someone doesn't own ROC. to the guy below, god how i miss at the drive-in "i hate people you critique sparta saying they use the same "formulas" as atdi and old fucking sparta. that is rediculous. does it ever occur to you that these guys like playing that style?" That cover art is pretty awful. What the fuck is that cover art playing at? It's offensive to my eyes. Also, the album will be unlistenable shit. This is a sweet album. A couple of the slower songs drag, but other than that, it's really solid. I too dowloaded it a while ago, but I'm gonna support these guys and their kick ass music by picking it up tomorrow. "While Oceana Sleeps" is fucking amazing, probably the best song they've done yet. The review seems kind of overzealous, but from what I've heard it's pretty good. It's in the same vein as "Wiretap Scars", but with a few changes. Hey! Porcelain! Just like the bowl where this belongs! from what I hear, the album kinda lacks direction and has many a good moment but songs tend to drag on. This is evident in 12 songs in 60 minutes. It's hard to captivate a listener with long song. Argh why can't anybody spell ridiculous. This is way better than wiretap. i hate people you critique sparta saying they use the same "formulas" as atdi and old fucking sparta. that is rediculous. does it ever occur to you that these guys like playing that style? " not content using the same formulas AtDi and sparta used there first albums" Sparta > ATDI. They've proven it twice now Why the hell did Sparta use the classic "This is forever" line in Hiss The Villian. Hey, nothing seperates you more from your former band than using the exact same line (albeit cliche) in your chorus that was in the chorus of one of AtDi's most well-known songs (and my personal favourite). and ATDI > Sparta, by far. this grew on me from the first time i listened to it, and the drum solo on P.O.M.E. is fucking awesome. 'Sparta > ATDI. They've proven it twice now' Sparta > Mars Volta. Don't listen to the prick ten posts below. This band blows the house down live. Excellent album. The song variety is a lot stronger than Wiretap. Go see this band live. You won't leave dissapointed. I watched them open for Incubus last week in Toronto - Amazing Sparta > ATDI. They've proven it twice now Quite the improvement over the last one. The last one wasnt bad, just incredibly mediocre. Theyve stepped it up a notch. I really like the guitar work on this album and "wiretap." I'm still at the point personally as a guitarist where after a decade or so of playing I can't tell exactly how the guitar parts are played just by listening to it. Upon listening to sparta with my guitar in hand, the parts are suprisingly easy-however they really don't come across that simple. The sparta guys like to borrow from the Edge(u2) with those amazing delay parts. Well Done This album blows Wiretap away...no competition... I don't know, I've listened to this a couple times...it just isn't as strong as Wiretap... "as opposed to bad religion who rock their walkers with style and grace" as opposed to bad religion who rock their walkers with style and grace saw these guys with bad religion. They were awful. Im very surprised anyone thinks they are even worth listening to. I respect Sparta's musicianship, but I just don't enjoy listening to their music. wiretap was ok, however their new album blows it away. i highly recommend it -> also the UK version which has an additional tune on it->farewell ruins I really like this C.D. I admit to downloading it about a month ago, but will definitely be purchasing it this week. It flows really well, just as Wiretap Scars did. Did anybody else notice how much the intro on "Guns of Memorial Park" sounds like the intro to "Arc Arsena" on ATDI's Relationship of Command??? Good review. this album is better than the last. buy it now. FIRST |
