ISSUES "BEAUTIFUL OBLIVION" ALBUM REVIEW: A prog metal masterpiece 

Follow me on Instagram: instagram.com/finnmckenty

So glad you like the record man! Thanks for the shoutout.

YO I'VE BEEN DESCRIBING THEM AS DJAZZ SINCE HEADSPACE LMAO

Bro it just hit me that they dropped Black Diamonds 7 years ago 🙃

Appreciate the love for the sax solo on “Find Forever”! Huge fan of your channel and all of your content. Keep doing your thing! -🎷🌹

Do more reviews for sure. This was more of a band history lesson than a specific album review though, but I like that angle! Obviously, having worked with them and knowing them personally, you had a lot more to say than if you had never heard of them before.

Issues really is one of the best and most unique bands out right now, and they really deserve to be bigger. They’re one of the first bands I bring up whenever someone says rock/metal is either dead or that it’s gotten stale. Even though “Flexin” is my least favorite track I’ve ever heard from them, I enjoyed this album very much and I’m glad you felt it was worthy of a full video on it. If you’re gonna do more album reviews, I think they should be reserved for bands like this who make for a good example on how to innovate or rejuvenate in a particular style. I think that can fit in with your general music commentary/business niche. Awesome video Finn!

Finn also likes find forever? I see you're a man of culture as well.

In a weird way I do kindve agree with you calling this a “prog” album. I really bummed me out a few years back when bands like Periphery and After the Burial got really big and then so many bands just copied that sound and made washed out uninspired “prog” music. To me that felt very generic and trendy and nothing was progressive about it. This to me was always a very interesting because they combined so much but nothing ever sounded forced or jarring. The fact that they blended so much without things sounding out of place is an incredibly hard thing to do. Dream Theater is my favorite band, and one thing I’ve noticed is that once Portnoy left some of their later output felt like that. It’s a HARD thing to do. Huge respect to Issues for pulling an album like this off. An album I’m sure none of their “metalcore turned buttrock” contemporaries would’ve been afraid to make.

I noticed you didn’t give the album a score. I actually really like that as it forces the viewer to actually watch the video and really listen to your opinion. Meanwhile, Fantano viewers will just admit that they don’t even listen to most albums he reviews and just pause the video, check the score, read shitposting comments and leave. Which is unfortunate because Anthony is a fantastic reviewer.

Dude! This review echoes and unpacks a conversation I just had with my new band mates last night. A conversation on how we can intentionally bridge the gap between the scene and a broader audience by incorporating “hat-tips” to our scene roots and influences, and become that “gateway” band for people to cut their teeth on (“scene” music); while pushing the “genre” forward with a more palatable musical production in order to reach that broader audience. In short, it’s proving its own challenge just to communicate that vision, let alone direct the writing process toward that end. I think you hit the nail on the head, though, that the more proficient a band is at a broader spectrum of music (i.e. actual hours logged in writing material outside of “scene appeal”) the more capable they are at bridging that gap. Thanks for the informative review, and hopefully we can help contribute to bringing new ears into a revitalized scene, too, soon.

Finn, I can't tell you enough how happy I am that you made a full review of the new Issues album! I've loved these guys since I got their first album from my friend back in my freshman year of college. These guys deserve the praise they're getting and I can't wait to see them live again one day! This album is a big step forward for them and is so unique sounding that I think it's going to be an influence on music from other bands in the future.

On the subject of screamed vocals, I’ll never forget that Melissa Cross spends a good amount of time on her Zen of Screaming videos saying that as a screamed-vocal performer you need an answer to the question “Why are you screaming?” Lots of heavy bands have screamed vocals because they think the genre requires it. But should you be screaming if you don’t have lyrics or a viewpoint motivating the screaming?

I LOVE that you did an album review! Thanks for being an inclusive dude who takes a multi-genre approach to music - truly punk 🤘🏼

Absolutely love the "album review" format and would love to see you continue to do more videos like this.

I thought the amount of screaming they had was perfect. They used it as a specific enhancement for very brief moments of a song, which I really liked. The amount of versatile talent in the band is astounding and even though this might not be my fallback or go to sound, every moment of this album was a breath of fresh air. Loved it.

Without a screamer they don't have that need to write screaming parts. The screams come naturally when the music kinda demands it. Issues are getting better with each release. Easily my favorite record of the year so far. Was expecting a lot of it and it delivered.

Found a lot of new music to check out thanks to this - more please! Loved hearing about the influences and about the other projects each musician is working on.

great review, the way you talk about every aspect of the band and album is just great. keep it coming!

This is really rad! I love coming to your channel because I get to learn new bands that I've never knew about before. I will definitely check them out. P.s. Its 5 am in California and I have class today. That's how much I love you lol

Finnthony Mckentytano, the Internet’s Busiest Punk Rock MBA

"Have you ever heard of DEVIN TOWNSEND!?" holy shit i lost it

Yes Finn! Definitely do more album reviews! This one was great. For sure gonna check out the full album now.

I didn’t think they could out do themselves after Headspace. They definitely pushed the envelope without telling their old fans to F off. Keep up the great work Man! Never miss an episode!

