REVISIONS

When I saw a banner on this site advertising a new 3 album, I was pretty excited. I saw these guys open for Porcupine Tree a couple years back and honestly the performance was ALMOST more memorable than PT's. I love Joey Eppard's acoustic style, and their heavy focus on percussion and textures that you don't normally hear in this style of music.

I was a bit disappointed though, to find that this album (as the title suggests) revisits old material. So right off the bat I was expecting something a little less progressive or coherent than The End Is Begun.

Well, I was right, but it doesn't seem to be a bad thing after all. The result is an album that's much easier to digest than TEIB. At first listen it's really just a straightforward rock album - but you'll find that 3 has managed to hide plenty of their unique flourishes between the driving verses and catchy choruses. One moment you'll be bobbing your head, humming along with Joey, when an unexpectedly awesome acoustic break leads into the next section (check out around 2:30 in Rabid Animals).

One thing I'm still undecided on is the production. It sounds somehow less professional than their previous album... Not as much "pop" or shine. In one way though, it creates a much more atmospheric and natural sound.

I'd like to do a track-by-track review, but maybe I will add that at a later date. I'll conclude by saying that while I hope 3 continues on a more progressive direction in the future, this is some great, very listenable music that is much less metal-oriented than The End Is Begun.