BIGWIG “An Invitation To Tragedy”
Woohoo! After a lengthy delay, we finally have some new BIGWIG! As one of the premier melodic hardcore outfits to roam the world in the past half a decade, these guys have amassed a loyal following based on their relentless touring schedule and previous two albums. “An Invitation to Tragedy,” will not only appease current fans, it should set the stage for BIGWIG to swallow up a barge of new believers. Featuring a beefier, faster, more metallic sound, the intensity on the new disc is stunning. Armed with a new drummer, who probably goes through drum heads quicker than anyone else, the word “potent” is probably an understatement. There’s so many rockin’ elements to BIGWIG, it’s difficult to know where to start, but what makes their songs so memorable are the insanely hooky guitar lines. Usually I identify songs most accurately by their vocals, but the guitar work by BIGWIG is freaking great. And oh yeah, Tom’s awesome singing/screaming voice is pretty cool too. In continous fashion from their prior albums, there’s a few more melodic, slower, sing along type tunes admist the speedmetal dishes. This formula works extremely well because the album feels more diversified and it also shows off how great a lyracist Tom is (check out “Moosh.”). A few of these tunes made appearances elsewhere, including, “Sink or Swim” (from the Warped Tour 2001 comp), and “Appreciation” (from the Disarming Violence comp on Fastmusic), but they’ve all been recorded and sound huge! Speaking of which, the crispness of “An Invitation to Tragedy” should be a model for melodicore bands everywhere. While not overpowering, this thing packs a punch! The artwork here is beautiful, working with a light paper stock instead of the usual glossy style. In conjunction with the rest of this release, the overall feeling of quality is all encompassing. For a long time, people criticized bands that played in the genre that NOFX essentially created, but trust me, BIGWIG’s “An Invitation to Tragedy” is far better than anything NOFX has put out in probably six years. This rules. BIGWIG rules.
Fearless
