Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

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Mr. Slash
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by Mr. Slash »

#5 in Germany, just like TLH back then.

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scarecrow
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by scarecrow »

I genuinely like or love 12 of 14 songs here. Definitely satisfied. And the two I don't (Clear Horizon and Tear Us Apart) aren't terrible or anything.

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UninvitedZero
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by UninvitedZero »

Ubik wrote:Am I crazy here, or does One Life merge reeaaaally well with Clear Horizon?

Has a similarly dreamy intro, using a very similar voice. And imagine that godly riff being the first heaviness on the album. Even uses "clear escape" in both songs! (EDIT - clear and pure escape, DAMMIT)

I am hereafter a "Clear Horizon was meant for track two" truther.

EDIT - and good stuff Shea!
Holy shnikes! I put AB on shuffle and started with One Life... Clear Horizon came on next and it was so smooth!
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by MuffinMcFluffin »

Just a couple thoughts about a couple of songs, simply because.

In the Deep
What a weird song. Every time the opening riff starts, I swear I feel like I'm playing Sonic the Hedgehog. Then there is a chorus where the melody doesn't match what the guitar is playing, and I don't the chorus matches the rest of the song at all. I wish they did something that kind of matched that main riff more. What a strange separation. Good build-up, saying "Okay, this is kind of cool," and then being completely letdown once that chorus hits. I never did hear it pre-release, so these impressions for the song are still new. Anyway, at the end of the bridge, I always go off on my own with A-ha's Take on Me, because it feels like that's what Myles is about to do. "OoooOOOoooooo, HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Dying Light
My opinion only, but this song doesn't start for me until the bridge (notice how there's a "bridge" theme here, go figure Alter Bridge). At the same time, it kind of reminds me of Avengers: Endgame. I know with that movie that the last hour is my favorite part, but I once tried to start watching the film just from the last hour, onward... and it doesn't feel like it's all earned unless you watch the first two hours before hand. So with Dying Light, even though I'm meh on the song before the bridge and everything else, those first three minutes are the small little journey to there that is worth getting to, and helps complete the song quite a bit.

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anguyen92
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by anguyen92 »

We got to savor this moment while it lasts. In terms of pure album sales, Walk the Sky is actually #1 in the US. They will probably drop at least five spots (due to what counts as sales via streaming) when the Billboard 200 charts are announced for their week.

Image

https://hitsdailydouble.com/building_album_chart

Oh wait, this may be it. #14 for albums + streaming sales. Well, that is that. We are so far behind the curve when it comes to streaming tracks. At least, people are still willing to buy the albums to give them #1 on pure album sales. Although, I think they are actually #1 in the rock charts, because they didn't go against more well known bands like Green Day (in 2016) and Korn (in 2013) so that is something. Might be the first time since ODR that they went #1 on the rock charts.

Image

https://hitsdailydouble.com/sales_plus_streaming

On another note, this may be me being so far out of touch with what mainstream people are listening to nowadays, but aside from Post Malone, T. Swift, Billie Eilish, Chris Brown, and Ed Sheeran, I don't recognize anyone on this list. How the heck have they use streaming to their advantages and how can AB get some of that success?

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Mr. Slash
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by Mr. Slash »

How AB can get some of that success? By not making guitar music anymore I guess. Rock and Metal are more or less dead when it comes to commercial success.

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Ubik
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by Ubik »

UninvitedZero wrote:
Holy shnikes! I put AB on shuffle and started with One Life... Clear Horizon came on next and it was so smooth!
Right?! I quite like it at 2, Wouldn't You Rather at 3 and In the Deep at 11...
For all of the hope that it brings...

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rscotta831
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by rscotta831 »

George wrote: 4. Godspeed

This song gave me goosebumps. It has a really pop theme to start but it becomes so keen. The intro reminds me a lot of Shinedown's last works
Shinedown is EXACTLY what I said to my wife as soon as I heard the first chorus. More so their song Unity. But we love Shinedown nearly equally as AB. Myself AB a notch more, my wife Shinedown a notch more. Man I wish they would have toured together in the states like they’re about to in Europe. Perfect combo.

