Drones Album Discussion Thread

[Jobby]

I think the actual message of the album/the topic of drones and loss of empathy in general could've been covered in a much more interesting way if it hadn't been a POV concept album. That was a bit of a missed opportunity imo.

 

That said, I do enjoy some of the typical Matt double meanings (using larger world issues as a metaphor for more personal stuff) behind songs like The Handler and Revolt. They're simple but relatable.

[jonisdead]

I'm discussing the album, you're just calling anyone who doesn't like it 'mad'.

 

Nah, just you. It's because you've said the same point a few hundred times throughout the board and you got belligerent about "Matt's bullshit".

[FabriPav]

"a few hundreds times"

[kueller]

The wording is direct but the topic is hardly covered directly. Everything from The Handler to the end has almost nothing to do with the topic of drones or modern militarization.

[jonisdead]

"a few hundreds times"

 

I see you've added an 's' there.

[forevermusic]

I have wondered how many of the songs have a "broken relationship" vibe to them as well as being part of this semi-concept. I do agree bits of Reapers can be re-interpreted about a relationship collapsing. The obvious one with the two interpretations is The Handler, although I would say bits of Mercy can be as well.

 

Not sure how you can interpret Psycho or The Globalist as these sorta songs though.

 

I do agree that lyrically, it could explore the whole things of drone warfare, modern militarisation and the attitudes of revolutionaries and dictators if it was freed from a simple POV narration.

And "You've got the CIA babe" can obviously be interpreted as "You've got the

 

• Cheating Instances Aplenty/
  
• Cold Impersonal Attitude/
  
• Cute Ittybitty Arse/
  
• Cuddles in Abundance/
  
• Cunt I Admire/
  

 

,Babe."

 

I only hope someone makes a song with "Cunt I Admire, babe" as a chorus.

[JessicaSarahS]

The wording is direct but the topic is hardly covered directly. Everything from The Handler to the end has almost nothing to do with the topic of drones or modern militarization.

 

Right, but they're pretty clearly referring to relationship/personal matters for the most part.

[googoogee]

I see you've added an 's' there.

 

JJ +1

Fabri 0

[mjartrod]

The wording is direct but the topic is hardly covered directly. Everything from The Handler to the end has almost nothing to do with the topic of drones or modern militarization.

True but I think that has more to do with the narrative. From that point on, it all becomes about fighting the oppressor and free oneself from their ruling. Who this oppressor is and their methods, that was dealt with in the previous songs; from that point on is how to liberate oneself from that. Fits, in my opinion.

[Jobby]

True but I think that has more to do with the narrative. From that point on, it all becomes about fighting the oppressor and free oneself from their ruling. Who this oppressor is and their methods, that was dealt with in the previous songs; from that point on is how to liberate oneself from that. Fits, in my opinion.

 

It fits, it's just quite a boring way of covering the topic.

 

Then again, I suppose Matt wasn't really trying to make some kind of thought-provoking commentary on the subject of drones/lack of empathy and whatnot. Just sounds like he thought it was a decent metaphor for him to use and say "Hey, come on guys, let's all be happy and feel love and live our lives, man."

[kueller]

He shouldn't have pushed the album as about drones then.

[jonisdead]

JJ +1

Fabri 0

 

I wonder how long the lyric debates for this album will last. I think it'll be a legacy-level thing.

[mjartrod]

It fits, it's just quite a boring way of covering the topic.

 

Then again, I suppose Matt wasn't really trying to make some kind of thought-provoking commentary on the subject of drones/lack of empathy and whatnot. Just sounds like he thought it was a decent metaphor for him to use and say "Hey, come on guys, let's all be happy and feel love and live our lives, man."

Exactly, I think he just takes subjects that interest him and uses them for his own purpose. He obviously has his own opinions on these matters and he brings a bit of that into the songs but I think with him ultimately it's more about "how can I use this to express a parallel to ___ " rather than giving his own input about it through a song.

 

Still, it's a fact that he easily turned people's attentions to a matter (drooones) that maybe many would not have paid attention to otherwise. Which is fine, as he's a musician not a UN embassador lol

[JessicaSarahS]

He shouldn't have pushed the album as about drones then.

 

Maybe it should have been more focused on human drones than militarized drones?

[-FutureStar-]

Double meaning or not, the lyrics on the album are mostly awful.

