#uh oh im putting my opinion on the internet please dont kill me

[soulpunc]

Pray For The Wicked Review

My full track by track review is under the cut, but tl;dr: it is okay. not bad, but nothing new either. This is the best vocals Brendon has ever recorded, and he really shines in all of these songs. I loved the jazz and swing influences on these songs. and the tone and pace of the album was nice. However, the album feels a bit to clean for me and none of the track really stand out as unique. 6/10. Good, but could have been great.

Aight, now to the nitty gritty! This review is based off of listening to the album twice (and some tracks a bit more), so this is really just my knee-jerk opinion. It also seems important to note that even before the album was released, I was not particularly impressed with the singles, which resulted in low expectations.

(Fuck A) Silver Lining - Already heard, but still as underwhelming as the first time. It’s NOT a BAD song, but its very lackluster for the opening to the album. And the chorus is a bit repetitive and derivative. This song would be better suited towards the middle/end where it is padded by stronger songs. (5/10)

Say Amen (Saturday Night) - So far, one of my favorite songs from the album. A strong single to lead the album with, and the lyrics here are some of the best in the whole album. Good shit. (7/10)

Hey Look Ma, I Made It - Maybe this is just me, but the lyric talking smack about record labels seems a little faux edgy. Especially considering that this album is a very safe album that doesn't take a lot of risks to try much new. This song kind of feels like a bside version of Say Amen. But I like the strut of this song, and Brendon’s vocals are fuckin rockin! (6/10)

High Hopes - Its probably now that I should mention - I really love that in this album they expanded on the idea of a modern and new jazzy swing song, taking the drums and effects of modern pop and combining it with the brass and strong vocals of classic crooners. They touched upon this on the last album, and took it to the next level here. And it is what shines in this song. The worst this song has going for it is the fact that it sounds a little to similar to Silver Lining, just making it feel like much of the same, if you get what I mean (6/10)

Roaring 20s - Okay, a lot of people are talking smack about how these songs are all about smoking weed, which is a huge part of this song. And while I see the point that it is a kind of cheap song topic that isn’t anything new, I don’t find it particularly offensive - the point of music is to capture the human experience, and drugs are a part of that. Lyrics aside, this song is one of my favorites. Again, I love the modern swing lens they take with it. Brendon’s vocals are really impressive here, and the chorus is really strong and memorable for all the right reasons (7/10)

Dancing’s Not A Crime - This song also has a great strut and drums, but like Hey Look Ma, this song also feels too much like other songs on this album so it doesn’t really stand out as unique (which is a problem I have with most of these songs tbh). Though that being said, it isn’t a bad song and is okay. Just not great. (6/10)

One Of The Drunks - I think this song captures exactly what I don’t like about this album. It is so safe and lackluster that I honestly cant remember what the pace of the song sounded like, and I literally JUST listened to it for the third time JUST NOW. It sounds like something Brendon has done multiple times in the past, and while it doesn’t stand out as bad in the context of the album itself, it does not stand alone as a song without the strength of the rest of the album carrying it (4/10)

The Overpass - LOVED the jazz in here! This song was like a breath of fresh air after the last one. The bass line is also really boppin, so I appreciated that a lot. I love fast pace, the brass, the drums, everything! It stands out from the rest of the album, and is one of the strongest songs on it (7/10)

King Of The Clouds - Aaaaaaaand back to mediocre. I loved the lyrics in this song, but other than that this song feels like yet another song that feels much the same as the others. Not bad, but too safe. (6/10)

Old Fashioned - I will be honest, after my first listen through this album I completely forgot that this song existed. I, for the life of me, couldn’t remember anything about how it sounded or what it was about or anything. And if that doesn’t speak volumes about it, I don’t know what does. Another case of a track on this album being forgettable as it sounds like a bside version of a different and better Panic! song. Again, not a BAD song to listen to, just very plain. And it is slightly better than One Of The Drunks, hence the slightly higher rating.(5/10)