Do more! I love this page. It's always fun and when I get a notification I always get hyped up!

love this video and your channel, would love to see more album reviews!

Keep the reviews coming! loved it!

Definetily want you to make more album reviews. I learned so much about the band and you gave a very in depth well reasoned explanation of why you think what you think about the album and actually made me want to listen to the album even tho at first I just heard one song and felt like it wont be for me, but now I want to explore it more.

You made a good case, but headspace is still my favorite

I really enjoyed your take on this album, Finn. I'm still processing my thoughts on it personally and your review brought to light a handful of things that I haven't considered. Like you, I've been a fan of the band since Black Diamonds and I've always loved how they keep evolving and fine-tuning their sound. But for some reason, this one hasn't clicked in the same way their other releases have. But like I said, your review put some things into perspective for me, so I will keep listening and processing it.

Again with another awesome video. Keep it up man! 👌

Props for this review man! You should def do more of them 👍 more power!

Love this! Keep doing more album reviews!

this album was wayyy ahead of it's time. listening to it now in 2019 and it still gives me the chills. going to try hard not to cry when I see them on their farewell tour next week in LA :(

I've been watching your videos for about three days now not knowing I was signed into RU-vid. You won me over already two days ahead but this just put the arrow through my heart my dude. An album review on one of my favorite bands put into such exquisite detail made me less skeptical on hearing it. Liked and subscribed. Now excuse me as i retrace my steps and like all 1,000 other videos I've been watching. They've lifted an anxious weight off my chest through insomnia and I am forever grateful.

Killing it man. These videos are fantastic and educate me. You’re the man 🙌

Really appreciate the review and commentary. Learning a lot about music as a result of listening to this channel.

It's so badass that this album is your first album review. Great job. Pretty much took the words right out of my mouth. Especially on the flexin song.

Man, im so glad to hear some positive feedback on this album. I absolutely love what i have heard so far. I've seen some pretty bad reviews on this album based on it being so different from their past work. I love seeing bands evolve, and this is definitely an evolution for Issues. It doesn't hurt having Sky Accord holding down the low end. Much love brotha!

Yes please do more reviews! I can tell that you really know what you're talking about and I love how you always show the viewers how certain songs or bands sound. I got two recommendations of albums that will hopefully blow your mind like this one. Both Placebo from The New Age and Interlinked by Young Medicine both have such an extremely unique and experimental sound and you really hear that only geniuses can come up with such stuff.

Thank you for getting me into this band. Beautiful Oblivion is a great album and I wouldn't know about it without your video.

So happy you reviewed this man. Spent years waiting for this and the boys didn't disappoint at all.

💯% agree! I’ve loved ISSUES from the beginning - being a Woe, Is Me fan before then - and this album is the best thing they’ve done. And the best thing out there, as far a moving music forward in new directions. Super proud of this evolution! And, now, going back and listening to old stuff, the two-vocalist, screaming format was absolutely holding them back. I loved it back then, but I can’t even appreciate it as much now that I’ve ingested this new ISSUES.

Honestly this doesn't feel like huge departure from their sound, this is because they've literally had all the elements since the first EP. Love this record, really pleasant surprise.

I'm not really a fan of this band but i can appreciate them for being unique.

Rain is my personal favourite song on the album

Hey Finn, loving the album review. You gave some really interesting insight into the bands progression and reasons why they recorded this album. I would have never listened to this album if it wasn't for your review. Keep em coming man!

Hell yeah!. I wasn't expecting an album review, let alone for this one. I don't really feel much anticipation for new metal releases anymore for whatever reason, but I was counting down the days until this one dropped. The innovation and musicianship these guys have is incredible. Also, I'm a sucker for a banging chorus and they hit it out of the park every time.

Your review was awesome and brought up some connections I never payed attention too. Also, your knowledge of the genre was unbelievable and I look forward to anymore reviews you do.

Great review Finn, I'll definitely check it out now!

Was super stoked when I saw them post about you on their story. Great video ♥️ I really liked when you added some of the songs in. I was singing along 😂

Quickly becoming One of my favorite RU-vid channels

Thanks for introducing me to this band and album! I've listened to it constantly since this video came out. I love fusions of genres, and this is one of my favorites!

I really liked that your review still had that "what YOU can learn from that"-vibe to it, making it more than just a review actually. So if you do it like that, I would personally enjoy more "reviews" from you ;-)

I was so unsure of this album, but after three listens this album is contending with Dealer's EP for my favorite release of 2019. This album (and Dealer's) made me feel like I was a kid again, discovering music for the first time, and that never happens anymore now that I'm all old and jaded. Great review, Finn!

Issues is and will forever be my favorite band

I think I get why this album is very polarising to a lot of people: It's a kind of album that explores a lot more than what people expect a metal band to do. Though I'd say calling them prog metal doesn't fit them properly. This is pretty much post metal, where the bands are really starting to play around with different ideas to see what the metal sound could be in the future. It makes sense because of all the projects that all the members are in. In the end, I'm not the biggest fan of this album, but I give Issues so much respect for what they're doing to the genre, but it's the question of whether they're like BMTH in the fact that they are 2 years ahead of the curve, or whether they are too far ahead of the curve and people don't know what the hell they're doing. Still, really interesting analysis of the album and the band as a whole.

