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| Walking with Strangers | 
 enlarge | Artist: The Birthday Massacre
Label: Metropolis Records
Category: Music
List Price: $15.98
Buy New: $10.73
You Save: $5.25 (33%)
New (42) Used (7) from $10.73
Avg. Customer Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 23162
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 80505
UPC: 782388050524
EAN: 0782388050524
ASIN: B000UGG34G
Release Date: September 11, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW Factory Sealed - Ready to be shipped within 24 hrs from California - Average 5 workdays delivery time - Excellent customer service - Buy with confidence!
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| Customer Reviews:
 My most anticipated album release of the year!! September 11, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
A lot of good albums have been released this year, but none have I waited for with an overwhelming mix of anticipation and impatience than this new release by TBM. I first heard TBM summer of 2005, and ever since I have been looking forward to another release. I had picked up Violet just by mere curiosity. I had been listening to a lot of metal/goth like Theatre of Tragedy, Tristania, Sirenia, etc. and wanted something a little more "light-hearted," yet still somewhat dark and mysterious. And that is exactly what I found with TBM.
This is TBM third release and it stays true to their trademark sound. This album could be called Violet Volume 2, but this is in no way a bad thing. The songs on this album are great and original, but the general sound is the same. It seems in the past couple of years, a great deal of my favorite bands have been releasing new albums, I go buy it and play it, and say "Who is this?" Some change their sound for better, some for worse, but sometimes it's nice to buy an album expecting to hear a certain sound you have fallen in love with and that album delivers it. IMO, TBM do not need any "maturing" of their sound or going in a "different direction." If you have listened to Violet and Nothing and Nowhere, you can buy this album with confidence in what you'd expect to hear.
With all that said, the album starts off with Kill The Lights, which the group actually released early this year through MySpace and their webpage. It is a great song and a great sample of what is to come. Goodnight, Falling Down, Looking Glass, Science, Walking with Strangers, and Weekend are the more upbeat portion of the album, while Movie, Remember Me, To Die For, Red Stars and Unfamiliar are the down tempo songs. To Die For was my favorite track from Nothing and Nowhere and I was happy to see it ended up on this album. I had heard a rough mix of Remember Me, and this polished up version is great.
I have tried to find other artists similar to TBM, but let me spare you the trouble by telling you, there are none! If you love TBM, just buy all 3 of their albums and that will be all you need.
Favorite tracks: Looking Glass, Red Stars, Unfamiliar, Falling Down
TBM's "Master of Puppets" September 29, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I think I've waited my entire life for this album. I don't hate a single song on it and it's one of the few "3rd" albums that manages to pull all the elements together from the previous efforts and make one outstanding piece of art. I don't agree with their latest rendition of To Die For - I believe that the "Nothing and Nowhere" version was superior. However, the remaining tracks are all stellar, at least on the first listen. After about two weeks, Science, Kill the Lights and Falling Down began to wear out faster than the remainder of the CD. I think, for me, that this is largely the result of the fact that they are calmer tracks, while the more upbeat songs began to hold more of my interest. Among the faster songs, Walking With Strangers, Weekend, and Looking Glass are my picks. But, the song that sold me was Red Stars. I don't know why. The chorus is what holds me the most, after the clean breakdown before closing the song with the main riff.
The departures from the previous two albums are Remember Me (though there seems to be a demo floating around somewhere, it is NOT on the previous full-length releases) and Movie. Remember Me reminds me of a song by Systematic called Glass Jaw from their "Somewhere in Between" album. That's not a detraction, it's a compliment. Suitably melancholy, with a moody, angsty feel. Movie is an 80s ballad that, with the appropriate title, calls up the feeling from Molly Ringwald movies (to me it stays with the concept of Nevermind at the end of "Violet").
There is no one like TBM making music right now, and I sincerely hope that the copy cats stay away. The sound is still fresh and TBM continues to evolve. Even their production is evolving. While "Nothing and Nowhere" had a slightly unfinished, unpolished sound and "Violet" was more polished, but much more macabre and moody, this album is much more sharply produced. It sounds "cleaner", because the effects are still there, but they don't saturate the landscape as on the previous two albums. It's a change, not for better or worse, in my opinion, but definitely noticeable. I do kind of miss the effects saturated sound of "Violet" which was tighter and cleaner than "Nothing and Nowhere", because "Walking With Strangers" is almost Spartan in comparison. Effects are "focused" in the new album.
If you're a fan of TBM, don't miss out. You'll appreciate some of the changes, I'm sure, and you will likely be disappointed in others, but take it for what it is: a focused amalgamation of the previous two albums.
It's not a repeat, because even the songs that sound familiar have a different, pop-dance leaning; it's a progression while maintaining their roots. Hard to do, but I believe that they've done it, and I don't think that my title is out of line considering that belief. Enjoy.
 Good album, not Great October 17, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Very good album, but not quite to the level of the previous one.
As always, they have great effects and such, but this seems like they kind of forced this album out and that it didn't have the same edge that the first one had.
 Strays from old conventions, sticking to their own. October 7, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Maybe it's Halloween coming, or maybe it's workplace angst. Something led me into Amazon's "Goth" collection with the following criteria: The band had to be entirely new to me, and it had to be labeled "goth."
This band brings enough of their own spirit into the genre to be enjoyable again. This also turns into their downfall. Genre bands find a lot of safety in same-ness; Walking with Strangers is as guilty as they are refreshing.
This duality might best be described through the synthesizer work on the album. Beneath the surface is this wonderful bass synth which plays, runs amok, has fun and complements every song. Then there is the entirely generic lead synth in which one preset is prominent from beginning to end.
Likewise, the imagery which seems to come so naturally to the band is polluted with all-too-typical alternative angst about being a professional musician. This stopped being a new or interesting theme in the days of eighty dollar designer flannel shirts.
There is a lot to like, overall. The band has a wider canvas of sounds to choose from than many of their genre. Looking past that lead synth, there's a good usage of different combinations of their talents to different effects. This immediately separates them from the masses of one-trick goth groups. The album really picks up with To Die For, leaving me anxious for the last four songs with every listen.
Finally, I would not have bought this album at all had they not allowed people to preview the whole thing through their web site. Those moments of courage are what make this band great. Less time taking the safe route would make them absolutely amazing.
not as good as violet, but still a good album to check out.... March 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
ok, so now i can honestly say since i got this bands first cd, violet, i am now a new found fan, so i decided to give this cd a try.. i must honestly say in my opinion, it is not as good as violet, but it is still a good cd, with almost the same sounds as the previous cd, but also with differences, which is a good thing. especially with the releases of both albums being so close together.. my favorite track so far would have to be weekend, which is pretty danceable. overall, im pretty content with this album, but it still does not even compare to violet.. i still reccomend it.. it just has some slower down tempo tracks and a couple slower ballads, but overall, its a good album... deffintiley check it out..... p.s. and a newly added footnote incase anyone new reads this review.... my other favorite track on this album would have to be track five, red stars, which is an awesome song..... so check out this album, but i still think violet is by far, much better in my opinion......
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