Dying In LA - Aight, now for the last track. I have found that Panic! has some of the best closing album songs that really capture the tone and message the whole record conveys, so I went into this song with high hopes. And I wasn’t disappointed. The quieter lowkey tone really captures the melancholy message it addresses. It is also one of the most distinctly unique songs on the whole album, and the only one that sounds like an original song and not just another version of either a song from DOAB or an earlier track. I think ultimately it feels like this album is about the fleeting fun and fear inherent to youth as we try to find ourselves. And this songs really brings that to life, and it a perfect concluding paragraph to this album.(7/10)

All in all, I think this album could have benefited from more time being put into it. I like what this album was going for, I like the message, I like the vibe and groove. But so many of the songs feel so lackluster that it really takes me out of ti and is such a huge detractor. If the majority of the tracks were more punchy and unique as Dying in LA, Overpass, and Roaring 20s, then the album would have been much much better. It is so unfortunate that they didn’t go that final stretch and instead played it so safe.

[comicteaparty]

July 20th, 2017 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on July 20th, 2017, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on There Was a War by aislinn e.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

Good day everyone~! This week’s Comic Tea Party is now officially beginning. Today we are discussing There Was a War by aislinn e~! (https://tapas.io/series/TWAW) For those new to CTP, discussions about the comic are freeform, so please feel free to bring up whatever you wish. However, every 30 minutes I will be dropping in a discussion question to help those who would like a prompt. These questions are totally OPTIONAL to answer so pay them no mind if you wish~! Remember, constructive criticism is allowed, but the primary focus here is to have fun and appreciate the amazing comics that the community makes~! Each chat a top comment will be picked and featured on an ad for this chat, so let’s have a great discussion~! With that said, let us begin with this first question~!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

mathtans

I knew that would be the question, and yet I'm having trouble picking something out. The explanation of vanishing into the underworld and seeing God I found amusing, perhaps I'll choose that.

RebelVampire

i really liked that scene. that was a pretty funny line. but i also liked that scene because i think it showed a more human side as it were to her captors in a way. especially with the more recent page where one of them is trying to apologize.

mathtans

Yeah, that's true, it made them more than the faceless guards (though I'm horrible with names...). And the "she wasn't there!" was amusing too in the discussion.

The apology thing in the latest update surprised me.

RebelVampire

really? im more glad it went that way because from the beginning i felt they werent awful guards persay. especially cause i feel like a big motif of this comic is about a lot of people doing tons of stuff they dont want to do for the war. and i often got the impression the guards are not particularly fond of participating in the war either. just gotta do what they were told.

mathtans

Oh, I'm glad it's going that way too, just I hadn't figured on the discussion going there somehow. I guess, while I don't know the legend that this is based on, I'd thought it'd be more focussed on the humanizing of the main characters.

War sucks. I wonder if the war in the title references the one that nearly wiped out the tribe to the south...? (I might have misinterpreted things.)

RebelVampire

well to be fair i think its more messing the entire war. cause they are still very much at war. i think its using past tense cause of the prologue. cause its framing this as a story thats being told almost. so in a way the entire story is a flashback you could say.

mathtans

Valid point.

Even if it's not necessarily active (though I guess it must be, for Balor to have been brought out), neither side really understands the other. So tensions are high and things can erupt at any time.

I wonder to what extent Cath can see the future.

RebelVampire

yeah i feel like her powers are a bit vague. but probably intentionally so. i get the impression she cant see very far into the future tho and i feel like a lot of her power is probably going to be based on her ability to interpret

mathtans

Yeah, not very far, and maybe only if she's thinking about it? Unless it's something key?

She must be able to teleport too, since she did a lot of travelling and yet was still able to get back to the pool. But maybe it's a thing where she can only get there.

I'm not up on my Irish mythology. (I think it's Irish?)

RebelVampire

idk. idk how based on mythology its supposed to be. if its irish definitely out of my expertise.

and maybe tbh i find their camp layout hard to understand XD

like ok the pool is underground but whats its relationship with the rest of the area

mathtans

I remember in the Q&A a mention of mythology and when I looked it up I think it was Irish.

Yeah, I haven't really put much thought into where things are.

I get a bit taken in by the art style, the sort of flowing down the page, like it's all a bit nebulous anyway.

Not a bad thing, btw. In my opinion.

