Chiodos - Bone Palace Ballet

Chiodos
Bone Palace Ballet
Equal Vision Records
Grade: A-

When Bone Palace Ballet was released in the fall of 2007, the album skyrocketed on the Billboard charts with an opening that stunned basically everyone; even the band couldn’t have imagined such an opening. Riding their prog-punk grandiose sound, Chiodos demonstrate the staying power that most young bands relish. Chiodos have come a long ways since they were called the Chiodos Bros. and offered their debut The Heartless Control of Everything. The Michigan band’s debut on EVR, All’s Well That Ends Well, but them squarely on the higher level map, but Bone Palace Ballet pushes Chiodos into the top echelon. Once again exploiting the vocal range of Craig Owens and the dynamic guitar work of Jason Hale and Pat McManaman, Chiodos power through ten tracks that shift tempos, atmospheres, and instrumentation on Bone Palace Ballet. Chiodos are certainly not the only ones working the melodic prog-punk angle (e.g., Circa Survive) and their annoyingly long song titles reinforce the parallel. Moderately dark and deathy, the melodic rhythms carry you to happy times especially on the fantastic opener “Is It Progression if a Cannibal Uses a Fork?,” follower “Lexington (Joey Pet-Pot with a Monkey Face)” that opens with piano, “Bulls Make Money…” where a later heavy distortion section is guaranteed to rattle your speakers, check out the strings section on “Teeth the Size of Piano Keys,” “Life is a Perception of Your Own Reality,” and heavy closer “The Undertaker’s Thirst for Revenge Is Unquenchable.” I’m glad Chiodos are still around and kicking.