La Gárgola

The best

Update: After carefully listening to the album over the course of the last few days, I've realized that this album may not be one that will be an instant classic on first listen.... but it continues to grow on you. The Damned, Jawbreaker, Hunter Eats Hunter, and Quija Board are still my favorites. However, songs like Choking Game, An Island, Twinge, and Under the Knife get better and better the more you listen to them. I'm really getting a Vena Sera vibe from a few songs, which is one of my favorite albums from Chevelle. Despite taking a dive with Sci-Fi Crimes, Chevelle has continued to get better and better ever since. Hats Off to the Bull is still an iffy album for me, but La Gargola is leaps and bounds better. Upgraded to 4.5/5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ La Gargola, in my opinion, is an improvement over their past two efforts (Sci-fi Crimes and Hats Off to the Bull). However, I'm still waiting for Chevelle to return to their older form. This album has some memorable tracks in Quija Board (my personal fav), Jawbreaker, Hunter Eats Hunter, and The Damned. Even Take Out The Gunman is a pretty solid track. The rest are pretty forgettable for me. This is a major improvement over Hats (which had two truly great songs, Same Ole' Trip and the title track) and Sci-fi Crimes (where the only bright spots were Letter From A Thief and Jars). Chevelle seems to be settling into a groove with their style now. Sci-Fi Crimes, Hats Off to the Bull, and La Gargola have a similar style.... despite each album growing increasingly heavier than the previous (which I think is a good thing). All in all, it's a solid album but I still miss the days of albums 2, 3, and 4 (Wonder What's Next, This Type of Thinking, and Vena Sera). This Type of Thinking and Vena Sera didn't have a bad song on the album, and I consistently played them from beginning to end. This is where Chevelle was in their prime. Chevelle is a solid band, and I will still support them in their upcoming efforts. And I will continue listening to La Gargola (as well as the rest of their discography, minius Sci-Fi Crimes). A solid 3.5/5

I've been attracted to Chevelle since their debut album. Each album offered something slightly different, although, I feel Vena Sera was a bit weak but I still listen to it. Their debut and This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In) are their best and showed the world their style. Now, for La Gargola, listening to it on repeat for the past days, I grew to love it and have yet to stop listening to it. I'm actually pleasantly surprised. It's a new sound, a heavier sound, LOVE the heavier sound. Yes, it's different their more subdued sound in their previous albums, but that's a sign of a maturing band, when they evolve their sound so not to be putting out the same thing with every album. That gets boring after a while and fans will get bored and become disinterested. The guitars are heavier which is music to my ears and Pete still incorporates his iconic soft vocals and screams throughout the album. Chevelle is the only American rock band I've remained loyal to. Many of the other American bands I used to listen to have changed their sound so much that it almost becomes a disappointment to the rock genre, or they disbanded. Also, the American "rock bands" out today, to me, are a joke. That is one of the many reasons I have strayed into other countries' rock bands. Chevelle is the only American rock band, I feel, that has remained loyal to the genre in their 10+ years together and they are still going strong and this album is evidence of such strength. Ordered the album on the 7th, arrived on the 9th and had it on repeat since then on my ipod. So far, can't get enough of the heaviness. Love it. So, with that, 5 stars for this album. Chevelle continues to evolve their sound and, so far, haven't disappointed this fan :-)

