2 CommentsBand: Structures
Album: All of the Above
Release Date: March 15/2010
Production: Jordan @ Sundown Studios, Guelph ON.
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Genre: Progressive Hardcore/Metal
Myspace: myspace.com/wearestructures (more…)
1 Comment
Album: Anywhere But Here
Artist: Mayday Parade
Release: October 6th/2009
Label: Fearless Records
Producer: David Bendeth
Tracks:
1. “Kids in Love” – 3:36
2. “Anywhere but Here” – 3:09
3. “The Silence” – 3:35
4. “Still Breathing” – 3:52
5. “Bruised and Scarred” – 3:23
6. “If You Can’t Live Without Me, Why Aren’t You Dead Yet?” – 3:38
7. “Save Your Heart” – 3:42
8. “Get Up” – 3:03
9. “Center of Attention” – 3:01
10. “I Swear This Time I Mean It” – 4:01
11. “The End” – 3:37
Bonus Tracks:
12. “So Far Away”
13. “The Memory”
“Anywhere But Here” is Mayday Parade’s second full-length out on Fearless Records, and their first without guitarist and secondary vocalist Jason Lancaster. For the fans who enjoyed his blatant mispronunciations of many words and deeper yet similar vocal approach in comparison to lead singer Derek Sanders’, than you may not enjoy this album as much as their last. With the same basic Mayday Parade songwriting formula, catchy sing-a-long vocals and different approach to the pop-punk genre that has gotten them where they are, their still very much the same band, but with a different spin on their sophomore album.
The songs are all much “poppier”, but are very catchy. There are no songs that really leap off the album to be as powerful or intense as some of their previous songs were, but overall, the album is strong. Despite the albums poppiness, many of the songs have a down vibe to them, such as their second single, “The Silence”, which sounds like it could be straight off an Emery record. The also album lacks a bit of the technicality that their previous efforts had. The drums are much simpler and less creative, and the guitar work is more straight-forward, but that doesn’t go to say that the album is badly written. Its quite the opposite of bad.
Being a Mayday Parade fan for a while now, I’ve seen the band grow from their first EP and onward, and overall, “Anywhere But Here” seems to be their best effort to date. Some songs are stronger and overall better than others, but its an incredibly catchy and addictive album. Its very easy to get into with easily relatable lyrics, catchy choruses that make your hand subconsciously hit the repeat button, and last but not least, intelligent musicianship that isn’t trying to fit in with so many other cookie-cutter bands of the same genre.
Mayday Parade is a band who is definitely playing music for the right reasons and are doing it the way they want, and that is the best way to do it if you want to be successful and respected in the music scene. Mayday Parade are doing just that.
No Comments
Counterparts is without a doubt one of my favorite local acts on the scene right now, and from the 3 tunes they have streaming you can tell these guys got some songwriting chops. They recently signed on with Verona Records who will be releasing the album February 23rd, for more details on pre orders go here to Verona’s official site. Be sure to check out their CD release show February 26th @ The Casbah (Hamiltion,ON), all the details can be found on the facebook event page!
No Comments
Album: Severed Ties
Artist: The Amity Affliction
Release: 30th November 2009
Label: Boomtown Records
When I was asked to review The Amity Affliction the first thing I did was visit their myspace to check out their sound. The giant pissed off bat in their header had me smiling and now their album “Severed Ties” has me hooked.
As a hardcore girl through and through I can appreciate how difficult it is to make something original in what has quickly become an over-saturated scene. The Amity Affliction are obviously taking a few pages out of Alexisonfire’s book, but by increasing the hardcore factor ever so slightly, we’ve managed to make a slightly different breed of the same species which is definitely standing on its own feet.
It’s almost as though someone told The Amity Affliction my own personal selection of pet peeves and loves and Severed Ties has challenged and sated these. For example, I’m one of those “no more keyboards in hardcore” advocates, but now The Amity Affliction, with their subtle use of synth in tracks such as “Snitches Get Stitches” and “Fruity Lexia” has reminded me how synth can be used to the advantage of the genre. On the other side, one of my other loves is hardcore covers of 80s tunes, and as if they hadn’t won me over already, The Amity Affliction pull out a decent cover of one of my all time favourite 80s tracks, Pat Benetar’s “Love Is A Battlefield”.
To break up their great tunes with sing-a-long choruses and heavy riffs, they’ve even got a nice slow down with “So You Melted”, nice little interim between heavier tracks.
My favourite track I knew I loved from the first time I heard it is the album closer “Stairway to Hell”. It’s a great song because of the combination on delicate guitar riff breaking down with the synth and then into the standard heavier stuff. This track is my current “lets stick it on repeat for 3 hour” track.
I’m going to put it out there, this band is something to look out for in the future. I’ve not been as psyched on something out of Australia since I first heard Parkway Drive.
