(CMFT Album Cover)
So, a while ago Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Stone Sour fame made a solo album called CMFT, and a while ago I decided to listen to it through and give it a review. Since then, this draft has sat in my blog waiting to be posted for I think around a year, so without further push backs here's my very late to the party review of CMFT track by track.
HWY 666 is a banger and a brilliant way to get this record on the move, there are some amazing changes with the guitar melodies as well as some great vocal diversity grounding this track in an outlaw country/rock blend that melds really well with Taylor's drawling vocals, making an overall strong opening to the rest of the project.
Black eyes blue is slightly more cliché in its lyrics but nonetheless enjoyable through the great drumming and leading crunchy guitar, a clear nod to The Who and other bands that have left their imprints on Taylor's own life, Black Eyes Blue is a nice tonal change while retaining and building upon his own vocal nuances separate of his well known shouty Slipknot vocals - the guitar solo is great and feels nicely built up to, and rounds out a pretty decent second track.
Samantha's Gone is a breath of fresh air in comparison to the last two tracks, and I can see it as a real ripping track to be played live. The tangible heaviness in the opening is lost slightly in the chorus through its shift into a faster tempo, but nonetheless a nice listen that really handles itself well and is sonically pretty good fun to listen to. I like how it flows between its small stages, before ripping back into the chorus with a great little solo in there too that sounds really superb, feels really natural and flowing, like the rest of this track
Meine Lux is explosive, and the subtle reverb on Taylor’s voice actually adds a lot to the verses and chorus which is actually pretty good, but the whole stop and start rock anthem has already been done on this album, along with the lighter riffs on the chorus, another good listen, but loosing me slightly through its pacing.
Halfway Down stomps in with a great tempo, a good shoe tapper, this song is a great example of Taylor’s vocals mending perfectly with this stadium rock type style, pre chorus is nice and climactic, the guitar segment is pretty strong, double guitar sounding a bit like Maiden before another strong guitar solo. However, I'm getting a little tired out at this point by the whole build-up then guitar solo thing, and I'm hoping that this changes a little as it goes on.
Silverfish’s acoustic intro gives me some serious Snuff/Vermillion pt.2 vibes, Taylor really flourishes into the acoustic style, and again this proves his adaptability, the lyrics are also pretty great and mildly brooding, mildly Stone Sour esque but nonetheless good, very appearance vs reality, but I like that, however (and I hate myself for even saying this) I don’t think the solo is needed and feels rushed, feeling the guitar solo burnout here.
Kansas also opens like another acoustic ballad, and actually feels inspired by stadium country, with Corey seemingly playing on his accent a little bit, which I’m not mad at, why not? The chorus breaks in the drum beat are great, and keep the dynamism high in the track, clap track seems a little cliché but again, I’m cool with small rock clichés here and there, the breakdown is also pretty awesome to listen to, and here the solo is well earned unlike the previous track, but I'm still a little annoyed about the amount of guitar solos.
I like the drum central opening of Culture Head, sometimes I feel like as an instrument they can be kinda hidden away sometimes, but here along with a great bassline it creates a pretty great opening, and I like the overall sound of this track, it’s more scathing and aggressive, and has elements of the Solway Firth vocals to it from Taylor, definitely a head banger and a nice tone change (also we get it you like guitar solos PLEASE STOP)
Everybody Dies on my Birthday has a solid eerie opening , another angry track, and (ironically) I’m not mad about it, the choral elements of the chorus are a nice touch and add some really solid depth to this track, and the guitar riff is pretty nice, another strong track, showcasing some great instrumentals and once again Taylor’s diversity when it comes to lyrical dynamism
More of a swing opening there on The Maria Fire, nice emphasis on the ride symbol from the drummer with a nice little guitar riff, definitely a foot tapper, takes the vibe in a bit of an odd direction, Corey seems quite comfortable in this vocal range but I want to hear his voice flourish a bit more. I like the subtle breakdown, and is a nice little rest stop between the last track and the next, not my favourite but also not bad, solo isn’t deserved or needed, but the second one is more tuneful mirroring the vocals.
Home, right I get…Piano? Interesting. Shivers from the opening vocals, I hope it stays toned down. Lyrics are beautiful, seems like a much more positive version of Snuff, about love won and gained, and ground covered not fought for and lost, I love this stripped down performance, there’s some real sincerity in Taylor’s vocals, especially on the emphasis, violins add a lot to it, I love this track, one of my favourites for its raw emotional range.
CMFT must be stopped has a great vibe to its opener but ends up feeling a touch shallow, with the record scratching it feels more like a Slipknot opener, but with that CMFT breakdown. The vocals also mirror songs like People = Shit, the rap esque delivery is a bit hit and miss, an attempt at perhaps a Spit it Out type song, which is alright but this isn’t really the type of vocals I like when it’s not in a Slipknot setting as it lacks aggression from frontman Taylor. The Kid Bookie verse I can take or leave, nothing special by any means, the instrumental absolutely slaps however, Tech 9ine’s verse is pretty decent but again I can take it or leave it, sums up this song in its entirety to be honest, id rather leave it I think. It's a little all show and no substance.
The final song European Tour Bus Bathroom Song is explosive, and keeps up the tempo from the last track, with some rapid drumming and guitar, the group vocals are pretty decent, I like the switch up too, keeps the listener on their toes, again some appreciation of the ride symbol from the drummer, the chanting seems a lot like ‘CMFT can’t be stopped’ so the repetition of the motif isn’t all too painful.
(CMFT in its entirety - Image courtesy of Guitar.com)
TL;DR - I enjoyed this album. Some of the songs were a bit hit and miss, namely ‘CMFT can’t be stopped’, and sometimes the guitar solos aren’t earned or built up to particularly effectively which did end up just pissing me off, but as a body of work it’s diverse and brutal, and I love that. Highlights for me are ‘Home’ and ‘Samantha's Gone’. Will definitely be revisiting it sometime soon and enjoying a couple of the tracks, but if in honest has more skips in it than playlist stayers for me.
Rating - 7/10
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