September 19, 2004 - Showbread and No Sir, Nihilism Is Not Practical

Almost three weeks after my last release a new band joins my library when Showbread released their fourth album "No Sir, Nihilism Is Not Practical" on September 19, 2004. But who is Showbread? They are a 7-piece Christian metalcore band from Guyton, Georgia consisting of Marvin Reilly (drums), Patrick Porter (bass), Ivory Mobley (lead vocals), Mike Jensen and Matt Davis (guitars), John Giddens (keyboards) and Josh Dies (vocals, guitar, synthesizer). I'm not a huge Showbread fan (this is my only album of theirs in my library), but this major label debut showcases the unique style of metalcore these guys play with lots of unexpected twists and turns amongst the heaviness. Let's check it out!

The album begins with "A Llama Eats A Giraffe (And Vice-Versa)" and it opens with a phone ringing, a rushed little conversation, then they kick heavily into the main riff with loud guitars, bass and drums all thundering in and Mobley screaming his head off in a very high pitch. Mobley's vocal attack may put off some listeners, but I love how visceral all of his lyrics are and he sounds super heavy all the time! Dies adds some blander singing vocals to the mix as well but Mobley is the driving force with his high screams. Giddens adds some cool keyboards to the mix in the second round and there's a lot going on here, but it's all pretty solid! A very interesting song and a nice idea of what Showbread is all about! Up next is "Dead By Dawn" and it's got a cool distorted bass riff to start followed by a catchy lead guitar riff overtop. Dies sings the verse in an almost-talking tone which isn't my favourite, but Mobley provides some nice screaming backing vocals. Mobley screams the name of the song in the chorus and he sounds pretty good, but it's also just that line eight times so could've been better. This song has the same strange vibe as the opener and these guys just exude this weird aura mixed with some pretty solid metalcore. Track 3 is "Mouth Like A Magazine" and it's got a catchy drum beat, a slow but smooth and catchy guitar riff and some more interesting keyboards by Giddens that combine for a pretty catchy, slow yet slightly groovy main riff. Dies and Mobley do a fantastic job together on this song: they take turns, sing and scream together, play off each other and everything sounds chaotic, yet it's overtop this groovy and catchy main riff and it's a really interesting and cool mix. Dies and Mobley sync up for a dual singing-screaming chorus and Giddens crazy keyboards sound really cool everywhere! There's a pretty sweet slow breakdown that gets your head banging as well and this is definitely an early favourite for me! Really cool song! The next track is "If You Like Me Check Yes, If You Don't I'll Die" and it starts with just drums, a light rhythm guitar riff and the two vocalists as Dies and Mobley are both alternating screaming, and it all sounds barking good to me! Eventually the rest of the band joins in to complete another unique and interesting main riff and they jam out a couple nice rounds of this, then shift gears completely to a melodic new riff. There's some cool bass and some atypical but decent guitars, then Dies sings a verse overtop that's a little too emo for me. They end things as they began though with some more awesome dual screaming! Track 5 is just over a minute and it's a psychedelic little interlude called "Sampsa Meets Kafka". It's got some pretty trippy keyboards and other noises, then a club-style beat comes in and Dies screams overtop in a super distorted and trippy voice. It's a pretty strange little interlude! Up next is "So Selfish It's Funny" and it's got a fairly simple, almost joke vibe to this main riff which has some more eerie and crazy keyboard noises by Giddens. Dies and Mobley combine singing and screaming for the verse and there's some solid bass in the background. Of course I like the screaming parts of the verse better but everything is surprisingly catchy and smooth for these erratic weirdos. Dies sings a kind of sappy part which isn't my favourite and this leads to a pretty pop-y new riff that at least has some nice background screaming by Mobley. Very unique and interesting once again! Track 7 is "The Missing Wife" and it is very atypical even for these guys with the only instrument opening the song being a slow mandolin riff! It's not bad, just very out of place and Dies sings very softly to match this very light mood. This song is also nearly five minutes long, and it's just soft vocals and mandolin almost the whole time Definitely my least favourite song on the album, sorry guys! The ending is pretty psychedelic and trippy The next track is "Welcome To Plainfield Tobe Hooper" and we're back to standard Showbread with some cool and crazy sounding keyboards starting us off, setting the stage nicely for the rest of the band to support this upbeat and pretty cool main riff. There's some pretty sweet guitar on this song, including a nice solo towards the end! The singing and screaming combines nicely, with the screaming sounding particularly great and this whole song is just really well done! Track 9 is "And The Smokers And Children Shall Be Cast Down" and Giddens leads the way with some loud, computer-y keyboards while Dies sings a soft verse. This lasts for about a minute, then they nicely slam into a heavy new riff with Mobley adding some more.great high screams. The pace then picks up a good amount as Dies and Mobley combine singing and screaming pretty nicely. Of course, I think the screaming is the highlight; Mobley's high screams are piercing! After a couple minutes they slow things down and return to a quieter, keyboard-driven part and they continue to alternate nicely between slow and soft, and fast and heavy. The song ends with the sound of sirens, helicopters, gunfire and finally a big explosion to finish it off. Up next is "Stabbing Art To Death" and they kick right into a fast and solid main guitar riff and Mobley is screaming nicely with Dies adding his more toned-down singing vocals. The first couple minutes of this near seven minute track are pretty cool, then they shift into a super lame, very Christian verse of just repeated "you inspire me to sing to you". What a lame break! After this they slam nicely back into the main riff, but it's not long until we're at a new chorus that has some great screaming by Mobley, but also some more lame singing by Dies. This song is certainly a mixed bag and is probably a bit too long. Track 11 is "The Dissonance Of Discontent" and they fire right into another fast-paced and cool main riff with Mobley screaming his head off and this is the Showbread that I can get behind, furiously headbanging along! There's some pretty wicked bass in the background throughout this song as well, making this one of my favourites for sure! Dies singing is used more sparingly and to better effect as well while Mobley screams most of the song, it's a perfect recipe for me! The ending is rather soft as we hear some rain and synths, but it can't take away from the rest of it! The next track is "Matthias Replaces Judas" and it begins very lightly with a simple drumbeat, slow acoustic guitars and some pretty sappy singing by Dies. It's like the antithesis of the last song! It's definitely my least favourite song on the album, it's over five minutes and not heavy at all! Dies actually does some of his best singing, but it's just all so fluffy! The final song on the album is "The Bell Jar" and we're back to a more typical main riff with some cool guitars and a faster pace. The vocals are done really well with Mobley screaming for the most part but Dies coming in with lots of solid singing vocals as well. It's a barrage of heavy goodness! After a couple minutes of that they shift gears smoothly to a slower, trippier new riff with some cool keyboards and bass. Mobley then comes in screaming overtop this riff and things sound pretty awesome! The song fades our very psychedelically in a suuuuuper slooooow-mooooooo way that is pretty cool as well. A nice way to wrap things up!

That is the end of "No Sir, Nihilism Is Not Practical" and I thought overall it was a good album but it certainly had it's highs and it's lows. Most of it was pretty cool and decently heavy, but the low points are pretty low and I'm not a huge fan of the singer, just the screamer. That is why this is my only full album by Showbread in my library, but they will turn up again!