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Hello Destiny

Goldfinger - Hello Destiny Audio CD

A fair review of the Goldfinger "Hello Destiny" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Goldfinger reviews here, or go back to the Goldfinger tabs.

Band: Goldfinger
Title: Hello Destiny
Rating:

Release Date: 2008-04-22
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: One More Time 2: Get Up 3: Goodbye 4: Without Me 5: The Only One 6: War 7: How Do You Do It 8: Bury Me 9: Not Amused 10: Handjobs For Jesus 11: Free Kevin Kjonaas 12: Julian

Hello Destiny is sure to be the most energetic and politically pondering 36 minutes of your life
"Get Up" infuses the brass section that ska is known for, but steel has a punk-pop feel to it. The Good
"One More Time" is instantly addictive and catchy with driving guitars and melodic vocals. "Without Me" employs some killer guitar runs, and that's not something you expect from the ska/punk world. "If I'm Not Right" has a pure reggae feel with it's brass and steel drum backing. "How Do You Do It" is pure in-your-face guitar and vocal fury. Goldfinger keep the energy flowing on the media-bashing track "Not Amused. "

The Bad
I understand the political nature of the lyrics, but "Handjobs for Jesus?" Please!

The Verdict
I know these punk/ska groups can be a dime a dozen, but Goldfinger is a little more than run-of-the-mill. Guitar solos, melodic vocals, and guitar riffage o'plenty really set them apart from their contemporaries. Hello Destiny is sure to be the most energetic and politically pondering 36 minutes of your life.

Goldfinger - Hello Destiny 6.5/10
Luckily, Goldfinger has been in the business long enough to make their 3-minute riots incisive and (normally) tuneful. On their first release free from major label, ska-punk granddaddies Goldfinger retreat to their earlier sound, bringing out a record that reeks of old-school `90s punk that they and bands like Rancid birthed and which lead to such abominations as Simple Plan and Good Charlotte.

Hello Destiny is your standard power-chord, anthemic punk guitar-and-drum record, and Goldfinger's musical explorations are few. "The Only One" most strongly recalls their ska heyday, a full-tilt reggae pop song that benefits from singer John Feldmann's emotive voice.

While the album starts off with relatively strong, following the embarrassing rant "War," the album tends to slide. "How Do You Do It" is your typical pop-punk love song that now just sounds recycled and Bert McCracken of the Used's guest spot on "Handjobs for Jesus" degenerates the song into rote emo screaming.

Luckily, Hello Destiny contains more listenable punk singalongs than most of Epitaph Records, and proves that while age doesn't necessarily bring maturity, it does teach you a thing or two about music.

Charlie is back!
Goldfinger, is one of my (3) favorite bands of ALL times, (Rancid & Less Than Jake). .
Wow, Charlie is back and he let them put out this peice of work as a full length CD. I feel cheated, only 12 tracks. 12 is a lullaby, so it doesn't count and track 11 "Free Kevin Jonas" is an old track they just slapped on the end.
This should have been an EP.

"Get up" is AWESOME! that is about it. All down hill from there. It's like, they didn't want to be bothered with making a reel piece of work. I guess they just threw some tracks together to make a few bucks, they did not bother to put any quality in the song writing.

These days with the Pro-tools, anyone can make great sounding recordings, but we need more great music compositions. . . and, well, looks like John and the boys are getting lazy.
Maybe John just needs a nice, juicy, large double cheese burger to inspire his song writing again. Like the old days. . .

Save your money!

From a long time Goldfinger fan. . . Lil' Gleason.

A Return To Form
We see Goldfinger make a return to the old-school rock that made them popular, and while they've still retained some of the musicality from the last two albums, it doesn't make this album that much more the worse. After Goldfinger's last two albums fell a little bit flat, feeling more like John Feldmann solo albums sometimes, this album is absolutely a treat for the ears. If you liked old Goldfinger, you owe it to yourself to give this one a try.

There are a few tracks, such as "One More Time" and "Free Kevin Kjonaas", that feel a bit phoned in, but to be frank, even the worst on this album outstrips many tracks on Disconnection Notice, notably the entire second half of that album. Other tracks bring forth some above-average Goldfinger rock, such as "Goodbye"; this tracks seem to be most representative of the work on this album. You'll find them enjoyable, and while enjoyable doesn't do much for music on the whole, it's still fun and perfectly acceptable by my standards. Then there's an obligatory soldier's-point-of-view war song, "War", which isn't too bad but feels preachy, and a couple more-upbeat songs, "The Only One" and "How Do You Do It", which are less rocking but again, enjoyable (see above).

On the other hand, this time around Goldfinger really pounds out some fantastic tracks, better than they've done for years. "Without Me" starts off normal but soon becomes a very well-done song, definitely worthy of your listening time. "Get Up", the first ska track encountered on this album, is a delightful explosion of rock and melody that you'll become addicted to, while "Not Amused" is fast, ferocious and fantastic. "Bury Me" starts out a little unusual, but seriously grows on you; it sounds unlike things Goldfinger has done, and shows true originality that fills me to the brim with hope for future endeavors.

The biggest surprise? "Handjobs for Jesus", a song that came entirely out of left field. Questioning religious dogma and fundamentalism, this track experiments with musical styles, tempos, intensity, and all sorts of things; this potpourri of musical styles could easily have gone sour, but the end result is nothing short of extraordinary. This has to be one of my favorite Goldfinger songs.

This CD is a bit on the short side, clocking in at about 36 minutes, but at $9. 99 it's still a fantastic buy. This is not the Goldfinger we heard back in 2005; this is a new and revitalized Goldfinger ready to kick punk/ska music in the pants, and I can only hope they continue in this direction. If you love Goldfinger, you need to get this album; you won't regret it.

Finally...my youth has returned! (^___^)

I was one of those who have grown up with GF. . their Self-titled debut is one of my all time favorite albums and everything up until Open your Eyes, equally holds a special place in my heart. Then the troubled times started. . . for more reference, you can read the amazon customer reviews for Open your Eyes or Disconnection Notice to get an idea. . . or their Wiki page. . . anyways

Hello Destiny really is a return to form, and while the artwork reflects what my be something that will sound like their debut, this album actually sounds closest to both Hang-ups and Stomping Ground

what do I mean by that?

Production/mixing is excellent, with a great low-end, and has a sound like Stomping Ground with a few tracks standing out as something that could have come from Hang-ups
Highlights for me include EVERYTHING except the following:

Hand jobs for Jesus - yeah. . . i'm with others, in that, I don't get this track at all. . . the beginning has a great melody but then it quickly devoles into something . . . else. . . and yeah, I'm actually an agnostic, so the in your face rant seemingly 'bout pro-atheism, is just a turn off for me. Also not fond of the guest vocal from the lady from Save Ferris. Overall. . . just a misplace track, but then again I can think of "Not your bro" from Stomping Ground making feel equally un-amused and just always skipping the track

Kevin Jonas - . . . Also to much message for me. . . Instrumentation is ok though

War - . . . I appreciate it's message, but the way it's handled is rather corny, as are most of the lyrics and the misplaced vocal from Ian Watkins

How do you do it - Almost a completely throwaway track with a weak chorus

Overall, 9 outta 12 tracks is great! and yes, the return of Charlie Paulson cannot be praised enough. . .

As far as where I put it right now for me? right behind Stomping Ground and ahead of Hang-ups

.

You can see a complete list of all Goldfinger discography, or go back to the Goldfinger tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.