I have always wanted to LOVE everything NMA releases and used to feel a bit guilty when this did not always happen with the last several albums. Justin will always be a master songwriter and as good a lyricist as there ever was, but after so many years and so many albums, he seems to steer more towards more atmospheric or experimental expression these days. Not that there haven't been some great tunes on all of these albums as well. Tastes change over the years and this goes for the musicians/bands themselves. I was not even twenty when I was first blown away by the "No Rest..." album and am now 45. Many things sound different these ears these days. I am a "melody" guy, even when it comes to very heavy music. A "song" guy, no matter what the genre.
Though the new album has not blown me away like I had hoped (yet, but I am too busy with life to give it its proper attention most days, so my judgement is far from complete), I have little doubt that any of these songs would take on a full life onstage, which I think is where Justin's head has definitely been for the last decade or two. The band has always been fantastic live, no matter which musicians Justin shares his stage with and I just think when a band focuses so heavily on their live performance (what NMA is really all about) the studio may not always be the best place to highlight SOME of the material. Sitting in traffic listening to a song is not the same as having your hair blown back by the band on stage. When I was finally fortunate enough to catch my long-time hero onstage in 2005 and again in 2009, he and the band were as heavy and intense as the fiercest metal band and ten times more geniune. Those bootlegs I had scrounged from the internet for so many years did not begin to capture the experience and passion of NMA live and in person. I think this is where most of their newer material belongs and also why so much can be lost on those of us who rarely get the opportunity to hear it live.
Something I've learned over the years (at least with my friends) is that different people often like the same band(s) but for very different reasons. When I was younger I often wondered why some of my friends who seemed to absolutely LOVE some of the same bands as I, also hated other bands I really liked. It took a long time for me to recognize the common elements and less-common that connected these bands and it eventually made sense. Sometimes over the years, a band may also move more in the direction you happen to like, and sometimes far, far away from that part of themselves. Many of the elements from those first half-dozen NMA albums are long-gone. To me, Strange Brotherhood marks a definite "end" to a certain era (or eras). Not just because of Rob's drumming and musical input, but most things just felt very different to me after that album. Less "folky", less melodic, I guess more "earthy" and stripped down (in general). This is obviously no accident and is apparently where Justin's heart has led him over the years. Some things will always remain though and for that I am always grateful. I guess I can't really imagine ANY NMA song EVER knocking me over as instantly as the first time I listened to "Purity". The lyrics, the melody, the violin, bass-line, etc, etc, etc. Perfection. At least perfection for "ME". Other fans might like 10 dozen NMA songs more than that one. ;-) Just like now...the one song that really struck me right away was "Lean Back and Fall". However, it seems to be the favorite of no one else on this board, haha. Oh well, "to each his own" as they say. But isn't this variety exactly what has always made NMA and their fans so special?