RebelVampire

yeah i think a lot of the pages at least take super advantage of the scroll format. particularly the scene where balor falls down into the pool for the first time. cause you really get the impression of balor falling down into it

mathtans

Oooh yeah, that'd slipped my mind.

Something about the art that's really cool, that I only really picked up on when I peeked at the mythology - Balor has an evil eye. And here it's his left eye, which is always in shadow or closed. Only his right eye's "normal".

And my gendering sucks, those should probably be "her" and "She".

I don't remember if the original Balor was male though?

RebelVampire

i dont think so cause they refer to balor as princess and daughter.

mathtans

Okay, the site where I looked it up talks about a "he". Maybe I just looked up the name and ran into totally the wrong myth. The "evil eye" thing seems to fit though.

RebelVampire

oh wait do you mean original balor as in a mythological one? cause i didnt know such a balor existed XD

mathtans

Yeah, there's an original Balor in Irish Myth. Seems to be a guy. With an evil eye. Don't know if this is related.

RebelVampire

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balor

mathtans

I got curious after reading the Q&A.

RebelVampire

thanks wikipedia

mathtans

So could be a different take on that story, or could be the internet only knows one version of a mythology that's much broader.

RebelVampire

more likely a different take

but this explains the framing of the prologue

QUESTION 2. Cethlenn and Balor reveal the humans and the Fomor have vastly different ideas on how the war started. Humans believe the Fomor eat people and destroy their settlements, while the Fomor believe the humans were tricked by their gods into warring with them. How do you think the war started? How will these differing viewpoints be relevant to the story?

mathtans

Truth's probably somewhere in the middle, I suppose....

RebelVampire

but back to what i was saying, if this is a diff take on the myth, i feel like the prologue is saying "yeah here we have this myth about how evil balor was but nope the truth of myths are not easy."

mathtans

That makes sense. I like when things are made not easy. ^.^

Interesting that Fomor don't have magic, and humans do. I wonder if that played into the start of the war.

As to viewpoints, pretty obvious that the humans have bought into the propaganda, based on that guy in the cart. Meaning emotions will beat out "truth", if there can be said to be a truth.

It was good to see him, to start seeing that side of the story too.

I also confess, I'm a bit shallow, and like the brighter colours. ^_^

RebelVampire

i do like that the comic is a big more vibrant now.

i think humans having magic at least partially explains why they even stand a chance against the fomor

mathtans

It provides a contrast between the worlds well.

RebelVampire

since the fomor are huge

mathtans

That's a good point. Explains why they feel the need to pull out Balor every so often too, why they can't handle it, and why they try to remove the magician humans.

RebelVampire

in all honesty i kind of feel like its the humans fault the war started cause i feel like they sent the first blow. cause i believe theres some truth to the story balor tells in song. so the humans probably did show up, got spooked by the first fomor they saw, and killed that fomor out of fear. and then the fomor were mad and retaliated. and then things escalated

mathtans

That would make sense. Though there's also different tribes of Fomor, who probably look better or worse - do you remember if it was said whether it started in the South? Like, maybe they're the scarier ones and it's all racism from there.

RebelVampire

i think the song mentioned the war starting in the south

so it could be theyre scarier seeming

ok its more vague

it says "son of the South East"

mathtans

I suppose I could look this up. -.- Oh, good for you on checking. And now they're headed North, so people could be seeing what they expect, not differentiating the different types.

Like, even the guards are different, one has more prominent teeth, I think?

RebelVampire

yeah. although the fomor just may have vastly more genetic differences than humans by comparison. but it could in large just be an issue of racism at play.

mathtans

Well, now I'm looking up Fomorians...

RebelVampire

haha you have me at a disadvantage cause i usually dont read Q&As. but thats just bias from doing reviews every month cause i cant really base story judgements on outside info.

mathtans

Yeah, that's understandable. Plus you have a lot to read as it is, I don't always go through an entire archive. Though I did in this case.

Looks like humans weren't the first to challenge Fomorians in legend. Huh. I'm learning stuff.

Kind of tangential to what's going on here though.

(Previous challengers died of "an epidemic".)

Anyhue. War. What is it good for? I suspect one of the protagonists, if not both, are doomed to die... but maybe that brings peace?