I purchased La Gargola last night, and have been listening to it steadily ever since, as I really wanted it to sit with me for awhile before I reviewed it. I actually would rate the album up to 4 and 1/2 stars (unfortunately, Amazon does not allow this). La Gargola is a mixture of many different elements, and in my opinion offers quite a bit that needs to be digested over a period of time, but it is a very good, if not excellent Chevelle album in my opinion. Just so others can see my vantage point, my two favorite Chevelle albums are Vena Sera and Hats Off to The Bull. Although La Gargola is not as anthemic/soaring as those albums, it is very unique, and very good in other ways, so I would rank La Gargola as one of their better albums hands down, and what I consider to be their most experimental to date. There is a lot to take in with this, and a lot of different musical elements, so I will see if I can break it down a bit. However, the one thing that I wish there a bit more of on this album are the soaring anthemic vocals and hooks that I love about Chevelle. La Gargola does have its anthemic/soaring moments in the traditional Chevelle vein, but in my opinion is much heavier and a bit thrashier than past offerings. However, I have to say that La gargola is really unique and definitely pretty grooving in the Chevelle way (you can equal parts head bang and dance to the songs, the songs just groove like that), that we have come to know and love. While there are undoubtedly influences of many different kinds of music genres in Chevelle's sound, I vigorously differ with any one who takes the position that Chevelle rips off any band. I find their music to be decidedly their own and consistently some of the best and most unique rock and roll out there, and I believe la Gargola, after many listens to be their most unique offering to date. Ok, now to the actual songs. Ouija Board- Excellent opening track- Very hard and grooving with some unique elements. I would rate this song an 8 to 8.5. I wouldn't say that the chorus is one of Chevelle's most melodic, but the song altogether is really very good. If my ears are not betraying me, there seems to be almost a little bit of a System of a Down vibe to this song. A near classic. The ISland- One of my personal favorites. Hard and grooving with some epic riffing. I was grooving hard to this one. I think this one is likely to become a Chevelle classic. I would rate it a 9.5-10. Take out the Gunman- I am sure most of you heard this. Definitely a grooving hard rocker in the traditional Chevelle sense. An easy 8.5 to 9 rating. Jawbreaker- Another hard rocker. Some pretty good vocals. This one is also likely to become a classic or near classic for Chevelle in my opinion. i can just see a lot of Chevelle fans liking this one a lot. This is a pretty unique song, and i think it merits an easy 8.5 to 9 rating. Hunter Eats Hunter- Not one of my personal favorites, but if I am looking at it objectively, it is a very good song. Hard groover, with some good vocals. Not as catchy or grooving as I'd normally like, but there is definitely a grooving element to it, and the quality of the musicianship on the song is apparent. I would rate this a 7-8, but I could easily see if other fans rated it higher. One Ocean- Slower song, with unique elements. I think this song will be an instant Chevelle classic for those fans who appreciate more than just the harder songs. Excellent vocal work and the chorus is outstanding. I rate this a 9-10 Choking game- pretty hard rocker, and a grooving Chevelle anthem in my opinion. I think a near to actual classic. I would rate this 9-10. One of my album favorites. Great vocal work and musicianship. The Damned- It's got some unique elements, and it's a pretty good hard rocker, but this track did not stand out for me in comparison to the others. I would rate this about a 6 or 7. Under the Knife- A little better than The Damned but ultimately, it did not offer enough for me keep coming coming back to it. Although I would imagine this song will play very good live. Some heavy riffing and a fairly memorable chorus with some rugged vocals. I would rate this a 7 maybe 7.5. Twinge- Another slow burner, that takes its time to build, but is an excellent track. I could see this one becoming a classic. Very unique and complex song structuring makes this a very good, if not excellent song. 9-10 rating. So all in all I tried to get this review right, based on multiple listens. In short, I woud say the vocal work is very varied, and very good, with a little less emphasis on being soaring and more emphasis on emotion. The musicianship and talent in putting this album together is readily apparent. I would say go out and purchase this album, because there are not a lot of great rock bands out there, and Chevelle is at the top of the list, and most certainly deserves fan support to be able to continue to provide us with great music. More importantly, the album is worthy of purchase and provides some great music. Thanks for reading, and I welcome any comments. I hope you all enjoy La Gargola.

After the damn-near perfect Hats Off To The Bull I wasn't sure where Chevelle would take us but as opener and statement of intent Ouja Board explodes in your face it's clear we're going into harder and angrier territory this time around. An Island and Take Out The Gunman lay down some seriously heavy grooves and Jawbreaker builds and builds on a massive bass riff into (in my opinion) the standout track here. Slow but heavy Hunter Eats Hunter leads to the breathtaking One Ocean where Pete shows why he's one of the best rock singers out there today, then the pace is ratcheted up again with Choking Game, The Damned and Under The Knife before closing with the sublime Twinge. Faults? Ten Chevelle songs on an album is NOT enough! Consistently head and shoulders above the rest, these guys just keep delivering awesome album after awesome album and long may it continue.

Colis bien reçu et CD ok.

Catchy riffs; I want to collect more music from this artist.

A massive album. They should get some recognition in India. Looking forward to their latest offering The north corridor.

Excelente disco y grupo unos de mis bandas favirotas. Excelente servicio llegó en perfecto estado y mucho antes