Angels & Airwaves: I-Empire

Angels & Airwaves: I-Empire After the break up of Blink 182, Tom DeLonge claimed he was 'the greatest Rock and Roll revolution'. After a mediocre reception for their debut album We Don't Need to Whisper, Angels and Airwaves return with their sophomore effort, I-Empire. In describing the album, again DeLonge engaged in hyperbole saying "this is as exciting as rock 'n' roll gets!" Maybe instead of claiming he's making a revolution he should let others decide. Rolling Stone gave I-Empire two and a half stars and NME gave the album a 3 out of 10. The biggest probably I see with Angels and Airwaves is nothing stands out about the songs. DeLonge seems content making a wall-of-sound that muddles any melody to the music. Also, Angels and Airwaves songs go on forever. Five out of the twelve songs on the album are over 5 minutes in length with two of the being over 6 minutes. For a pop rock band that is over zealous at best. If you can get over the extrenous two and a half minute intro "True Love" has a few good minutes in it. But the extra fat around the meat of song makes it a little hard to swallow. The best cut on the album may be the opening track "Call to Arms" which has the least wall-of-guitar sound. The super reverbed vocals is a little much, but its the least of this albums problems. Overall, I think my opinion of this album maybe different if DeLonge wouldn't constantly say he's making a rock revolution. The one thing that is very clear from listening to I-Empire is that I've heard all of this before. You have to give him props for believing in what he's doing, but this is not a revolution. It's a whimper. Rating: 4.7/10 MP3: Angels and Airwaves "Call to Arms"