Eighteen Visions Albums (5)
What The Critics Say
Lifted by years of effort and a new distribution deal with Epic Records, Trustkill Records' Eighteen Visions broke onto the charts with 2004's Obsession, which set up the band's next release as a potential breakthrough. When a recording artist with a number of albums decides to name a new disc after itself, that's often a signal of an attempt at reinvention or introduction to a new audience, and such seems to be the case with Eighteen Visions. The album is not a break with the past, but it does mark a more complete realization of the band's goal of maintaining a distinct heavy metal/hardcore identity while suggesting it can master other styles as well. The most distinct example of this versatility comes six tracks in with "Broken Hearted," a song on which Eighteen Visions abruptly switches gears and produces a melodic, midtempo arena rock performance. Lead singer James Hart calms down from his usual harsh howl to a conventional rock vocal style, and the band turns in a surprisingly accessible track, complete with a big, hooky chorus. The first time listening to the album, "Broken Hearted" comes as a surprise, but upon repeated listenings it's possible to hear more sophisticated parts in other songs -- unusually strong vocal choruses, keyboard riffs, unusual tempo shifts. Eighteen Visions can play contemporary metal with the best of them, turning out songs filled with pile-driving drum parts, thundering guitars, and Hart's obscenity laced, rage-filled screaming. But, unlike their many competitors, they are more than that, and they vary the formula just enough to emerge from the pack. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Eighteen Visions really get the treatment on Obsession, their third full-length for Trustkill. Die-cut heart-shaped box slider, accompanying DVD, an elaborate booklet with evocative, story-based sepia photography -- yep, there was some money spent here. Obsession's music reflects this exposure, too -- it's a million years and a thousand ways from Until the Ink Runs Out. Eighteen Visions have moved consciously into that shadowy realm, the one where the iron poles of metal beat against hardcore spines, and hammer the resulting screams into melodies lanced with pain. It's the new obsession for young men. For 18V in 2004, what prefix lies in front of the "-core"? Unclear. When will the kids grow tired of busy packaging and tunic-rending first-person lyrics ("I've been sleeping here for days/Hope I die before my dreams drive me insane," from "Lost in a Dream")? Who knows. In the meantime, congratulate 18V on making a record that loses itself in the possibilities offered by that weird region of genres in spiky flux. "Tower of Snakes" is a roaring Deftones tribute; "I Let Go" and "Crushed" offer thick yet mainstream-accessible metalcore (the production of Mudrock here is mighty); and "I Should Tell You," absolutely incredibly, is a sipping-coffee-in-the-veranda weeper, softer than the softest Hoobastank ballad. "I watched the falling rain splash upon your face," James Hart says in his best bedroom voice, and keyboards hiss in the distance for effect. As weird as "Tell You"'s detour into comfy sweatpants and Kleenex is, its rider, "Waiting for Heavens," is -- mercifully -- a much better cross of melody and punishing flat-arc distortion. Think Sparta. In the end, Obsession is more than a little schizophrenic. But as that condition seems to be the disorder of the day, at least Eighteen Visions swallow their crazy pills with zesty relish. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Notch up another success for Trustkill Records. The label that brought such heavy hitters as Hopesfall and Poison the Well now brings some Vanity with Eighteen Visions. Call it glam metalcore or emo metal, but what Eighteen Visions accomplishes on its third CD for the New Jersey label is by no means extraordinary, yet it gets the job done. Balancing its 13-song act between driving hardcore, metal mosh breakdowns, and the occasional acoustic tune, this Orange County act has found a successful means to achieve notoriety and brutality simultaneously. The vocals carry much of the album, as James Hart shows a bit of range with some guttural growls while reverting to standard hardcore yells and taking up some actual singing, too. Lyrically, Eighteen Visions delves into betrayal, bitterness, and the straight-edge lifestyle, yet the bandmembers' capabilities in changing time signatures and styles mask any weakness that may pop up in the lyrics ("One Hell of a Prize Fighter" being a good example). Across the board, a definite comparison could be given to Burn It Down, which isn't much of a surprise since that disbanded group's vocalist, Ryan Downey, is close friends with the members of Eighteen Visions. Integrating various influences allows Eighteen Visions success among emo, hardcore, metal, and indie rock kids, but make no mistake: Vanity is most definitely a metalcore album, just with a nice pinch of this and a taste of that to make it lively. With members from Throwdown and backing from the Trustkill label, one can get a good idea of where this is going, but don't be shocked if you're not some metal kid and you still find yourself jamming along. ~ Kurt Morris, All Music Guide
'Until the Ink Runs Out'
Release Date 8/8/2000
Tracks 9
Label Trustkill
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Those familiar with Trustkill staples like Poison the Well, Walls of Jericho, or Nora know that the label means business when it comes to presenting some of the most brutally dynamic hardcore in America. No different is Eighteen Visions. Filled with metallic venom, the band attacks with a very loose style of hardcore that's filled with heavy bass riffing, relaxed drumming, and disharmonic guitar squeals. This creates a landscape of sound instead of a tight, technical composition. Mid-paced guitar work, with occasional bursts of enraged speed and blast beats, typify the album, along with a Will Haven-ish vocal style, tongue-in-cheek, socially conscious lyrics, and some scattered slow, melodic vocal parts -- à la Poison the Well. Samples from a TV program with Elvis as well as movies from The Shining to Back to the Future characterize this pop culture obsessed release, as they intertwine effectively with the music. Few bands in this genre own this skill. "Champagne and Sleeping Pills" is a standout track, filled with noisy dynamics that cross Will Haven's sloppy but stylish and inventive playing with PTW's melodic textures. When the tune trails off into a noisy mix of feedback and eerie Kubrick samples, the listener is treated to one of the album's most blissful moments. A close second is the daring "Wine 'Em, Dine 'Em, Sixty-Nine 'Em," with its sludgy pace and bludgeoning European-tinged guitar. Until the Ink Runs Out -- crafty yes, but brilliant no. Eighteen Visions, for all its finer points, still churns out a veritably clichéd hardcore release filled with repetitive riffery and lack of focus. Compared to Poison the Well or any of the other aforementioned metal/hardcore acts, this band sounds young, with tons of room for growth and development. Not a bad release by any means, but simply an album whose creative ink has clearly run dry for the time being. ~ Jason Hundey, All Music Guide
