Comeback Kid Albums (4)
What The Critics Say
The hardcore vets in Comeback Kid have been road warriors for years, and Through the Noise captures the band's live show in slick CD/DVD format. The videodisc includes a full-length concert in Leipzig, Germany; shot with six cameras, it provides a better view of the group's on-stage presence than most concert DVDs, and the added documentary, "Our Distance," gives a retrospective view of the band both on and off the stage. The accompanying CD is quite similar, of course, comprised entirely of tracks from the Leipzig show. Through the Noise is a fans-only release, but those who've followed Comeback Kid previously will be pleased with this all-encompassing package. ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Losing a vocalist typically poses a pretty big obstacle for even the toughest of bands to overcome. But if Broadcasting... is any indication, Comeback Kid hardly missed a step given frontman Scott Wade's departure in 2006, which was prior to the recording of this, their third album. It's not to say that the band wasn't upset when Wade bowed out, but their recovery was swift, and Broadcasting... is a testament to how strong a unit Comeback Kid has always been. The guys didn't even need to look outside of their ranks to fill in the gap, guitarist Andrew Neufeld easily stepping up to the task at hand. His prior experience fronting fellow Winnipeg hardcore act Figure Four makes his transition to the microphone a seamless one, and the power and intensity his ferocious bark brings is undeniable, whether it's commanding a song alone with every ounce of his being or directing a chorus of friends. Neufeld is not kidding around here. But Comeback Kid is, of course, more than just a passionate set of lungs. Bruising drumbeats and blistering guitars hit harder and crisper this time around (thanks in part to the expert production touch of Bill Stevenson) making Broadcasting... more authoritative, more compelling, and inevitably lends itself to even more pumped fists in the air -- just try stopping the moshpits that'll surely break out when the guys launch into songs like the title track or "Give'r (Reprise)." Sure, this album may basically be more of the same, but considering how effortlessly and muscularly these Canucks blaze through these 11 tracks even one member down, how can one really complain? ~ Corey Apar, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Increasingly, it seems like the only thing that separates hardcore from metal, even "melodic" metal, is the vocals. If the singer is carrying a melody (especially a high-pitched one), it's metal; if he's just yelling, it's hardcore. (If he sounds like he's belching or channeling Cookie Monster, it's death metal.) In either case, count on blistering tempos and big guitars that may follow complex chord progressions or may just sketch out vinegary power chord changes. Comeback Kid generally sticks with the complex-changes-and-declamatory-vocalist approach; tempos are good and brisk, the guitar sound varies between chuggingly aggressive and downright pretty, and singer Scott Wade doesn't deliver his lyrics as much as he plunks them down in front of you like someone dropping a two-by-four on the sidewalk. Sometimes they trip themselves up: on "False Idols Fall" and "Our Distance," the tempos are fast enough that the drummer's backbeats sound like misplaced onbeats, and "Bright Lights Keep Shining" exhibits the worst kind of neo-punk lyrical laziness, with the standard-issue complaints about some undefined (but apparently horrible) "this." But man, those guitars. They pretty much make it all worthwhile, even when the drums are confusing and the lyrics are annoying. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
