Nodes of Ranvier -- Lost Senses, More Innocence/Nodes of Ranvier

7/10 (Same score for both albums)                                    

So this musician in a local band circa 2002 kept trying to tell me that Zao sucked now, and that Nodes of Ranvier were way better. Zao is one of my favorite bands of all time, their brand of heavy music, in my opinion, done better by no one. Zao had an "it factor." Nodes of Ranvier made technically good music, heavily influenced by Zao, but they just didn't have that "it factor." I noticed later on that my connections to music are more emotional, and that particular recommender's connections were more technical. With that said, the texture, atmosphere, and ambiance of a Zao record from '97-'03 is nowhere to be found on these two Nodes of Ranvier albums. But if you like technically well-done metalcore (a name for a sort of metal and hardcore fusion mastered by Zao in the late 90's and oversaturated by half of the kids who picked up a guitar in the mid 00's), both of these Nodes of Ranvier albums will satisfy your tastes. The music is heavy, there isn't a bunch of singing (there's barely any), and the screaming is good, except when the vocalist tries to inject spoken word into it. The Zao guy (Daniel Weyandt) could do it because he sounded tough and scary. This dude from Nodes of Ranvier...not so much...but when he sticks to screaming, he sounds great.
So musician from a local band back in the day, I appreciate your recommendation of these decent-but-not-great albums, though I think I'll stick to Zao. Actually, that was nearly 15 years ago, so SPOILER ALERT: I've stuck to Zao.


2002 Facedown Records
1. Do You Wanna Dance? (9-11-01) 02:46
2. A Life Wasted Sleeping 03:36
3. Horizon 04:11
4. Soundtrack for Salvation 03:54
5. The World 02:35
6. It's Going to Be OK 03:20
 7. Cold Fingers 03:51
8. Soiled Rags (Let Us Raise Our Hands in Victory) 03:34
9. Beauty With No Words 03:47
10. Adam 06:10

2003 Facedown Records
1. A Clean Head and a Clear Conscience 02:29
2. Eight Weeks of Privilege, No Time for Regret 04:15
3. Butcher the Baker and the Candlestick Maker 03:51
4. Number Four 04:15
5. Don't Blink (Or We May Miss It) 03:49
6. Oh Yeah, Well My Daddy Died With a Needle in His Arm 04:01
7. New York City, 1963 03:26
8. Kyrie 03:20
9. Faith in the Faux 03:42
10. The End... 01:09