Yes so stoked on this thanks for reviewing!! So proud of this album and boys!!

More reviews plz! this is one of my fav albums of all time.

I really enjoyed headspace so I'm excited to listen to this. You should do more album reviews!

Please do more album reviews! I love your analysis!

Great review video!! please make more!!

Killer review man! I've been on the lookout for some freaky stuff lately and I think this takes the cake. Don't hesitate to make a review when you feel like you've found a gem!

More album reviews! This was awesome

One of my favorite vids of your's. Maybe consider doing a few hundred more of these.

I loved this review👌🏼 Please do more

Listened to this album two or three times through so far and I'm still getting into it. Thanks for your review, makes me want to come back and keep listening.

this is a great review bc u got me interested in actually listening to the music. thank u for all the fire content, looking fwd to more reiviews 😎

Hell yea, album reviews are a great addition to the content

I really loved hearing your opinion and would love more album reviews! Also pretty sure I saw you at the Knocked Loose show at El Corazón the other night but didn't get a chance to say hey and thank you for all the good content!

Hey Finn I’m a Brazilian and I’ve been living in Australia for a year now. Just wanna say that your channel and the content that you put out for us are absolutely amazing! I’ve been watching you every day since I discovered The Punk Rock MBA for two reasons: 1 - It’s so good for practicing my listening in English (specially because you talk about one of my passions: music). 2 - This is literally a MBA with all your knowledge from when you started in the “scene” till nowadays and THERE’S NOBODY TALKING ABOUT THAT! It’s so good to have a vision about the “non-pop music movement “ from people like you so accessible! I love your “bands should’ve been bigger” series and I wanna suggest you a new one: “bands YOU should stay tuned”. You could show us what’s new and promising in the scenes you talk about. Sorry about the big text, thanks heaps for everything and keep recording! Much love, 🇧🇷 🇦🇺

Love it!! Both the review and the album. :)

Just another great video just found ur channel thanks for making me lose a whole Saturday. I love ur take on this album it's like all the ingredients from black diamonds to this album came together to make a delicious stew of album goodness

Definitely down for more album reviews

More album reviews!!!! It would be cool to see some reviews on older albums too in light of where some of the genres have come today/where they’re going

I've always been a fan of the singer, so him having more time to let his voice free on this album was really cool to hear.

Please do some more album reviews Finn I really loved this one

I would love to see you review some more albums, both old and new! I very much enjoyed how you gave us some history about the band and the "making" of the album! Keep up the great work! :)

Definitely do more album reviews!

hey man, been watching your videos for a while and I gotta say you have a knack for reviews. you have the knowledge of the genre(s) BUT the personality to express your opinions with subtilty and grace as to not come across as pretentious. really enjoyed your take on the album, even though I personally think they went to far pop on a few tracks (I cut the album down to about 8 songs, and what's left is my AOTY) do more reviews, you're good at it

Yes! Would love to see more album reviews.

You nailed every bit of how I felt about this album. Hands down one of my favorite albums of the year.

I was kind of surprised to see this video of a review. But honestly like every video you do it wasnt just opinion it was informative. More like this would appreciated. Keep it up man 🤘

Mad stoked that you loved this

In a world where pretty much every band bores me, issues is a breath of fresh music to my ears

I love this style of video! More please!

The 60 people who thumbs'd down this video listen to anything from Architects to BMTH

I wanna hear Fantano review you reviewing Issues, zaddy

I thought Amo was a huge shake up, but ye gads this is next level.

You're doing the lord's work, my man. I'm surprised I dug this album as much I did but on top of that I just discovered lophille because of your vid. Keep it up famo!

I dig your album review, would be down to see more.

Amazing video. Excited to listen to this album

100% agree. Such a great album, and a great job on the review as well man!

Finally!someone expressed exactly in words what I observed about Issues!more album reviews please.

1. Love your channel it’s like a whole RU-vid channel on what I’m thinking! I wish I could work for you! 2. You’re so right about this album by far the best I’ve heard from rock music in a long long time. I was worried you wouldn’t feel the same.

so well said! awesome review

I had never heard of Issues until 2022 and unfortunately did just disband. What’s shocking tho is their debut album hit top 10 on Billboard! What a crazy rise and fall. Finn, would you mind making a rise and fall vid on Issues?

I love the new Issues album, and I loved this video! Keep it up Brotha!🤟

I saw Issues at Warped Tour (2016, during the Pokemon tour) and they killed it! Also, I love how you bring up Cynic in videos occasionally! I saw them live back in 2009 and it blew my 14 year old mind and it blew the doors to the world of prog wide open to me. I play guitar and write songs (still at the beginning phase) and I'm excited any time somebody comes out with something that actually seems fresh and innovative in the genre, because I love metal, but don't want to fall into the pattern of writing bad djent/alt songs...Definitely gonna check out this album!

I absolutely value your opinion so much man you truly know whats up man. I feel that i share many many of your opinions and you take the words right out of my mouth. Couldnt agree more about this album. And its so fucking cool that josh manuel himself commented on this