Search - James Labrie :: Mullmuzzler 2

LaBrie + Guillory = Dynamite duo.

Lord Chimp | Monkey World | 11/16/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'd like to agree with the review of Sven Schreiber, which praises Matt Guillory's contribution to this album. Indeed, keyboardist Guillory proves to be a very capable songwriter, whether he's helping LaBrie tackle heart-warming ballads or familiar progressive metal territory. What's most important is that the LaBrie/Guillory writing team seems to have developed a strong chemistry, and one has to wonder why anyone bothered with Trent Gardner's input, or that of the Shadow Gallery folks. Now, LaBrie and Guillory _are_ MullMuzzler. And they are a very strong, standalone band, not just the side project of Dream Theater's singer.Each Labrie/Guillory song is a highlight, and since that's seven of the ten tracks here, you can't go wrong. I don't mean to wail the first three songs - they're still good. Although the vocal melodies of "Afterlife" are at first awkward, the song grew on me big time with every listen. "Venice Burning" and "Confronting the Devil" are also good, heavy numbers, but they lack the special melodic quality and irreproachable arrangements of the LaBrie/Guillory songs.The best song is definitely "Stranger," with its odd, heavy rhythms, sparkling acoustic verses, and powerfully melodic, soaring chorus. LaBrie is at his vocal best here. "A Simple Man" is a snarling hard rock number that still crams in gripping melodies. The three ballads, "Listening," "Fallin,'" and "Believe" are much less saccharine than the ones one the first MullMuzzler. All three are musically beautiful, elegantly performed, and passionately sung. Closing the album is the eccentric "Tell Me." Battering drums, throbbing bass lines, and aggressive guitars intensify the power of the arrangement, but never compromise the fine melodic sense. On the production front, James LaBrie has a good ear for his work, and the mix is heavy and visceral, but always with plenty of range and breathing room.It's actually quite surprising how good this album is. Not because I expected it to be bad, but the leap in quality over MullMuzzler's first disc is just _huge_. Again, we can credit LaBrie's own growth as a musician, and the help he gets from the gifted Matt Guillory. MullMuzzler 2 is one of 2001's best progressive/metal releases, so don't pass it up."

Very solid second album by LaBrie...

L. Renaud | Houston, TX USA | 02/13/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is indeed a very solid second album by LaBrie. It follows closely the track laid down by its predecessor, Keep It To Yourself.
LaBrie has managed to assemble a very talented group of musicians on this album. Every instrument is well performed and the band sounds very coherent and consistent, almost seasoned. Songwriting is fabulous as well, with pieces ranging from soft ballads to progressive metal storms. In general, the album shows clear Dream Theater influences but tends to have a lighter and more melodic sound.
The true highlight of this album though, is James LaBrie's soaring performance. Never before has his voice sounded so powerful and so emotional. The fact that the music seems to have been specially written to support his voice rather than dampen it certainly helps, but there is no doubt that this is one of his best efforts.
Mullmuzzler 2 however, seems to be a little harder to appreciate than Keep It To Yourself. I was not particularly impressed with it the first time I listened to it. But as with most good progressive albums, it becomes a treasure once you manage to understand its beauty."

Can Mullmuzzler Stand The Test of Time?

evilromero | Oklahoma City, OK | 09/13/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Simply Stunning" is how I would sum up this new experience by Dream Theater frontman James LaBrie. This album picks up directly where the last took off but now we can see several improvements and refreshing ideas. For one the songs are significantly more melodic than the previous album and are a bit more expressive this time with slow groovin' chorus lines. Features include:-Better produced material and well balanced
-Extremely powerful and moving
-Each song stands on its own and is equally impressive
-"Venice Burning" is an ode to the great "Metropolis Pt. 1"
-"Tell Me" has to be the greatest last song on a non-DT album ever.
-Songs are a refreshing listen when compared to other mainstream and prog bands.One thig you'll notice is the opening song isn't as "in-your-face" explosive as "His Voice" but it is quite a bit deeper and meaningful than the previous album opener. As always the chorus's are just breathtaking as well as the superbly tight band that makes up Mullmuzzler. If you haven't purchased a Mullmuzzler album yet you should start with "2" as it is their most professional and produced album yet. The only thing I could think of to complain about is there isn't enough material on this disc as the total length comes to 52 minutes, which isn't close to the full capacity of a standard CD. It doesn't detract that much seeing as how brilliant each song is. M2 scores big and may very well be the definitive heavy rock band in the future."