What can I say about this album. It is a true masterpiece. From begining to end I can't stop listening to it. And no matter how many times you listen to it it doesnt get old. First song I ever heard was Capeside Rock. I'll admit I wasnt hooked right away. I didnt really like it compared to some other bands. But once i started i couldnt stop.

1. The Crown Royal vs Blue Duchess ~ Love this song. Great beat. The last minute or so is the best. Sad to see it on MTV though.

2. Cherry Kiss ~ Not one of the strongest songs on the cd. but i has good guitar in it. i like the little into.

2. Chloroform Perfume ~ Very Very melow song. good acustic and singing. and great lyrics. i love the end where it picks up and says "so ill pull in the deepest breath and drop my head"

4. Mercury Rising ~ Visual Visual Visual. every time i hear this i think of the apartment he is talking about. good little filler song.

5. Capeside Rock ~ LOVE the acustic in it. Very good use of it one of the best songs on the Cd.

6. Take Her To The Music Store ~ One of the 2 favorite songs on the CD. The sampling in the begining is great. and then when it picks up you never want it to end. all around good guitar and bass. I love it when it really picks up around 1:25. i just love that guitar in the part.

7. Switch ~ A good song. fun to listen to good way of blending the vocals and guitar. i like how it dies down the comes back at you full force.

8. Reflections ~ Everyone says the Short Stories w/ Tragic Endings is the best song. Ill admit it is. But this song is the best. i love at classical intro and the little tempo. The double bass owns. and the guitar lick after it first dies out. i cant get enough of this song it has so great lyrics and just so great to listen to. A Masterpiece.

9~ Eulogy For An Angel ~ I really dont like this but yet i do its kinda wierd. its a good song. i like it when it frist gos slow. but the death metal screams kill it.

10. Short Stories With Tragic Endings ~ Ya it is a good song. Very fast and slow. Great lyrics it keeps you on the edge of your seat. the girl singing does an awsome job especially at the very end of the song. i love it when its about to go to the slow part and the guitar is all high bends.

All in all the CD is worth your money. Dont deprive yourself of a great band and CD. Any hardcore entusist should get it

...even if you pick up "The Fiction We Live" before hand, which I did. You see, I had only heard of the band because their song "The After Dinner Payback" was featured on the Freddy Vs. Jason soundtrack, and it intrigued me (note: it has come to my attention that many hardcore From Autumn to Ashes fans do not like this song, and though I personally don't see the reason for this dislike, I think that all you aficionados should hear me out before you say to yourself "This guy sucks, he liked their newer stuff" and click the "no" button at the bottom of this review). Anyway, back to the matter at hand. I was pleased with "The Fiction We Live," but I found myself wanting more, so I went out and got this CD. As soon I put it on, I knew that it was not as "commercial" as their followup (which still kicked some major ass). "Too Bad You're Beautiful" features a more unpolished sound than this band's later stuff, but therein lay its power: it was raw, abrasive, and utterly headbangable. I, being foolish at the time of my purchasing the album, saw this as a fault, and I quickly discarded the disc, opting to continue playing "The Fiction We Live" until it had lost all of its flavor (fortunately, it has regained some since I started listening to both). But that got a little boring after a while, and when I saw that they were re-releasing "Too Bad You're Beautiful" along with four extra demo songs, I sprang at the occasion to get my hands on some "new material" from the band. This time around, I was much more desensitized to the heavier aspect of music in this genre, and I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard on this disc. While it may not be as clean cut as "The Fiction We Live," it is still one of the best metal (I don't know the proper sub-genre to categorize this under, as there are nearly one thousand that I know of) CDs I've ever heard. The opening song "Blue Duchess Vs. the Royal Crown" is classic From Autumn to Ashes, featuring a great tradeoff of heaviness and melody (although the former is most prevalent on this CD). "Cherry Kiss" is one of my favorite songs off of the album, and it is also one of the catchiest. "Chloroform Perfume" is sung entirely by drummer / vocalist Francis Mark, and is the most melodic piece on the CD, featuring tragic lyrics sung over an eerily tranquil melody. Though some find it "obtrusive," I think it's a welcome change of pace from the previous two songs. Next up is "Mercury Rising," an all-too-brief interlude featuring a haunting line of prose spoken by Francis, backed by an unintelligible but effective melody sung by him as well. This song leads perfectly in to "Capeside Rock," which is one of the heaviest tracks on the entire CD, and one of the most popular. Up sixth is "Take Her to the Music Store," a sad and pretty violent song about, well, you just have to listen to it yourself. Next we have "The Switch," which is probably my least favorite song on the CD, if only because I don't think it's that memorable. Any damage caused by "The Switch" is made up for and then some by "Reflections," though, a song featuring a beautiful melodic introduction in which the drums get some time in the spotlight. This peaceful intro is quickly turned into a very heavy song, and one of my personal favorites on the CD. "Eulogy For an Angel," is another good, albeit short song, and has one of the catchiest riffs of all the songs here. "Short Stories With Tragic Endings," is an epic, nine-minute-plus song on which female singer Melanie Wills lends her beautiful voice to the mix (she later gets an entire song on "The Fiction We Live"), creating what is possibly the most powerful song ever written by the band. The bonus songs from the "Sin, Sorrow, and Sadness" EP are decent, but aren't nearly as good as the rest of this CD. "A Reflection of Anguish on a Face So Inocent," is a shortened rehash of the aforementioned "Reflections," and is overall a weaker version. "Trapped Inside the Cage of My Soul," is pretty good, but it isn't very memorable. "A Lie Will Always Defeat the Truth" is probably the best of the bonus tracks, and it flows seamlessly with "IV," a sedate instrumental song that, despite having its namesake ruined by becoming track fourteen, is a soothing and awesome closer to this album. Overall, this CD is not extremely memorable at first and it takes awhile to grow on you (especially if you picked up their later stuff prior to this), but once it does you'll find out that it was definitely worth the wait.

Ohk, ive already reviewed this cd once, but i got on here and read what the guy below me wrote and almost barfed! Do not take his advice! This album is an extreeeemely great buy, its one of the best cds ever... by far. The last song is not cheesy, and the female lyrics are not a gimmick. All the songs are very emotional and arent weak at all. If u dont like this cd u may need to go to the doctor and get diagnosed with I-dont-know-good-music-itis.

The guitars on here are splendid and outstanding, maybe our little fella b4 me doesnt understand a guitar or somethin, but they rule. Ive seen these guys live and they rock sooo much. The screams do not take away from the music, and yeah its loud... but isnt that the whole point of it bein a hardcore band? If ur poor little ears cant handle it, dont review this cd, leave it to the fans. My faves are "The Royal Crown Vs The Blue Duchess", "Cherry Kiss", and "Reflections".... but then again i love every single song.

This really is a fantastic album. I dont need to say very much. If you want some truly diverse metal with great raw vocals, a la 'Poison the Well', superb drumming and huge riffs,then you will not be dissapointed.

Not only is this record as heavy as a led plated house-brick in some places, it has the ability to be as delicate as your grandmothers tea set in others. Sweeping vocals with great harmonies, this record is almost daunting to listen to at first. Your ears dont know where to go, what to expect next, but before long, you wont be able to put this album down.

To me, this album is almost ochestral, such fantastic instrumentals and vocals, it is a deep and involving listen that should not be ignored.

This band makes me Proud to be from Long Island. A few of the members lived/live in my hometown too. :-)

I'm going to see this band 8-4-04 at the Downtown in Farmingdale, Ny, and they are simply...going to rock that sh*t