Emery - I'm Only a Man

I'm Only a Man is a bit of a departure for Emery, as they continue to move away from their more hardcore roots and experiment with different styles. Upon first listen I didn't really like what I was hearing, but the album quickly grew on me after a couple more tries. It's not quite as far up my alley as their last record was when it came out, but almost every song had something positive going for it. The screaming is relegated to a much smaller role, but they're not exactly less passionate as a band, still bringing intensity to a lot of their songs. They no longer sound quite so unique, but I still see them as a cut above other bands of the same type.

"Rock-n-Rule" gets it started with a guitar line featuring an interesting twang to it, and has Emery's usual shifts between hard, soft, fast, slow, and every combination. "Party Song" is a single, and a decent one, although it's not as attention-grabbing as most of the other tracks. "After the Devil Beats His Wife" is one of the more ambitious songs on the album, featuring a bunch of great touches and ideas. "Can't Stop the Killer" is another good one, with an unforgettable bridge featuring a creepy, distorted speaking of the title. "Dont Bore Us, Get to the Chorus" is probably my favorite. It begins with an odd, repeating choir, and has plenty more gear changes, including a chorus with a heavy out-of-nowhere electronic component that still fits perfectly. It's followed immediately by "What Makes a Man a Man", slower but with a lot of passion and it's very simply quite enjoyable. "From Crib to Coffin" continues the tradition of excellent closing songs to Emery albums, and is over ten minutes of intriguing music if you include the lengthy computerized segment that it trails off with. Some fans didn't seem to receive the album well, and that makes me feel kind of sad.