ARE 3 REVISIONING THEIR SOUND?
Apparently 3 have an album out. The band “3.” You know, the band whose logo looks like a giant dong on its side. The album is called Revisions; it came out on October 27th, yet I’ve heard nary a peep about it in the U.S. press. No interviews, no features, no “album art revealed!” or “new track streaming!”, no music video; barely anything at all.
Considering that their last album End is Begun was widely praised and the band did a well-received run on Dream Theater’s Prog Nation tour (also w/ Opeth), I’m thinking something has to be up in the 3 camp. What up? My three (!) theories as to what’s going down:
- There is tension within the band. Happens all the time…. being in a band is like being married to 4 other dirty, sweaty dudes. It ain’t easy. Perhaps there’s trouble in paradise, or perhaps the band members have families and such and prefer not to tour.
- The last album performed poorly and Metal Blade has decided not to put much effort into this release. This scenario would really suck given how great End is Begun was, but it’s certainly possible. Given how well-received End is Begun was, however, I kind of doubt this is the case… Metal Blade is generally a label that sticks with bands through way more than just one release.
- There has, in fact, been a big push behind Revisions, but we just haven’t been privy to it. This is entirely possible. I just got to listen to Revisions for the first time earlier this week, and you know what? It’d really be a stretch to call this record metal at all. Not that 3 were ever “rawwwwrrrr we’re metal with a capital \m/!!!!” but they were just metal enough to fit in on Prog Nation and get coverage on sites like this one. This new album? Not so much. There’s a lot of cheesy, toned-down pop stuff here. I’m not making a quality judgment yet because I really need to listen to the record more, but there’s definitely been a change in musical direction for the band. Is it possible that the record is being pushed to non-metal outlets as a result?
I’m inclined to think the truth is a mix of #1 and #3. If anyone out there is in the know, kindly drop us a line.
-VN
