Worship & Tribute by Glassjaw (2002-07-09)

After an influential and fantastic 2000 debut, Glassjaw's second album took everything great about the first record and amped it up even more.Still produced by nu-metal mastermind Ross Robinson, the band knew they couldn't pull the same trick twice; as such, the hazy, humid sound of the first album is gone in favour of something much more jagged and in general, much more metal. It says something for the quality of the band's music that it doesn't suffer in this new environment, but instead thrives.Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence was a collection of great songs amounting to a great album. Worship And Tribute, however, is much more of a complete piece, not just due to the segues between several songs but also because of its perfect pacing and order. Valedictory opener 'Tip Your Bartender' is gone in a flash, shifting into 'Mu Empire,' while the lighters-aloft anthem 'Must've Run All Day' collapses instantaneously into the pounding 'Stuck Pig.' The dazzling extremity of 'Two Tabs Of Mescaline' is the band's toughest moment, while 'Gillette Cavalcade Of Sports' might just be their greatest song.A masterful second album, Worship And Tribute is adequate proof why six years on a new Glassjaw album is still something worth talking about. An essential purchase for fans of post-hardcore, metal or heavy music in general.

glassjaw,the darlings of all things screamcore released a debut that smashed senses in 2000 and following a departure from roadrunner records,the band found a loving arm with warner brothers and in 2002 this album was released to a good level of acclaim.The first thing that you notice here is that there is less screaming than before but with the range in daryls vocals it isnt all a one way street,the guitars are as heavy as ever,just listen to snappy album opener 'tip your bartender' for proof.That is followed by 'mu empire' which is really proof that daryl has one of the finest voices around.The single 'cosmopolitan bloodloss' follows ,and at times you would think mike patton is singing here,well he is a big influence on the band.The remainder of the album follows in big songs with big chorus' and pulsating riffs that slay at your face without compromising on the melody that has followed,and there are ballady moments and laid back segments as well so there is more variety here than the debut.If you listen closely there are jazz moments in various songs and there is less angst in the subject matters,less confrontation and more ambiance,this scared some but many warmed to this more mature way of thinking,angry young teens they aint.If i am wearing my honesty hat then i must state that when i first heard this i was a bit alienated by the differences between this and the debut,but in the resulting years i have seen this albums strengths and realise that it had to be this way.There is no doubt that on the track 'pink roses' that their love for faith no more shines through and what a song.This album at first listen may not be as gratifying as the debut but on repeated listens you find a band that arent afraid of breaking the mould just a little,the new album cant come soon enough.

I hadn't listened to this in years, but decided to dust it off after hearing about the band's recent reformation and the imminent release of a (long-awaited) third album from the boys from Long Island. Boy, am I glad I did. Worship & Tribute is surely as sexy as screamo/post-hardcore/whatever-you-wanna-call-it-this-week gets, with its heart-attack guitar assault, and Daryl Palumbo's soaring vocals - not to mention nu-metal linchpin Ross Robinson's precision production...Palumbo's voice is arguably the biggest draw of Glassjaw's music, and here he proves himself as something of a Mike Patton-esque vocal chameleon, as he lets his chords run the gamut of emotions and styles, to dazzling effect. Tracks like 'Mu Empire' and 'Cosmopolitan Blood Loss' are shot through with giant, sing-along choruses, giving us a prior indication of the frontman's pop sensibilities he was later to explore with Head Automatica. But nothing that band recorded comes close to the feral power and quirky inventiveness of tracks like 'Stuck Pig' and 'The Gilette Cavalcade of Sports', respectively. Both are simply stunning, much like the rest of this record.This is an ambitious, accomplished and essential album and the fact that the band have reunited is cause for great excitement indeed. In the meantime, enjoy this!Matt Pucci

Following the incendiary and emotionally powerful debut album, this album is more of an emo affair, than straight hate. The first single from Worship and Tribute "Cosmopolitan Bloodloss" is absolutely stunning, a mixture of pummelling riffs and off-kilter melodies, with daryl palumbos soothing emotion provoking vocal talents.Also check out the gently lulling "ape dos mil" and the scratchy wah-wah schizophrenia of "tip your bartender".Initial import copies have an enhanced feature for alimited availability which will probably feature the video to "cosmopolitan bloodloss" which was no. 1 handpicked video at Mtv.com at this time of writing, and some live footage for a video for "ape dos mil" which is tipped to be the next single.If you liked songs from Everything you allways wanted to know about silence, like "piano", "boom" and "majour" you'll love this album, there is plenty of heaviness and some of the most amazing riffs ever. This is probably this summers most anticipated album for me.