Fortunately enough I am also reviewing The Amity Affliction in their support slot of We Are The Ocean, and considering their success back home on the live circuit, look out for what I expect will be a equally gushing live review.
3 Comments
Album: In The Unlikely Event
Artist: The Fall Of Troy
Release: 26th October 2009
Label: Equal Vision
Producer: Terry Date (Deftones, Slipknot, Smashing Pumpkins)
The Fall of Troy is one of those bands I’ve heard talked about so much, but that mental note to listen to their stuff never makes it back home to the laptop. Having the chance to review their new album has finally given me the opportunity to see what the hype is about, with their new album “In The Unlikely Event”.
Opening track “Panic Attack!” is immediately catchy and memorable and my personal favourite from the album. As a fan of bands such as The Blood Brothers, the heavier experimental style of The Fall Of Troy is right up my street. By joining Tom Erak’s great vocals (screaming, melodic, piercing, there’s nothing he can’t do) with raw sound of guitars, switching between metal, punk and then prog rock, the band have made a sound that’s heavy enough to keep me interested throughout and makes me think I’ve found a whole new genre, or at least a band to support.
Each track on the album takes you through several different genres and sounds, but each has got that individual feel rather than just sounding like one long mishmash of riffs which experimental can be so prone to. One track that’s a great example of drastic changes in mood and style is “Nobody’s Perfect”. Starting with something a bit light, a bit more vocal based, I’m reminded of Coheed and Cambria. About half way through the track takes a complete turn, bringing old school horror organs into the mix only to then change again in a final break down. This is intriguing to listen to; experimental prog at its best.
Another song worth noting is hands down the best track name “Empty the Clip, The King is Slain, Long Live the Queen!”. This is another of my preferred tracks on the album thanks to its great sing along chorus which also has a great bohemian feel behind it. Mix this with intensive guitar parts behind it and this is definitely a track to remember.
How albums end is always a big deal. Opening track are obviously there to get you into it, but closing tracks need to make you want to put it on repeat and hear it all again. Well “Nature vs. Nurture” makes the cut. It’s pretty mellowed out, but then changes tack into a short sharp sound that gets your foot tapping. Erak then talks at the end, leading to a nice “woaaaah” melodic break down to wrap it up.
One thing about experimental music of any kind is how easily it can go so wrong. By being too experimental you can risk producing music that’s too disjointed to be listened comfortably. The Fall Of Troy have managed to be experimental and totally listenable, everything flows and even dramatic changes in the songs just feel right. Luckily for me I’ll get to see some of this album performed live soon so keep your eyes peeled for a review next week.
Album: Relativity
Artist: Emarosa
Release: July 8th/2008
Label: Rise Records
Producer: Kris Crummet
Tracks:
I saw this band live having only heard one or two songs briefly online, so I decided to buy the album off the keyboardist at the the show. Best descision I probably could have made.
This album not only impressed me, but it suprised me in so many ways. I didn’t have high expectations for it, but the first song caught my attention in the first 30 seconds; and made me want to listen to it all the way through. The fact that this album was released in a time that music had become so unoriginal, especially in the “hardcore/metal etc..” genre, nothing stood out or was worth listening to, to me at least. This album grabbed me immediately.
Within a few listens I knew this was already one of my favorite albums. It has everything a fan of similar bands would want. Creative melodic guitars, faster paced/more complex drums, thoughtful basslines, atmospheric keyboard parts, and to top it all off, a singer who has a talented range, and comes up with some really great melodies.
This album has such a cool vibe and a great flow of songs. They change scales from song to song many times throught the album and do it tastefully, and intelligently. This band brought the creativity back to post hardcore, and I hope a lot of other bands follow suit.
This album influenced me as a guitarist and changed the way i thought about playing guitar. Emarosa is the first band in at least 3 years who I’ve listened to their album constantly for more than 3 months, and thats the kind of bands i really want to listen to. I recommend this album to anyone who wants to hear something different and interesting, but still in a well known genre. This is the kind of “original” music that I like to hear.
3 CommentsAlbum: Don’t Flatter Yourself
Artist: Crisis Jane
Photos By: Brenon Durston
iTunes Link: http://itunes.apple.com/
(yes thats a legal download, the album is offered for free!)
Tracks:
So first of all, these guys are some really cool dudes. I met them when they were on tour and played at a show with some friends of mine, and I was asked to shoot it. They were mad friendly and were chatting with everyone. When I went on their myspace and saw they’ve only been around since January, I was shocked. They are extremely professional, and all know what they are doing. As opposed to the mass amount of local bands that have been around for years and are still going nowhere, Crisis Jane is way above the standard.
