Featuring: The Used, Underoath, Story of the Year, Thrice, Matchbook Romance, Thursday, My American Heart, Armor for Sleep, Billy Talent, Emery, Bleed the Dream, From First to Last, Rise Against, Blindside, Fear Before the March of Flames, Dark New Day, Roses Are Red, and Street Drum Corps.
With Avenged Sevenfold, Killswitch Engage, Deftones, Every Time I Die, Shadows Fall, Dillinger Escape Plan, Bleeding Through, Funeral for a Friend, Norma Jean, It Dies Today, The Bled, Opiate for the Masses, Alexisonfire, The Smashup, Adair, Bloodsimple, Most Precious Blood, and Dir En Grey.
What’s the 4-1-1?
Released in conjunction with the start of the 2006 Taste of Chaos Tour, this collection not only highlights current bands on the trek, but past ones as well. It’s easy to assume these are live tracks, but they are actually all studio recordings.
Genre
Hard rock / metalcore / pop-punk / melodic / alternative / hardcore
The Good
I guess the most enticing thing about this collection is that you get 30+ tracks of music for a reasonable price. The list of bands aren’t exactly a who’s who of rock heavyweights, but it does pack a punch of underground, up-and-coming, and cult acts from around the world. I must admit that I was only familiar with six of the bands going into this album. I soon discovered that I had been missing out on some great bands; Avenged Sevenfold, My American Heart, Armor for Sleep, Dark New Day (I think this track is on my Raw vs. Smackdown 2006 game), Dillinger Escape Plan, Bleeding Through, Funeral for a Friend (a band I previously hated), and Opiate for the Masses.
I'm not saying those are the only good ones, but they are the ones that stood out for me. There is so much great and diverse music on this collection. It doesn’t matter if you like hardcore, metal, pop-punk, alternative, or metalcore, this collection has it all. You’re not getting the bands' b-sides or crap either. You’re getting their current singles or top-notch unreleased tracks.
The Bad
There are a few duds in the pack, but they don’t detract that much from the album as a whole.
The Verdict
The Best of Taste of Chaos CD isn’t just a way for you to prepare for the ongoing tour, it’s a good way to expose yourself to some new and different bands. After taking this huge collection of tracks in, I’m definitely going to head out and grab a few of the bands' current albums.
Did You Know?
Dark New Day is the current band of ex-Sevendust guitarist Clint Lowery.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Article comments