 

Nowhere close to as bad as The 2nd Law, IMO.

[kueller]

The album could really just be called The Resistance.

[topo_musero]

I wonder how long the lyric debates for this album will last. I think it'll be a legacy-level thing.

 

That's a good sign, there are a lot more complaints about lyrics than music. I like that

[Finn.]

The album could really just be called The Resistance.

 

Is The Resistance II. After leaving the old planet in Exogenesis, humans are making the same mistakes, using machines and brainwashing people in the new planet. Hence the war in the album.

[jangdiin]

The lyrics are good on TR.

 

And the lyrics on T2L fit the songs but they're far from amazing.

 

I think Reapers, The Handler and The Globalist have actually GOOD lyrics.

[MalvaBlanco]

Even if the concept is fun and makes for a more coherent listening experience, overall the lyrics themselves are worse than they've ever been.

 

Still, there are some memorable phrases like "War, war just moved up a gear" or "You will never - own - me again". Not great lines by themselves obviously, but they fit the mood of the music perfectly. I think that's where Matt's lyrics are at their best: when they paint a sentiment with very broad, simple strokes ("No-one's gonna take me alive"), relying more on the music to communicate. Directly mentioning the word "brainwashing" just isn't aesthetically pleasing.

[mjartrod]

The album could really just be called The Resistance.

It could've been named a ton of other things too, choosing titles isn't exactly easy for most people, including artists

 

Drones is fitting, I like it

[topo_musero]

Even if the concept is fun and makes for a more coherent listening experience, overall the lyrics themselves are worse than they've ever been.

 

Still, there are some memorable phrases like "War, war just moved up a gear" or "You will never - own - me again". Not great lines by themselves obviously, but they fit the mood of the music perfectly. I think that's where Matt's lyrics are at their best: when they paint a sentiment with very broad, simple strokes ("No-one's gonna take me alive"). Directly mentioning the word "brainwashing" just isn't aesthetically pleasing.

 

"I just wanted to be loved" is an amazing moment for me, too. And how The Handler solo fits a lot with someone going mad and crazy because he's escaping somone's control, and making an inflexion point in the whole album concept. I don't know, I think music/lyrics work well in this album.

[MalvaBlanco]

"I just wanted to be loved" is an amazing moment for me, too. And how The Handler solo fits a lot with someone going mad and crazy because he's escaping somone's control, and making an inflexion point in the whole album concept. I don't know, I think music/lyrics work well in this album.

 

I love Matt's vocal delivery of the lines in the last third of the Globalist, but personally there are some points (for example: all the stuff about hunters and gatherers and human nature and only the best surviving) that make me imagine a drunk and depressed Matt singing his philosophical ramblings to random people in a bar.

 

Which is not necessarily a negative for me. It's the right kind of goofiness IMO (unlike "you can't brainwash me, you've got a problem" or "you're not a droo-ooone").

[MalvaBlanco]

If there is one aspect of this album I can't find fault with, though, it's the bass. Just the right choices for every track. The thumping riff of Dead Inside, that gorgeous neoclassical pre-chorus in The Handler, the melody of the bassline in Mercy (by far the best part of that song); Reapers, The Globalist...

 

Hats off to Chris.

[hyper_chondriac_muser]

It's really slowly growing on me as a whole album, probably the longest it's taken me to really get into a new one. I was initially disappointed cos I stupidly believed them when they said it would be really heavy and by making unachievable comparisons (The Gloablist isn't CE 2!) and all those Instagram posts had so much promise, so the final product didn't live up to the high expectations I had.

 

However, props to them for actually making a few songs that sound like their old style – never thought I'd get OoS or Showbiz vibes from new songs While there are only three songs that I think are epically good, they're strong enough to outshine the rest of the album (two bad, one weird as fuck and four good-but-not-thrilling tracks).

 

Reapers, The Handler and The Globalist are brilliant, Dead Inside, Psycho, Mercy and Defector are good, Revolt and Aftermath are not and Drones the song is just... I don't bloody know Not really counting DS and JFK as tracks, they're just intros to other songs. Even after a few listens of the bad/weird ones, I'm not minding them as much. They're still cheesy as fuck, but tolerable in small doses.

 

Sticking with my 3.5 / 5 rating. It's a solid, more focused album than the last two, but not their best work by a long way.