This band is for fans of Boys Like Girls, All American Rejects, and The Almost. They are an upbeat, high energy band from Winnipeg. The first song on the album is ‘Once Upon a Time in New Mexico’. Right off the bat, it’s as in your face as pop bands get. With catchy lyrics like “you’ve got a PHD in killing dreams in hope, yeah what would you know? ” It’s something you’ll find yourself humming while you’re at school or working.
Careful With That Pipebomb is probably my favourite song. It shows the vocalist is not only capable of singing loud, but soft and quiet as well. Like all their songs, its upbeat, but I find something about it just more catchy.
The last song on the CD is Crush for the Rush. It’s an acoustic song, and an amazing one at that. This one made it to my playlist in a matter of minutes after I heard it. It just shows the diversity and talent that is in the band.
From a production standpoint, I felt that the vocals are a little too loud in some parts, where other spots they were perfect. The snare stood out above everything, . I really liked the guitar tones however, they suit the style really well. The bass blends in nicely, and adds that ‘oomph’ and fullness.
Don’t Flatter Yourself is full of the catchy pop music that we all know and love. It doesn’t do them justice however, so you should make it out to see them live as well. I’m definitely excited to hear anything new they cook up after this, and hope to see them back in Ontario soon. Great band, great dudes, great album!
3 CommentsAlbum: There’s Something in the Water
Artist: Dancing with Paris
Producer: Shawn Lefebvre
Download: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?wkcth3nizmk
(yes thats a legal download, the album is offered for free!)
Tracks:
I think what immediately caught my was by far the vocals. If you are a fan of the way Blake from Straight Reads the Line screams, then you’ll be an instant fan of this band. Both their highs sound so remarkably similar, I was double guessing myself listening to Dancing with Paris the entire time! Overall vocally though, the album reminds me a mixture of Straight Reads the Line, Born of Osiris, and just some unique singing thrown in their as well.
I’m not a fan of the guitar tones, but that’s just me. At first I thought I was hearing a bass with a distortion, until I realized that their guitars were tuned that low, and it was slightly too buzzy for my liking. Although I don’t like the tone on that, overall the guitars can be catchy, and will grow on you for sure. The drums hold everything together by far, they are simple, yet effective, and bring it all together.
The music itself feels like a mixture of a whole bunch of things, but done the right way. They also have done something very unique. Because it was a digital album, they were able to change the album art for each song accordingly, and in result have 7 different album covers, all similar, but slightly different.
Halfway through, they have an instrumental song called (Boardwalk). It’s simplicity and clarity makes it so attractive. It’s just a break right in the middle of the album, and it’s done completely right. It shows the diversity the band has as musicians, as well as composers. Definately something that could be put in playlist alongside The Riviera Heist’s Felix Felices, as well as House vs Hurricane’s Colour Space.
The song that stands out by far ‘There’s Something in the Water’. The guitars and vocals flow together so nicely, and the transitions are nice and smooth. It shows their full range, and brings out the sound they want and cuts it straight to the point.
On a last note, GO DOWNLOAD THIS ALBUM. It’s free. It has amazing album artwork, the lyrics are included, and it is definately you’ll find yourself playing on your iTunes or iPod. I haven’t had the chance to check out these guys live yet, but for sure am going to make an effort to go see them, and see what they’re like in person.
4 CommentsAlbum: Better Ways To Die
Artist: Death Before Dishonor
Release Date: July 28th/09
Tracks:
Boston hardcore band “Death Before Dishonor” are back with their third full length album, “Better Ways To Die”. 11 tracks of fast pace, in your face, passionate music. Produced by Jim Siegel( Dropkick Murphys, Blood For Blood) Better Way To Die is proof that Death Before Dishonor refuse to conform to the rules of modern hardcore
The opening track, “ Peace and Quiet” doesn’t hesitate to start the cd off with a bang. A shredding guitar solo on top of explosive drums, and thunderous bass, is how you are welcomed in classic Death Before Dishonor style. With the Cd being only 25 minutes long, one might wonder if it is worth being purchased. I would say most definitely. Sure it might be short with songs such as “Fuck This Year” being only 1:52, but trust me, this CD is worth a listen if you enjoy passionate, classic, hardcore music.
As for the lyrics, they are anything but meaningless. DBD Vocalist Brian Harris, writes about real life issues, and about the struggles of growing up in the projects of boston. The Song “Boys In Blue”, is about police brutalities and unfair tactics used by the police force. Harris is not afraid to express his feelings about any issue in a very blunt fashion, which in my opinion, is the best way to express it.
If you have never listened to Death Before Dishonor, I would recommend them to anyone who is a fan of bands such as The Mongoloids, Terror and First Blood. Fans of any heavy genres should be able to enjoy and respect this bands powerful, blunt lyric, heavy breakdowns and fast pace drumming.
