All's Well That Ends Well (Deluxe Edition)

the take

As soon as I heard lead singer Craig Owens' voice on "All Nereids Beware" back in like 2021 (when I first discovered this), I was shocked at how off-putting his clean vocals were to the point where I almost turned the album off immediately. Thank goodness because I went back to it to give it another chance some time later because it ended up being a good project. Fast forward to earlier this year, I gave Chiodos' "All's Well That Ends Well" a complete listen for the first time in a while. Overall, I enjoyed this more than I thought I ever would. The production on here is a perfect definition of that post-hardcore sound circa 2005, albeit a bit lower budget than other albums but still great. Honestly, it's what makes the album great for me, as Craig Owens' vocals aren't terrible on here but still kind of ear-grating at times. When it comes to the songwriting, it's not "captivating" good, but still good enough to appreciate. Because it's Chiodos' mainstream debut, it sounds as such. And while the production lowkey carried this, it still ended up being an amazing album to me.