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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

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UninvitedZero wrote:I've been having trouble getting into Clear Horizon as well. Something about that chorus sounds all Slash and The Conspirators
Out of all the new stuff, was an instant favorite for me. Soon as it came on, wife said Think I’m gonna like this one. IMO, chorus is classic AB with Tremonti’s classic monster riffs right behind it.

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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by MuffinMcFluffin »

Ubik wrote:
UninvitedZero wrote:
Holy shnikes! I put AB on shuffle and started with One Life... Clear Horizon came on next and it was so smooth!
Right?! I quite like it at 2, Wouldn't You Rather at 3 and In the Deep at 11...
Okay, this is going to be a weird post so feel free to skip lol.

I care about song order more than anyone should care to, and I pay close attention to it and sometimes consider revisions myself.

Clear Horizon sounds like a later song to me in the chorus, though. It doesn't sound like an opener (if we're saying One Life preludes it) or something early in general. At the same time, In the Deep sounds like a song you want to "get out of the way" early, haha.

It's funny that I was just thinking about track order yesterday when listening to some ODR in the car. Right after Broken Wings ended, in my head I was thinking that Down To My Last should have played, but in came In Loving Memory. I think that order was definitely off, at least for me.

I can't remember if I had other "order issues" with AB or not. I'd have to rewind back in my head and think about that.

I kind of felt that Blackbird not really hitting a radio-friendly single track #6 and 7 in Before Tomorrow Comes and Rise Today was interesting (don't get me wrong, I love most of the songs leading up to it with, especially a song like Brand New Start... but I don't know if everyone else does, and it might take them a while to get to the songs you know your rock-depraved friend will bop their head to).

They've also been okay doing things like spreading out the ballads (The Bitter End and Tear Us Apart at #8 and #13, like Wonderful Life and Life Must Go On at #7 and #13), so no issue there.

Speaking of which, in AB III I've always liked how Life Must Go On led into Words Darker Than Their Wings. It always sounded right to me. I also like calling Make It Right the red-headed stepchild to Words (with the intro guitar tone and riff, and how the chorus says "Into the fire you fall" as Words says "Into the light may you fall), so I like how it previews about halfway through the album, almost like a tease. I say that with Make It Right being my second least favorite song on that album (with Still Remains being least), but I feel as a story for the entire album that its importance existing and where it does means that I'd prefer it being there more than not.

The Last Hero does it right by getting a relentless song in Writing on the Wall after SMAL, and then The Other Side really slowing it down to get the pace through, then getting their catchy tune in My Champion. They spread out This Side of Fate and The Last Hero well, and I think I tried to move Island of Fools somewhere before, but like Clear Horizon (I'm finally circling back) I think that the chorus of it makes it "sound like" it's getting near the end of the album. And what's interesting about all of that is I once tried to take SMAL's opening and put it onto Island of Fools. It can't exactly work because the end of the intro leads into the beginning SMAL riff, but otherwise I always thought that would be a cool segue and would definitely put Island of Fools into epic category, bar none (though I still would like a final chorus).

Anyway, what was the point of this post? LOL that I am consciously aware of track order in albums and think about them all of the time. In my book, Clear Horizon can't open the album or come early, and if attaching One Life to it means pushing that song back instead, then I would rather do that than bring up Clear. If we did, the song I'd open the album with is Pay No Mind.
Last edited by MuffinMcFluffin on Sat Oct 26, 2019 11:35 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by MuffinMcFluffin »

George wrote: 4. Godspeed

This song gave me goosebumps.
I want this song to give me goosebumps, but for some reason it doesn't when listening to it! Like, in retrospect I hear the song in my head with Myles' opening lines and that chorus, and it can give me goosebumps thinking about the idea of the song... but then when it plays, nothing.

And as always, I completely blame the arrangement and mixing for that. Maybe it's because the verses have too loud of instrumentation, maybe it's because Myles is harmonized in the chorus, maybe it's because I think the pre-chorus should uptick into the chorus with the word "same" the first time through as it does the second time, maybe it's because the title is not the most emphasized word in the chorus (as "Farewell" gets a lot more prominence, and yes this matters)... to the point that I think the notes on "Godspeed" should be sung higher. Again, I hear it in my head and can hum it out loud, but y'all can't hear it then. It's just that I don't think the chorus should hit its best part at the very first word, heh.

