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Nodes of Ranvier

The Years to Come
2005
Facedown

Nodes of Ranvier - The Years to Come (Cover Artwork)


Review by: RyanM
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Facedown Records (Logo)

Published on December 9th 2005

Amongst the influx of newly bred “American metal” (okay, metalcore) acts, Nodes of Ranvier fall in line with the pack with an album that gives little in terms of excitement or surprises. The Years to Come certainly isn’t the worst to come from the seemingly overcrowded genre, but it falls forgettably by the wayside. The influences are fairly easy to pick out, and the standard mixing of melody into the throaty screams is fulfilled, but neither part seems terribly memorable or refreshing. Unfortunately, Nick Murphy’s screams are far too reminiscent of those from Atreyu, which can never be good; and although his sung vocals are decent enough, the melodies are far too generic.

Everything that can be said about Year has been said over and over again in the past few years. The playing is proficient but lacks noticeable creativity and is thusly unchallenging. The screams are sub-par and the vocal melodies are cheesy or worse (see the forgettable “Grave”). The guitars chug alongside the unobtrusive drumming in similar patterns throughout all the songs. To be fair, there are moments that might satisfy on the first few listens (the title track has some) but the dynamic is so predictable its replay value is completely lost. As for energy level, the screams are too muffled and boring (I can’t forgive the overwhelming Atreyu similarity) to build much of anything, and the singing can be too whiny or misplaced. The problem is the album is merely proficient in a style that has worn out its welcome through the last few years and nothing that could be considered new or noteworthy is even considered.

It’s difficult to even write reviews for this stuff anymore. We’ve all seen too much of it come and too much of it go (hopefully more of the latter). Nodes is not the worst out there, but they certainly aren’t the best either. They reside in a middle ground of apathy, where all anyone does is go through the motions with little regard as to what it means and why they do it. Greenberg called this “Alexandrianism;” well, I’m not quite as nice as Greenberg, and this is just boring.






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    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 30, 2006 at 11:34 AM (EST)

    good review! finally someone that feels the same way I do about this album. I really enjoyed their last album and I expected to like this one, but it's definitely a step down. They've never relied on breakdowns, but why did they have to eliminate ALL of them?? This shit's boring! And the singing.. wow... i won't even get into that. Better luck next time!

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, February 26, 2006 at 5:27 PM (EST)

    It's true bands that are this good are hated because of the label "Christian"

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, February 26, 2006 at 5:25 PM (EST)

    Does this site allow any clown to write a review? This guy sounds like a biased 12 year old. 3 paragraphs of worthless opinion I could of went without reading. I don't know why he expects the screaming/singing/guitar to be dramatically different. He's right that it is stuff that's been done before and the guy sounds alot like the screamer from Atreyu BUT Nodes does a great job with mixing up the tempo and fitting the vocals properly with the music. Something this fool looked past when comparing them to other bands in the same genre. Listen to the cd and you'll see what I mean... even the slower tune Grave has a wicked solo that even if it has been done before I've never heard it in a song like that. NOR are incredibly talented musicians. Take the song Relentless which starts out intense but just after a minute completely slows down. You would think it might be out of place but Nodes make it flow beautifully. My only complaint is I think their name is dumb. Now do me a favor and don't let someone who has already decided if they like something before listening to it write a review.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, January 22, 2006 at 9:46 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    this band used to at least have a semi-original sound. this album sounds like they're just trying to be like everybody else. bores me.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at 7:22 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Nodes has always been one of my favorite bands, but all these songs sounded the same. also, Nodes of Ranvier is not a Christian band. though a few members are Christians, for all you commenting on that. i just recieved an email from the band explaining such. its too bad though. i liked them more when i thought they had a message they believed in.

    Posted by LaidToWaste on 2005-12-15 14:11:36

    people hate christian hardcore cause they are better than all those other tough guy hardcore bands. they are just jealous they cant make music like The Chariot or As I Lay Dying

    Posted by soulbleed on 2005-12-14 14:04:53
    My Score:

    this band is actually pretty solid. they should be commended for even making it to the three-album mark. that's a feat in and of itself.

    Posted by crazytoledo on 2005-12-12 13:08:42

    EVERYONE BUY THE ABSENCE 'From Your Grave' CD Now

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, December 10, 2005 at 7:28 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    boycott christian hardcore

    Posted by Big_Guy on 2005-12-10 11:47:26

    this band is about as lame as All That Remains

    Posted by notfeelingcreative on 2005-12-09 23:59:50

    Exactly, now you've killed its esoteric appeal!!!

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, December 9, 2005 at 3:15 PM (EST)

    nodes of ranvier are the spaces in schwann cells
    biology lesson of the day

    yeah, or in other terms they are the spaces between the myelin sheaths on an axon in a nueron

    Posted by crazytoledo on 2005-12-09 13:53:39
    My Score:

    Nodes of Ranvier are quite good at times. Nothing too special though.

    Posted by darkstarm on 2005-12-09 13:03:49

    there sure were a lot of crappy scores today.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, December 9, 2005 at 12:31 PM (EST)

    nodes of ranvier are the spaces in schwann cells
    biology lesson of the day

    Posted by notfeelingcreative on 2005-12-09 11:05:33
    My Score:

    Score is for the esoteric appeal of the band's name.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, December 9, 2005 at 9:35 AM (EST)

    Nick the singer (The sill canvas) used to be the guitarest of this band

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, December 9, 2005 at 2:11 AM (EST)

    I think the reviewer said all that can be said about this album

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, December 9, 2005 at 12:08 AM (EST)

    this latest set of reviews is the worst in punknews history.