Red Mosquito

The first half is mediocre with vocals/lyrics that are too busy. It gets decent on the second half letting the instruments shine a bit.

it's basically the same drum intro as their cover of "again today."

my worst case scenario for this song was a supersonic retread, but this is so much worse than that.

This is a case where I think Eddie's word salad works fine, since there are some fine lyrical moments in there.

I know I anticipated a much heavier song than this, both based on the limited early reports we read and the fact that the heaviest part of the song is found in the snippet we received. It's not a super ambitious song (part of its charm) which puts a ceiling on how high this one can rise for me, but the song has definitely risen in my estimation after my first listen or two as I've stopped expecting it to be either a grand and ambitious or super intense heavy number like their second tracks usually are, and as the weird, stapled together quality of the song starts to make more sense.

You guys are so weird

Just listened a few times in the car. Im still not into it. It got me thinking why Ed and his backing band insist on making stuff that sounds like this. It's not age appropriate and its lazy. Then it hit me: this is exactly the kind of song a guy who thought he needed to install a fire pole in his house would make.

hypnotonic resonance

2 more times through, still seems to be getting better for me on each listen. I really like this. Even the solo that seemed so wierd at first is seeming to fit nicely

Ms Harmless wrote:

stip wrote:this is the kind of song we have been primed to think of as a b-side, or buried on side 2. there is lyrical depth that we don’t normally get with this type of song, and the album is long enough it didnt have to be there. really curious to see how this nestles in the album

one of the stronger ‘fun’ tracks but the weakest of the number 2 tracks

I'm weirdly glad that they've moved the "fun" track away from the last third of the album, though; it nips past, instead of bringing a previously enjoyable listen to a clunking halt

This. This I find encouraging.

this is horrible

top 5 nice parts about the song superblood wolfmoon:

1. la da da
2. the breakdown after the solo
3. she was a stunner and i was stunned
4. eddie van halen jr solo
5. the atmospheric tension that builds underneath in the last 20 seconds

my complaint about the song lies in eddie's choice of register to sing in throughout the entire song. i'd love it if he made it more dynamic and gave his vocals a place to go rather than stay at the same fever pitch from start to finish. but i get the idea was to go balls to the wall.

Oddly, I kinda like this song. It's not a patch on "Dance of the Clairvoyants," unfortunately, but I do think it's one of their more interesting reaches into pop-punk territory. I just wish they would stop going there.

The riff is nothing special, and while Ed sounds better here than the last couple albums, he still decided to fill almost every moment with his vocals. Not a good choice.

It's a nonsense song, weirdly constructed, but I like that about it. The "la,la,la" part is a highlight, as is Mike's solo, which somehow feels like something new for his playing style. It's not soaring blues rock and it's not totally hair metal. I can't place my finger on it.

All the comparisons to "Johnny Guitar" are apt. The style and unusual structure are definitely in the same wheelhouse. I wish this wasn't the second single, and I really hope it's one of the weaker songs on the record. I'm not sure if it's helped me decide whether or not to actually purchase the thing. Hoping for a leak, now, to help in that regard.

doug rr wrote:this is horrible

Everyone’s a critic
Looking back up the river

am i the only one for whom the song becomes worse the more i listen to it?

Wall of guitars—check.
Classic chugging Stone riff—check.
Non-standard vocal delivery a la Johnny Guitar—check.
Out of the box McCready solo—check.
Punchy, no-frills production—check.

I don’t really put much stock into everyone’s opinions anymore, and they’re certainly not going to affect whether I like the song or not. I think the song is great and this only makes me more excited for the album and tour.

Is Ed singing: “We are each of us fucked?” Really like that bit

Superblood Wolfmoon wrote:Wall of guitars—check.
Classic chugging Stone riff—check.
Non-standard vocal delivery a la Johnny Guitar—check.
Out of the box McCready solo—check.
Punchy, no-frills production—check.

I don’t really put much stock into everyone’s opinions anymore, and they’re certainly not going to affect whether I like the song or not. I think the song is great and this only makes me more excited for the album and tour.

It’s getting better for me each time I listen to it. It’s a lot of fun.

McParadigm wrote:

doug rr wrote:this is horrible

Everyone’s a critic
Looking back up the river

What do you like most about this song, mc?

When the primary songwriter in the band tells me that he spends a night with a six-pack writing a song after his kids go to sleep instead of a week locked in a room with a case of beer like he used to, and that the first ideas are the best ones, I don't have the right to be too upset about a song feeling "rushed" anymore.

I really don't get some of the reactions here. It's like people don't realize what band they're listening to.
They simply don't have the desire to lock themselves in the studio for months at a time, thinking about nothing but the album anymore.

Chris_H_2 wrote:am i the only one for whom the song becomes worse the more i listen to it?

I doubt you are alone

I really enjoy the phrasing of "Super blood wolf man, took her away too soon"