RebelVampire

the description for the comic mentions that the story has a sad ending. i get the distinct impression that they both die...and then the war continues. forever. cause if we assume it follows the legend and balor somehow leads the people, someone will just replace balor. although i feel like if balor dies the fomor will be at a huge disadvantage

mathtans

That's true. They won't have their ace in the hole (uh, kinda literally) any more. Maybe the whole point is the humans win, because that's where we're at now, and history was written by the victors.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. Throughout the comic so far, Balor’s main conflict is being used as a tool of war due to the evil eye curse Balor possesses. Why do you think Balor has this curse? Is it truly a curse or is something larger at work? Do you think Balor will somehow get rid of the curse of the evil eye and gain freedom?

mathtans

Oh, that's a good question. Pretty sure he won't gain his freedom, in fact I somehow feel like he's gonna end up using it in a tragic way. But I don't know where he got it from. Particularly if the Fomor don't use magic.

I'm usually pretty good at offering theories, but I'm kind of drawing a blank. Maybe because I feel like a proper theory would take from the mythology.

Oooh, thought. Maybe the curse comes from something she's GONNA do. Like, she gets cursed back into her past/from her birth because of something that happens later. In a "brought it on yourself" sort of way.

Ugh, and my gender pronouns are all over the place.

RebelVampire

lol thatd be trippy but possible for something mythology based.

granted im not sure its a curse. i like to think like some unknown power wanted to give the fomor a little advantage

cause of how far the war has gone

mathtans

Humans might have the power to curse, is the thing. Though that's a good point, maybe she comes by it "naturally", so that there's an equilizer.

Sometimes I wonder what the "gods" are thinking.

(Like, not just with this comic, but in general.)

I wonder if there's a way to counteract it. That hasn't been found yet.

Not in terms of a cure so much as something that can be done to stay alive... though a cure might be interesting too. Even if I suspect it would be a deception of some sort.

RebelVampire

there is a cure. its called death.

/shot

joking aside i hadnt considered that maybe it was a curse from the humans

which would be hilariously ironic

as it brought about their own destruction

mathtans

Well, there's that too, ouch. Yeah, or a curse from the human gods, meaning the fomor aren't wrong in saying the humans are being coaxed deeper into this war.

"Please kill all these types, we'll even make them extra powerful to give you a reason to fear them."

RebelVampire

im really curious as far as the story goes how involved the human gods are involved. like...weve never seen one so are they even real in this story? cause while the existence of the fomor leads to the idea that of course they must be, theres room for doubt. so rather than the gods themselves manipulating the humans, it was evil humans saying "oh yeah the gods told us this stuff." and since the war is so old no one remembers enough to question it

mathtans

Oooh, that's a really good point.

Word of mouth causing more problems, much like the way things got played up for that farmer who wasn't even there.

(I keep calling him a farmer, I don't know why, he was just in a cart and had a place nearby... I'm horrible for stereotyping...)

I'm reminded of the "subtle flirting" "less subtle flirting" thing though, that was amusing. I like the occasional amusement particularly when things are a bit bleak otherwise.

RebelVampire

yeah im glad this comic does have some of the lighter lines throne it to keep things from being soul crushing.

the farmer person (cause might as well continue stereotyping) made me laugh just cause of how wildly crazy that version was in a way

although that scene made me really hmmm at cethlenn's origins because she seemed a bit spoiled by not being afraid of the war

mathtans

I guess I saw that as youthful optimism.

Maybe she thinks her magic can protect her too.

RebelVampire

it could be youthful optimism. could just be her personality too. she's a bit spunky. i mean she did recently sneak into balor's cell and is like "yeah w/e its cool im cool were all cool."

mathtans

Hah. That's true. It makes her a pretty good counterpoint to Balor, might explain why Balor's happier around her.

Maybe that's also the source of the initial fascination, to some extent.

RebelVampire

probably. tho to a degree im sure its balor just clinging to something to keep sane. cause balor's life is pretty depressing.

mathtans

Truth.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. The comic focuses quite a bit on the developing relationship between Cethlenn and Balor. However, the themes of war and its effects are always looming in the background. What do you think the ultimate fate of the two will be? Will they be able to stay together or will they eventually be found out and torn apart in the spirit of their war torn lands?

mathtans

Yeah, I don't see it ending well. One or both dying. Just... it's war, and I get this tragic vibe.

