Holy Grail - Astoria
ASDFGHJKLASDFGHJKLASDFGHJKL!!! (INSERT SCREAMING AND SQUEALING AND FLAILING AND FANGIRLING AND JUST OMGGGGGGGGG!!!!)
I could insert about a thousand more gifs but it still would not fully get my point across. Anyone of you readers who are a fangirl probably understand to some degree. But you don't fully get it.
Marianas Trench is one of my favourite bands ever. Josh Ramsay is one of the men that brought me and my One Love/best friend together. (Pete Wentz, Brendon Urie and Gerard Way, I thank you as well. But this is not your moment.)
Fix Me is amazing. Masterpiece Theatre got me through my year of working a night shift at a fast food restaurant. (I am still not sorry for playing it during clean up every day. Shout out to the Steincrack Day Timmie Hoes!) Ever After has been in my car since its release date. I have shouted at people for trying to take it out (sorry Lissa!)
It has been 4 long years but my next fix is here!
One Love was released a little over a month ago. I have played in on repeat incessantly (probably to the great annoyance of everyone who has had to be anywhere near me.) This song is amazing. Josh's voice is so strong and amazing. The lyrics hit me in my soul. The pain and emotion behind this song hit me right in the feels. It has given me so much hope and excitement for the rest of the album.
Wildfire was also released early when the album became available for pre-order. This song makes me feel some sort of way. My immediate reaction was that I need to choreograph something with my Lover Dearest immediately. The lyrics hit me right in the soul the way One Love did. And some of the lyrics were a little too true for me right now. I, again, played it on repeat.
Anyway, the album is now out. And this will be a fangirl review. So it will basically be not any help as a review at all. It's more of a way for me to let some of my excitement out.
The opening lyrics are 'Astoria, I'm warning ya. Not ready yet. Not for ya.' And that tells you everything you need to know.
This album is a rollercoaster of feels. I was live texting Porcelain through the whole thing and it was intense. Just to give you an idea...
Can I survive you, Astoria? Yes. But just barely.
Okay I am going to try to pull myself together and do a quick overview of the album.
The opening track is called Astoria. It is is what you would expect format wise from the opening track but it is nothing that you could prepare yourself for.
Burning Up and Yesterday bring the mood back up and are very fun and I've been dancing around to them. Then One Love comes up to hit you right in the feels. August Burns Red is instrumental, giving you a little bit of breather to gather your thoughts.
This Means War is so much fun. It's probably one of my favourites. Hospital Bells is another instrumental that prepares you for Dearly Departed. This song has a different feel than the rest of the album, at least to me. There is one set of lyrics that will be my wedding vows. They completely caught me off guard. (There is screen shot above that shares my reaction.) And then Hollywood Renaissance is another instrumental.Shut Up And Kiss Me
lightens the mood and eases up on the feels a little bit. I have been dancing around to this song because you just can't help it. It's fun but the lyrics still hit home. Who Do You Love is the perfect follow up. It's a little more intense but still fairly light compared to some of the other songs on this album. Never Say Die is another instrumental reprieve that leads into Wildfire, another of my favourites.
While We're Young makes me feel some sort of way. It makes my soul hurt. That is followed up by Forget Me Not, which continues to squeeze my soul. I just want to hug Josh until everything is okay again.
Straight On Til Morning is the final instrumental break before the End Of An Era. You know how you had an idea of what to expect with Astoria, but were not prepared? That is what End Of An Era is. It ties the entire album together while taking you on a final rollercoaster of feels. It brings up old emotions and reworks them into new ones.
Verdict: Really? It's amazing. If you haven't been able to gather that from my long fangirling rant, let me be very clear. This album is my everything. Listen to it and support my favourite band.