''Unsaved Progress'' is

Double Experience Double Experience is a rock band based in Ottawa, Ontario that was formed in the summer of 2011. The band consists of vocalist and front man Ian Nichols and guitarist Brock Tinsley. History Formation and beginnings Double Experience's ...

's third full-length album, released worldwide on April 8, 2016. According to an interview with vocalist Ian Nichols, the album title was derived from a common video game warning message where the players quit the game without saving.

Composition and influences

The album's style has been described as

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

and

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

, with comparisons made to

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...

and

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line- ...

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...

and

He is Legend He Is Legend is an American hard rock/ heavy metal band from Wilmington, North Carolina, formed in the late 1990s but settled on the name "He Is Legend" in 2003. According to the aggregate of the listeners, He Is Legend's music is similar to th ...

have been specifically mentioned as an inspiration by Nichols. Shortly after the release of ''Unsaved Progress'', Double Experience released a formal cover of

Buddy Holly (song) "Buddy Holly" is a song by American rock band Weezer. The song was written by Rivers Cuomo and released as the second single from the band's debut album, '' Weezer (''The Blue Album'')'' on September 7, 1994, which would have been Buddy Holly's 5 ...

. Tinsley stated that

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing v ...

"proved that rock and roll doesn't have to act or sound a specific way. That's the essence of our band." Double Experience also drew inspiration from video games. In an interview with 92.1 Rock, Tinsley inadvertently credited Mick Gordon as an inspiration for Double Experience, praising the ''

Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * L ...

'' soundtrack due to its uniqueness compared with normal video game soundtracks.

Track listing

Miscellaneous

*The title for “So Fine” was created using abbreviations for the five chemical elements sulphur, oxygen, fluorine, iodine and neon. Additionally, each line of the chorus represents the properties of each chemical *Lyrics from ”The Glimmer Shot” were inspired by the video game ''

Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

''. When

Bungie Bungie, Inc. is an American video game company based in Bellevue, Washington. It is a studio owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The company was established in May 1991 by Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones (progr ...

, the developers of ''Destiny'', heard the song, they awarded the band unique in-game rewards as well as accolades in their weekly blog. *The album features a cover of "

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...

" by

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American Rock music, rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla ( ...

. The official video for the song took the band 3 months of production and was released on February 1, 2017.

Personnel

Ian Nichols – vocals, lyrics
Brock Tinsley – guitars, bass, lyrics
Dafydd Cartwright – drums
Al Jacob – production, lead engineer
Kit Walters – Mixing
Jamie King – Mastering
Russ Hayes, Chris Walker – drum engineering
Matteo Cuccato – artwork
Buck Dharma – lyrics, composter on Track 7

Critical reception

Upon its release, ''Unsaved Progress'' received positive reviews. Calum Slingerland of

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

noted that Double Experience "check all the boxes of a modern-rock smash". David Navarro of Slicker Magazine praised the album, labeling the music as a mix of "Fall Out Boy, Queens of the Stone Age and even a little

Coheed and Cambria Coheed and Cambria are an American progressive rock band from Nyack, New York, formed in 1995. The band consists of Claudio Sanchez (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Travis Stever (guitars, vocals), Josh Eppard (drums, keyboards, backing vocals), an ...

, all while still maintaining an aesthetic that feels wholly unique perhaps entirely due to their lyrical subject matter." Alberto Centenary of Italy's Metal Eyes Magazine rated the album an 8/10, deeming the album as "a collection of hits" and specifically commended "...the good guitar performance of Tinsley, a melodic war machine in solos and a owerhousein hard rock riffs." Critique de Salon reviewer Olivier Dénommée rated the album 7.5/10 as felt that the album's style was "well put-together" and "would please nerds who want to rock... even if the band will never write something as epic as actual video game music". ''Unsaved Progress'' reached #6 on the National Loud Chart in Canada.

References

{{Authority control 2016 albums Double Experience albums