I was going to write about my top media of 2025, yeah, but I think with new years day being such a bust, my general eagerness to move on, and the fact I really already talk about my interests in excess, proves that endeavor unnecessary, to me.
Ironically enough, this post is about a record that basically anyone that knew me (3-4 years ago) knows.
It's no question I tend to latch onto music, at this point it's a way of organizing time periods for me. Glassjaw defined my late teens, undeniably. I listened to this album every. single. day. My Spotify wrapped one year only included tracks off the record as my top songs. It was and still is one of the only things I actually sing along to (maybe not now, but we will get into that). I got an obnoxiously bad tattoo of it at 18 (or 19? Maybe right when I turned 19, I don't know). I have a hefty amount of their merchandise. I even got lucky enough to catch them on their 2022 album anniversary tour, which still remains one of my favorite concerts ever. You could put a gun to my head, tell me to recite the whole album, and I would leave a living man. They're something special, man.
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know Silence - Glassjaw's 2000 Debut... And honestly? It remains, at least to me, one of the best post-hardcore/metalcore (whatever) albums ever. It's intense, it's cathartic, it's melodic, and almost every track is an ear-worm. It's so precisely done, it's truly a mesh of everything I could ever want musically. The production is done by none other than Ross Robinson, known for picking up Nu-Metal bands like Limp Bizkit and Korn, and even producing an album that is more fitting here; At the Drive in's "Relationship of Command". He got the record put out through Roadrunner Records, which ended up a sort of dispute, leading them to encourage fans to pirate the album through sites like Limewire. Despite the label issues, it was a strong, solid debut, changing the game for the post-hardcore genre. Bands like Finch, Bring Me the Horizon, and Every time I die cite the record as a major influence.
It's legacy lives on today, I have noticed in the past few years an increase in Glassjaw fans around my age. When I had seen them, I think I was the youngest there, with the exception of show goers children that got dragged along. I believe this just came along with the post-screamo trend Metalcore resurgence, that has since fizzled out, with people moving onto other things. That's aside the point, though. A lot of newer bands seem to attempt to take on the sound and vibe curated in the album, but nobody can ever do anything like it. I mean that.
And even after all of this recognition I have to give to this album, I also must condemn it, as well. Part of me feels it is unnecessary, as the band has already denounced it fully. It is disgustingly misogynistic and juvenile, and I feel that perhaps it affected me in a way, but I can also say the complete opposite.
Riddled with the word "whore" so many times that you could make it a drinking game (sadly he did not even say it at the anniversary tour... yes sadly...) the album is a hate-fueled breakup record by a 21 year old man in the early 2000s, do with that what you will. That time period allowed for misogyny of all forms, whether it's blatant objectification or behavior from men that we now refer to as "incels". It wasn't necessarily condemned at the time, and men didn't have to veil themselves in womanly-praise to hide their true intent... I kind of side-eye any man that really likes this album, honestly. I writhe in my hypocrisy, because in a way, you could see this album in a myriad of ways. Maybe a coming of age record! A gym record! Or simply, something you just like the sound of. Because it sounds damn good.
Side note- I really wanted this post to focus on my denouncement of the misogyny of the album, but while listening to it, I felt like a gross hypocrite. It's too fucking good.
While it shouldn't be praised, I feel the lyrics are written in a Deftones-esque way, which at the time of my obsession was another band I (still) loved. Maybe it's the cadence of vocalist Daryl Palumbo's Patton-esque vocals that make it sound more sexually-tinged than it should, or maybe I'm the only sick freak that thinks that. The last track, "Motel of The White Locust", has lyrics "Get up off your knees and make me your god"... aside from all the semi-disturbing lyrics about frustration and violence toward women, but uhh, I'll leave it at that.
Aside from the focus on his over-dramatic breakup, it is also regarding his at the time newly diagnosed Crohn's disease. The title track focuses on this, repeating he is the "matador of the children's ward", as an eldest patient of the children's hospital, and a reference to the red sheets matadors fight with. Truly poetic, man. It's one of the albums more subdued tracks, although I believe his pain is very blatant in this track. Allegedly, it was written about some girl who left him while he was in the hospital for his disease, quoting her name and all in old blog posts about the lyrics. Which, for the record, don't even bother reading it. It is so abhorrently boyish and angry, it's pathetic. Another thing I learned from those posts was that the first track "Pretty Lush" is one of the only upright straight-edge songs on the album. I forget they were an edge band, glad they didn't hone in on that, though. Straight edge and misogynistic? Jeez.
I'd like to highlight Siberian Kiss, as it was the first song I heard, actually I think through my manager (and now friend) at my old job. I was shocked when I heard it, genuinely, as I had only heard the following album "Worship and Tribute" (another masterpiece). I think it's straight up one of the best songs ever. "I'll keep you jealously to myself, In photos the size of a kiss, A kiss in the shape of a bullet"... iconic lyrics, I choose to have my own interpretation of the lyrics, as I let the actual meaning go over my head. Oh, and, in the movie "Ginger Snaps", a character is seen pulling up in a van with this song playing. Always thought that was cool, I watched the movie genuinely just for that reason.
Anyways, yeah. Glassjaw, man. This album can be seen as a time piece, a representation of how not to speak about women, a concept album, whatever, that is the beauty of art. It's not really up for much interpretation, it's straight forward in it's demeanor. You get it. But hey, it has some of the most unique instrumentals in post hardcore, some of my favorite vocals, and it truly has influenced acts following. I love Glassjaw, Sorry, I really wanted this to be more intuitive and meaningful but upon a re-listen, I had to backtrack. I do condemn it, though. If you only listen to woman-hating music, get help.
Thanks again
-IONA
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