Romeo and Juliet (or Juliet and Juliet, I dunno).

RebelVampire

yeah that last one. although they may at least die together. maybe theyll start there own rebellion faction. and try to end the war by going to war

cause logic

mathtans

Hm. I wonder, maybe Ceth dies, and Balor somehow turns her vibe on the Fomor in grief, and then realizes what she's done, and suicide? ... I like the dying together better. o.o

I wonder how long it'll take though. Like, will there be a time skip? They're both awful young here.

RebelVampire

idk. although honestly, im not even sure what the time passage is. its really vague and kind of bothers me. cause it effects a bit how sorry i feel for balor. like has balor been doing evil eye stuff for a few months or a few years? that makes a really huge difference

mathtans

That's true. How do Fomor even age? Was it implied anywhere?

At the same time, I kind of get the idea that when you're effectively in a prison, time becomes rather meaningless.

Oh, one thing I wanted to mention, the language thing with Ceth's real name versus what Balor called her, I thought that was clever and fun too.

RebelVampire

oh thats a really good point. i never considered that the time was intentionally vague because such is the way of prison. thats a very interesting interpretation.

i thought that was a cute scene. especially cethlenn trying to teach balor how to say her name right.

mathtans

Sometimes I'm interesting. It also means we don't really know how long they were playing together in the pool versus being stuck alone. Time expands and contracts depending on mood.

Heh, right. Maybe that should've been my fave scene. (I guess I like the more comedic stuff.)

Maybe the fact that there's drawings on the walls can act as an indication.

RebelVampire

thats true cause balor was putting up a count which im gonna assume was days.

mathtans

Was there a count along with other things? How can you measure a day though, if you can't see any sun? Maybe it was times he got pulled out.

RebelVampire

i think theres a hole in balor's prison tho so im gonna assume balor could see the passage. but to be fair the count couldve been something else. and idk if balor kept up with it.

since i didnt really mention it, i think my fave scene was actually the flashback scene of balor with the older fomor. cause i think it was just a very warm scene that showed the fomor arent always these war torn fighters and i think it gave a really good perspective on the war.

mathtans

I think the light through the hole is only when people are looking for him. But yeah, hard to say.

That's a good point. Important to have, particularly as a counterpoint to the human stuff later.

RebelVampire

yeah although id like to see more of the humans

cause mostly weve just seen them be prisoners or become fried chicken

mathtans

I guess I'm a bit torn on that topic. It'd be good, but at the same time, the more that gets shown the less the imagination can play around.

Just loaded the site again and noticed the chapters are denoted with little "chalk markings", that's a neat touch.

Reminds me of one other praise, the way expressions are done, in terms of the artwork.

RebelVampire

i like the artsy style of the comic in general. now while admittedly its not a style i would go for for personal entertainment persay, i think it works for what the comic is trying to go for. i think overall the art really expresses and hits the mark for every tone and mood it wants to emphasis and show

mathtans

Agreed. Impressive shading. Even the font choice has a Celtic feel to it somehow. Maybe that's just me.

(I think it's the E's.)

RebelVampire

nah i did get that impression too. that there was a celtic feel to the font.

RebelVampire

Unfortunately, the scheduled Comic Tea Party is now complete~! Thank you everyone so much for joining this week’s chat~! That being said, if you would like to continue discussing the comic, we encourage you to do so~! We want to give a big thank you to aislinn e, as well, for volunteering There Was a War for our reading queue. If you liked the comic, please be sure to support aislinn e’s efforts. If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions about CTP, please feel free to PM me, or e-mail me at rebelvampire@startfaire.com.

With that said, next week’s Comic Tea Party will focus on Aether Eternius by Novasiri. Please use this week to read as much of the comic as you would like. Hope to see you next Thursday (July 27th) from 5PM to 7PM PDT~! Until then~! @Novasiri Comic: https://tapas.io/series/Aether-Eternius(edited)