Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Eighteen Visions - Until the Ink Runs Out (2000)
Now this is the album where Eighteen Visions really unleash their sound, a year after the humble slump that is their debut Yesterday is Time Killed. Until the Ink Runs Out confirms the band's earlier identity and status as heroes of metalcore, popularizing the occasional usage of clean vocals and keyboards in the genre and starting the "fashioncore" scene. Truly a historical turn in this genre that blends metal and hardcore!
Until the Ink Runs Out is much different from their later albums in their initial era like Vanity and Obsession. While there are slight hints of the more melodic sound of those albums, here it's full-on metalcore heaviness at its best. One other band going the same route at the same time was Poison the Well, their metalcore/hardcore album being The Opposite of December. When I first heard a song from this Eighteen Visions album 3 years ago in one of the Revolution playlists, I was hooked by its killer passion. Until the Ink Runs Out is also the first of 5 of the band's releases under the infamous Trustkill Records. With so much addictive emotion, no 18V fan would want to miss this.
Right from the intro, "She Looks Good in Velvet" attacks with their beastly sound, again different from Vanity and Obsession. Lots of heavy technicality and the deathly growling of vocalist James Hart (though he would focus on higher screaming in later albums). Not only do his vocals rule, but the lyrics in this album are some of the best he's written. It's a lot more poetic, emotional, and creative than their softer material. Beginning with a Back to the Future audio sample, "She's a Movie Produced Masterpiece" is the song from that playlist that made me up for this band, making me wish I had listened to more metalcore in my teen years. In the second half, there's an unreal groove along with the most epic pick-up line possible, "BLONDE BOMBSHELL BLUE-EYED BEAUTY, YOU ROCK MY F***ING WORLD!!!!!" The heaviness of this masterpiece of a song would have you laughing maniacally. The co-vocals by Brandan Schieppati (Bleeding Through) are also great. Even Throwdown would be thrown down by this. "Champagne and Sleeping Pills" both begin and end with a sample from the movie The Shining, adding a pleasantly disturbing vibe to another blend of heaviness and melody.
"Who the F*** Killed John Lennon?" also ends with a creepy outro. The outro is a dark ambient interlude titled "Elevator Music". More like elevator music in a horror movie! Next track "The Nothing" combines hatred and depression in both the music and lyrics. "Wine 'Em, Dine 'Em, Sixty-Nine 'Em" is a daredevil standout with sludge-ish guitar.
"That Ain't Elvis Playing Piano" is one of the heaviest songs ever made by the band. Fantastic! More of this interesting guitar riffing comes in "Revolutionizing the Sound of Music". Lastly we have the two-part epic finale, "Prelude to an Epic/Flowers for Ingrid" The first part is an epic intro that sounds like the intro for one of the songs by Brandan Schieppati's main band Bleeding Through, especially in the background keyboards. Then the second part has the band's usual metalcore.
All in all, Until the Ink Runs Out is the strongest album by these Orange County-based trailblazers. It's a better offering than Vanity and certainly one h*ll of a better album than Yesterday is Time Killed. The ultimate heaviness of Eighteen Visions can be found right here. It's just pure metalcore energy from beginning to end to please the hardcore masses. For any 18V newcomers, if you're up for heavy chaos, start with this album. If you're up for melodic beauty, start with Vanity. Just know that the album might not be everyone's cup of tea. An awesome album from an amazing band. Until the Ink Runs Out is truly where the band's greatness begins!
Favorites: "She Looks Good in Velvet", "She's a Movie Produced Masterpiece", "Wine 'Em, Dine 'Em, Sixty-Nine 'Em", "That Ain't Elvis Playing Piano", "Prelude to an Epic/Flowers for Ingrid"