It Was There That We Heard Them: Ten Years of 'Source Tags and Codes'
In many ways, this sense of surprise and unexpectedness that permeates the whole of ST&C is a large part of what makes the album so gripping. It is a work that grabs you by the neck, whole-heartedly screams at your face, and tosses you to the wayside for 45 glorious, skull-pounding minutes, whether you’re ready for it or not. It’s absolutely huge, such as on the breathtaking “Relative Ways”, with (mostly) lead vocalist and guitarist Conrad Keely throatily howling “It’s okay / I’m a saint / I forgave / Your mistakes” at the top of his lungs, just to be somewhat heard over the growing tidal wave of thrashing, soaring guitars and drummer Jason Reece’s tireless cymbal bashing. Opener “It Was There That I Saw You” is an effective sonic rollercoaster, reaching to the heavens with warp speed guitars before dropping to melodic, somber lows, only to build up the anticipation for each successive lift off again. The words “epic” and “anthemic” are often thought of today as banal descriptors for an apparently endless number of “big sounding” groups, but if there’s ever an album that lives up to this description without chafing, it’s this one.