Prisoners

I've been listening to metal for about 24 years now, and The Agonist are by far one of my favorite bands. I discovered them a couple years back as an opening act. I had never heard of them, and actually probably would have missed them as our plan was to show up late and just catch the headlining act, but it was winter time and weather had held up The Agonist arrival in our town so the show started about 2 hours late. So we ended up catching them and thank goodness. They absolutely blew my mind. I've seen them live 4 times since and they never disappoint. Every one of their albums is pure metal magic. Thrashy, heavy, melodic, and technical. Songs are well structured and original, with plenty of tempo changes, guitar solos, etc. And Alissa's voice is unbelievable.This album took me a some time to get into to be honest. I was very excited when it came out, and after the first couple of listenings I wasn't quite sold. But I stuck with it and it's really grown on me. Sometime albums that don't click immediately end up being some of your favorites (example: I hated Megadeth's Rust in Piece when it came out and now I consider it to be the best metal album of all time).Do yourself a favor and check this band out...and if you're an Agonist fan, I don't think this will disappoint.

The Agonist's third album, Prisoners, is a breath of fresh air in the midst of so much overrated and overproduced crap in mainstream metal. Musically this is pure and unadulterated metal. All killer and no filler. No mindless open chord breakdowns, no moshy parts just for the sake of moshy parts. This isn't just to listen to to get from one groove riff to the next. Leads, shreds, and solo's abound. The band plays metal and they're damn good at it too. Vocalist Alissa White-Gluz is a shinning star for a number of reasons. As a clean vocalist and a screamer/growler her voice is pristine. Her screaming voice matches and compliments the ferocity of the music perfectly,and her clean vocals and a great dynamic, they're not whiney, or annoying like many lead vocalist trying to pull off clean sound in metal. You're Coming With Me, and Panophobia are definitely highlighted tracks on the album. Both are easily commercial quality without sounding over produced, or forced. If you're looking for a break from the mind numbing over abundance of metalcore and just want some straight up metal, this is definitely the album to get. Easily accessible enjoyable.

I love these guys live and enjoy their music. The vocalist has a great range and the guitar work is impressive! My only qualm is that the second half of the album seems too similar for me. That doesn't make it bad, just not all the songs are extremely unique. I'm trying to keep this review short, so in conclusion it was a good album. I'm glad I bought it to support the band. This is a solid album if your into the band's sound. Check it out.

It is embarrassing that I only recently found this band. The story is that I heard Alissa White-Gluz on tour with Kamelot, and thought I should check out her band. They are fabulous. The melodies! The countermelodies! The time signature trickery! They are really the most exciting ensemble I have run into in a while. This album has been out for some time, so a full discussion would be redundant, but ... buy this album, if you haven't already.

This is one of my favorite bands. I love her voice and what she can do with it. The cool blue and sometimes purple hair is fun as well.The band is very tight and well put together. I am a bassist so I listen more to bass players and drummers and I will say that the drummer for this band appears to do very nice double bass drum work.

The Agonist is like a good wine. They get better with time. And Prisoners truly is a masterpiece. A melodic death album that takes turns from extreme, heavy death metal to melodic, sometimes even jazzy, parts, led by Alissa's amazing and captivating voice. And yes, that girl does the growls too.The lead guitar was amazing as well, and the album as a whole reflects maturity.

I'm only slightly disappointed in this latest album, the others showcased her voice a lot better than this one does and I would like to see more of that.I still enjoy the music though and support the group by buying the music...

This album really is the best release by The Agonist so far. As someone who owns them all, I have to say that this may be the first that i own both a digital copy of, and a retail copy of (typically, i reserve this for Albums that are top-notch in my opinion).

The title of my review may come accross as somewhat ironic; given the title of the fourth track on this behemoth of a 3rd album by the Canadian metal outfit.This band is not about genres, so it is not very easily described for other people, I do reccomend having a look on youtube for their other material, despite the clear difference in sound between their earlier sound and this. They are still the same band, ferocious, intricate and interesting.The sound of this album is far more mature and lyrically thought provoking. If you are a fan of their previous stuff, then take it into consideration. If you've never heard of these guys, I still recommend it, as it is a fantastically solid and melodic album, carefully constructed and put together by a lot of big names (Mixed and mastered by Tue Madsen).

If you like Bands with Edgy Females fronting then look no further as Alissa White Gluz's vocals are something else .If you like Evanescence or Lacuna coil, and would like metal vocals thrown as well then you love the Agonist's sound. though there seems to be more guitar solos on this album .Those who like unique music should enjoy.To gain maximum enjoyment you have to play this album loud

One of the best djent/ melodic death/ metalcore bands out there.

love it

Go beyond the growls characteristic of Death Metal, and you will find out Prisoners is an album full of great songs and surprising virtuoso moments. Haven't been able to put it down since I bought it.