Then there is that mixing. Yikes. It just doesn't leave that impact, and I love the song and want it to so badly. Why must they not cater to my desires? lol

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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

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cheesedip1 wrote:I think the worst songs from album might be Introdication or Tear Us Apart.
Yup completely agreed. The only two songs I consider filler material.

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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

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Against my better judgement, I’m going to attempt to rank them. I usually wait about a year to rank songs as it literally took me almost two years to go from not caring about to loving “Writing On The Wall.” So this list is super fluid...

1. Clear Horizon
2. Dying Light
3. In The Deep
4. Native Son
5. Pay No Mind
6. Wouldn't You Rather
7. Take The Crown
8. Walking On The Sky
9. Forever Falling
10. The Bitter End
11. Godspeed
12. Indoctrination
13. Tear Us Apart

Overall, this album thus far is my #5 ranked AB album. IMO, it has very little filler material (two songs), but it lacks that classic AB anthem that’s on every other AB album. Based on all the reactions I’ve seen, this has to be the most polarizing album they’ve done. Half of us love it. Half of us are disappointed. And the love/disappointed level is totally out of whack on the individual songs. Very polarizing.

My album order...

1. AB III
2. Blackbird
3. The Last Hero
4. Fortress
5. Walk The Sky
6. One Day Remains
Last edited by rscotta831 on Tue Oct 29, 2019 11:33 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

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anguyen92 wrote:We got to savor this moment while it lasts. In terms of pure album sales, Walk the Sky is actually #1 in the US. They will probably drop at least five spots (due to what counts as sales via streaming) when the Billboard 200 charts are announced for their week.

Image

https://hitsdailydouble.com/building_album_chart

Oh wait, this may be it. #14 for albums + streaming sales. Well, that is that. We are so far behind the curve when it comes to streaming tracks. At least, people are still willing to buy the albums to give them #1 on pure album sales. Although, I think they are actually #1 in the rock charts, because they didn't go against more well known bands like Green Day (in 2016) and Korn (in 2013) so that is something. Might be the first time since ODR that they went #1 on the rock charts.

Image

https://hitsdailydouble.com/sales_plus_streaming

On another note, this may be me being so far out of touch with what mainstream people are listening to nowadays, but aside from Post Malone, T. Swift, Billie Eilish, Chris Brown, and Ed Sheeran, I don't recognize anyone on this list. How the heck have they use streaming to their advantages and how can AB get some of that success?
Third Eye Blind didn't make the top 50 on either chart. Brutal.

No wonder they tour so much.
Last edited by scarecrow on Sat Oct 26, 2019 1:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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scarecrow
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by scarecrow »

It's worth noting that for an act like AB, sales are often reflective of what record buyers thought of the artist's previous album. And The Last Hero isn't exactly beloved.

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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

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Jimmy Eat World also had a new album out as well that week and it didn't chart top 50 in the Billboard 200 (which is now album + streaming). Didn't those two bands just do a co-headlining tour together in amphitheaters in the summer?

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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

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anguyen92 wrote:Jimmy Eat World also had a new album out as well that week and it didn't chart top 50 in the Billboard 200 (which is now album + streaming). Didn't those two bands just do a co-headlining tour in amphitheaters in the summer?
I guess so, lmao:

https://consequenceofsound.net/2019/08/ ... douchebag/

Stephan has always been quite a character.

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Arctic
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by Arctic »

The track that’s growing on me the most is definitely Clear Horizon. The bridge is absolutely beautiful.
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by fix »

Same here. Wasn’t sure about the song at first, but really like it now. Especially the guitars in the chorus and the bridge in general.

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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by VigilantSteve »

Arctic wrote:The track that’s growing on me the most is definitely Clear Horizon. The bridge is absolutely beautiful.
Yeah. I liked this song a lot from the start, but it may actually be taking over Forever Falling as my favorite on the album. Just a lot of really cool things going on in this song.

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