Chiodos preview

Chiodos
House Of Blues, Chicago
Sunday, August 21, 2007

Much like Fall Out Boy, Chiodos have built an unprecedented following without much help from the mainstream. Working the Warped stages and dozens of smaller circuits are paying off. But also like Fall Out Boy, they aren’t getting much respect in the process.

Bone Palace Ballet, released this summer by Equal Vision, probably won’t change either of those characteristics. Screamo’s imminent heroes (the band have already scanned some 100,000 sales) seem to press all the right buttons on their ultra-melodic, but gritty recordings, and that’s what sets people apart. A “special edition” of 2005’s All’s Well That Ends Well with acoustic bonuses? Check. Wordy, FOB-esque song titles? Mmm-hmm. Some say it’s the difference between making music for music people and music for people looking for something idiosyncratic to latch onto.

Given the Pepsi challenge, Ballet outpaces scores of similar-sounding bands simply because there’s a premium on song structure. Even with Craig Owens’ over-the-top delivery, he fits “Lexington”‘s tumbling cinemascope. “Teeth The Size Of Piano Keys” might recall Muse on an off day, but its momentum snowballs and allows the melody to flatten everything in its path. Trouble starts when you realize Chiodos could leave the scene that hates them behind, but won’t. Siphoned speed metal guitar licks clog the lanes, and Owens’ theatrics turn into schtick. Talent only gets you so far.

The Devil Wears Prada, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, and Emery open.

— Kevin Keegan

Click here to download “Is It Progression If A Cannibal Uses A Fork?”

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly