Customer Reviews

Height of Callousness

5 star:		(74)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is their masterpiece, considering the other 2 CD's they've put out. I first came about Spineshank when I heard their song for a cartoon at www.newgrounds.com. And, I fell in love with that song, so I sought out their CD, and have been a fan from then on. I bought the other two CD's but god almighy, they just don't have what this CD does. This CD has vocals mixed into the heavy base, the music...it makes a eauphoria, and it sounds just amazing and I love listening to it. Call it escapism or whatever, it still sounds good, and i listen to it over and over, always getting that feeling, and I swear, it's hard to put to words, but this CD is just a work of art. Anyways, on to musical reviews.

Asthmatic (10/10)- Great opener with the guitar and bass mix brings that same escapism feeling ^_^. When Johnny sings his verse, the guitar is toned downa bit but his voice really brings the jagged feeling. Then they move onto the chorus, "I never wanted your help..." Let me tell ya, the last time they sing this chorus, the mix of the guitar and bass is just BEAUTIFUL!!! Awesome opener!

H.O.C (10/10)- This song really just makes your head bang and makes you just bang ur head to every beat. Again, that esvapism. Johhny's voice is just crazy mad and awesome. When they do that "take my ....conciousness from me" they have a sound that just further increases the euphoria and makes this song just awesome

Can't be Fixed (9/10)- I love the beggining where they make the guitar do that "vhwam" sound. I think that soudns good. The only thing I didn't like so much is it seemed like their second song, H.O.C., just watered down. You get that sae euphoria feeling, but it's toned down, and after listening to H.O.C., you just hate the tone-down, but it's still an amazing song ^_^

Cyanide 2600 (11/10)- I LOVE THE SOUND OF THE CHORUS! The song gives you a sense that this guy is just gonan scream his head off and just lose it, AND HE DOES IN THE CHORUS ^_^ The sound of the guitar ( or whatever it is inthe chorus) just sounds great, and his rantish screaming during it makes that euphoria just...hell it's good.

Synthetic (9/10)- Same complaint like that of Cant be fixed. It's toned down, and after hearing 2600, you just don't want that to happen. But still, awesome. More vocal, doesn't have that " "F" YOU AND YOUR DISEASE!!!!!" thing which I think is actually good. It's a good track still, you just WISH it gae that euphoria you find in 2600. I still like it though

Malnourished (10/10)- The beggining is ok, but it doesn't seem their style, it's ok. Awesome with the vocals, and they include more of their "industrial metal" and in the last part of it, the backup singer has some voice thig which is supposed to make it sound wierd, or whatever, it really makes the ending a good one. Overall good song. They take advantage of guitar equipment

Play God ( 10/10)- THE best mosh pit song. Gets you riled up with the chorus, and the guitar makes you want to bang your head and it gets you int hat euphoria. Its amazing ^^

New Disease (10/10)- hehe, their theme ""F" ur disease finally wormed its way into their song title =D. As for the song, you more than likely heard it before, and it's the one that led me to them in the first place. It's an awesome song reffering to the sound rather than the singing. It gives out that heavy euphoria, its great, listen to it ^^

Seamtess (10/10)- This song brings that euphoria NICELY. An awesome beggining. It is like, the ultimate "kill your mother" kind of songs.

Negative Space (10/10) Kind of lighter, but stil good. The chorus gives you escapism, its awesome

Transparent (9/10) not much to say. Its not the best closure in the world, but it's still a good song

Ok, BUT THIS CD, i swaer it's one of the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How could anybody compare this to Revolver by The Beatles. I listened to one song and my brain ran away. I survived the 60's and 70's and listened to Pink Floyd, Van de Graf Generator and so many more you probably never heard of. By far there worse was better than this.

This CD is great, its heavy, its everything you could want. Jonny Santos is a great singer, and can do the growling/screaming thing great as well. The lyrics are pretty good, nothing too deep or out of this world, but not boring surface crap. I strongly recommend this CD, and Strictly Diesel and Self Destructive Pattern as well. Tracks:

Asthmatic: 6/5
The Height Of Calloussness: 4/5
Synthetic: 5/5
New Disease: 5/5
(Cant Be) Fixed: 4.5/5
Cyanide 2600: 3/5
Play God: 4/5
Malnutrition: 4/5
Seamless: 5/5
Negative Space: 4/5
Transparent: 5/5

Bottom Line: You want this album

height of callousness is a great album from spineshank, lyrically as well as the beats, riffs, and vocals.
too bad jonny santos left. all three abums are awesome. they seem to progress with each album they put out.
Synthetic, new disease, and transparent are the best songs on the album.

I first heard Spineshank's "Self-Destructive Pattern", which got me hooked on this band and I immediately picked up their previous and second album, "The Height of Callousness." This album has less melody and more aggression but it is equally as good, if not better than "Self-Destructive Pattern." My favorite tracks have to be "Asthmatic", "Synthetic", "New Disease", "(Can't Be) Fixed" "Play God", "Seamless", and "Transparent." I like how this band has progressed from each CD as they change a bit in a new direction, which seems to be an improvement for the band. Unfortunately Jonny Santos has left the band, which came as a real surprise, but I think the other band members are confident that they can continue in a new musical direction that stays true to their sound and is something the fans will still appreciate.

While they definalty sound like a few other bands out there (static-x comes to mind) they still managed to make a prtty awsome album here. Great for relieving some anger. And if any evanscence fans happen to read this (which i doubt it) THIS IS WHAT HARDCORE MUSIC IS!!YEAHHHHH!

I'm not one for nu-metal,I wouldn't wipe my a55 with bans like korn,limp bizkit,disturbed,or any of that mainstream,poser sh*t.
I like the more heavy in your face sh*t like Slipknot,Skinlab,
Killswitch Engage,Pantera,In Flames,old Sepultura,Machine Head,
Chimaira,Hatebreed,Slayer,and Superjoint Ritual.But I can't get
enough of this cd it kicks a55.The brutality and speed of Ashmatic is reminiscent of Slipknots (sic) and the breakdowns in
just about all of the songs are great to.standouts ae Asthmatic,
Synthetic,Malnutrition,Playing God,and New Disease.

SPINESHANK...are easyly my favorite band its a kinda of metal that hits u in tha face and knocks u down 4 me be 4 this it was rap and rap metal i got into this was life changeing awesome dark industrial beats followed by an assult of smashing gutaris and heavy screaming vocals tha lead singer is one of tha best vocalists of all time tha stand out tracks are...NEW DIEASE,SYNTHETIC,SEAMSLESS,ASTHMATIC.....tha list goes on from start 2 end one of tha best albums of all time any heavy metal fan will love it an assult on ur senses check it out fo sho

spineshank are god!!!!!!

Spineshank is, as almost everyone says, psycho-fast metal with industrial touches. They are a band with a lot of potential, but have yet to release their masterpiece. Their lyrics are nothing special, following the same "I must find myself before I pass out of existence, you're just a disease and a waste of time" pattern that such bands as Chimaira and Taproot follow.
Spineshank has grown noticably more heavy and angry since their debut, Strictly Diesel. The result is a short, angry and fun follow-up that is quite good but lacks the depth Strictly Diesel had. These songs are all well written, but you're likely to get bored with them fairly quickly, and they're all done in the pretty much the same style. Here's what I think-

1) Asthmatic (9/10) Good opener with a singing chorus and screaming verses (many of them are this way). I like it, and the end is awesome.

2) The Height of Callousness (10/10) Tons and tons of cuss words and awesome industrial effects. Even angrier than Asthmatic.

3) Synthetic (9/10) Good single, almost all sung. This is more emo-industrial than metal, and it isn't as heavy as the rest. Great single with a chorus that gets stuck in my head for hours "Still I waste another day of my life, and it sickens me to feel this way".

4) New Disease (10/10) If you're any kind of Spineshank fan, you know that Spineshank likes to talk about diseases and how you're an f--king waste of time a lot. This is an example of this, and it's an even better single than "Synthetic" and it's one of my favorites on the album. The chorus is different than usual for the band, and it's memorable ("Nobody changed my mind, and it leads me to a new disease"). Vocals kind of sound like Marilyn Manson for part of it.

5) (Can't be) Fixed (9/10) Psycho, rocking song. Verses are not memorable, but the chorus is great. Screaming all the way through pretty much.

6) Cyanide 2600 (10/10) This is so loud that if you have a version of it in bad sound quality it just sounds like white noise. Crazy, overdubbed screaming over blasting guitar and a fast techno beat with short quieter sections. One of the tracks that convinced to buy the album, awesome. Another one about diseases and wastes of time. In fact he even says "Your disease is a f--king waste of time"! Wow, he managed to talk about both overused topics at the same time!

7) Play God (10/10) Lyrics mean something. Another song about an f--king waste of time. Really cool drums. Longer than usual for the band.

8) Malnutrition (9/10) The only song that I would say is really done in a different style from the rest . It's much more focused on FX than the others and I love the "YOU NEED ANOTHER VOICE!".

9) Seamless (11/10) No one else seems to notice how great this is. I think it's the highlight of the CD. A heavy, rocking, screaming song with a menacing mood and no pop edge. The bridge is SO AWESOME! "...but I'm not, I'm just a failure INSTEAD! INSTEAD! I'M JUST A FAILURE INSTEAD!" This convinced me I liked this band.

10) Negative Space (10/10) Most poppy song, aside from Synthetic. All sung and it's quite good. One of the best.

11) Transparent (10/10) Another mellower track. All I ever remember is the chorus. The chorus is great, though. Would be a great closer, BUT.....

THERE ARE BONUS TRACKS ON MY VERSION. IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT BONUS TRACKS, DON'T LOOK AT THIS PART

12) Perfect Ending (11/10) Not a perfect ending, but very good. The bonus tracks are somewhat different from the normal songs. Great singing at the end.

13) Full Circle (10/10) Love it. Great closer (though it really isn't, there's remixes)

14+15) Remixes of Asthmatic and THOC. Pretty good, but just remixes.

I highly recommend this and their debut, Strictly Diesel. Also check out Nothingface, Mushroomhead, Five Pointe O, American Head Charge, Chimaira and Lo-Pro. I could name other bands, but you probably already know about them if you're reading a Spineshank review.

I don't think you can quite label this as anything that is getting a bad rap these days. Pinning nu-metal on them is like pinning it on tool, and no one is out to do that. Spineshank is one of the most furious bands I listen to, and not in the volume of the guitars, or the harshness of the screams. When you can hear lead singer Johnny Santos over the levels and levels of distortion (which, mind you, work perfectly) this album packs quite a punch. Melding some techno and industrial into their jaded anthems of ferocity, Spineshank brings more to the pallette than people give them credit for. They don't pawn on rap-metal, but don't take the Slipknot way out either. The album really is skull bashing though. The lead off track "Asthmatic" thunders along screaming verses to the isolated chorus. Even the heaviest bits of the song are extremely catchy, and you too will be angry about whatever Mr. Santos is venting about. They use so much energy to rip out tracks like "The Height of Callousness". The chorus is nowhere to be found, but plenty of crunching guitars and plenty of lyrical carnage certainly is. The most radio friendly tracks, if you could call them that, are the abrasive "Synthetic" and the layered chugging of "New Disease". Two of the best hooks on the album are found here, but the band still hammers out the guitars and turns everything but the distortion up a notch to get the message across.

Well, after a powerful intro like those four tracks, it's hard to guess where the band is going next. The chaotic thrashfest of "Cyanide 2600" takes some getting used to but ended up being one of my favorites. Overall, you have to admit that's pretty original in the way it's put together, but that takes a listen to figure out. The band finds themselves at home playing songs like "malnourished" which feature great choruses, but lost no intensity of the previous tracks. Many bitter lyrics and a heck of a lot of heavyness later the album makes a brilliant conclusion with one of my favorite tracks on the album is "transparent". A landmark in songwriting for them, as far as hooks go, the melting of thrashing metal to even yes, nu-metal like choruses give this album infinite more appeal.

Heavy music fans, listen up. Even nu-metal fans, listen up. This band rocks hard, and I don't use that term lightly. The grinding, pulsating, and even melodic set of metal leaves nothing to be desired except another album. An acheivement in distorted chaos, yes. But that's not where the talent stops. This album is at least worth a listen, you owe that to yourself.