August Burns Red - Constellations

When I started going to shows, they pretty much entailed what ever genre of music my friend Chad wanted to go to. Back then he was into pop-punk as well as hardcore and metal, and yes, even some rap. Although we never did go to any rap shows, even though they were discussed. It was because of him I really started to go to more and more shows.

Aside from my first two shows being relatively bigger/more well known tours (Ska Is Dead and Warped Tour), the next tour that Chad thought I would enjoy going to him with was the tour in which Killswitch Engage and From Autumn to Ashes tour with 18 Visions and 36 Crazy Fists. This was actually the first time I had seen this type of show/heard this music live.

Back between its transitional phase, we went to see this show at the venue in Syracuse, NY called Club Tundra (both before and after it was called this, it is known as The Lost Horizon, one of the most legendary venues in the nation, also with a lot of history.) And needless to say, I loved the show, I love the atmosphere, I loved the energy. All considered, I was enthralled.

Over the years, I have been very picky over my hardcore/metal (whatever genre you want to call it, and what ever sub-genre you classify all these bands as. Either way, its fucking intense rock music that most don't dream of listening to.) I knew that I liked smooth breakdowns, open stringed usually, and more melodic than chaotic instrumentals.

When I first heard some songs by August Burns Red, I have to admit I was not a fan. I really did not like their music all too much. Yes, I would rather listen to them then say Lil Wayne or Kenny Chesney or Coldplay. However, as all of my friends started to like August Burns Red more and more, I decided I would give their new album a shot, and once again, I was surprised.

From beginning to end, this album contains almost all aspects of metal/hardcore that I do enjoy. They take some liberties in which I understand they try some new things. During the song "Ocean of Apathy" they actually slow it down for a minute and play what almost sounds like a jam band type riff.

A lot of their guitar playing sounds very technical, or if you will "math" like. It sounds very well constructed and like they did not want their new album to come out sounding half-assed...as another recently reviewed band seemed to have done. The vocals are very powerful and very well placed in time. At no point do I ever think "he shouldn't be singing, I want to hear this riff" or even like I have though before "why are there vocals over this breakdown, it would have been brutal."

Thats another point, the breakdowns in this album that do exist, aren't over-done, or lame sounding. They don't pump them up either, where the bass gets deep, time slows down, and you think "oh shit here it comes," only to be let down.

All in all, this album is absolutely solid. Check it.

























Album: 8 out of 10 zings.

Message to Band: Although this may be the first album I like from you, I completely respect experimentation and growth as a band. This album is solid, keep with following what you feel will make yourselves happy, and fuck the fans and public. After all, its your band, its about your music and your musical talent, not about what people want to hear.

Killswitch Engage - Killswitch Engage

Ever since I was a fan of metal/hardcore, there were a few bands I had always known about and had known of their music, or liked their music. Those bands included: Haste the Day, Everytime I Die, As I Lay Dying, Comeback Kid, and Killswitch Engage. Now, I cannot say that I have always been a huge fan of Killswitch (like I am of other bands, and have every song memorized), but I do know quite a few songs, and thoroughly enjoy them.

So when the new album was released, I immediately picked it up, and popped it into my car cd player. And off the bat, I can honestly say, I was impressed. The first two songs, I was in a mood to jam and hear some amazing lyrics and smooth instrumentals I had always associated with Killswitch Engage. However, as the cd progressed...a weird thing happened.

At this point let me say, this is going to be a short review, and you will soon find out why.

As the album progressed (meaning track 3 and so on), there didn't seem to be any defining sound, unique riffs, or insanely identifying lyrics. I started to actually get bored listening to this album. Actually, in the middle of the album, there are a couple of songs in which have instances (or mostly), drop the abrasive metal drumming and go into an older punk style of fast drumming.

Now, I am not adverse to punk music/drumming/etc at all. Infact, punk is how I got into the hardcore/metal/indie I am into now. I started off listening to Rancid, Transplants, Sex Pistols, NUFAN, Bodyjar, Operation Ivy, Dead Kennedys, Suicidal Tendencies, The Unseen...and so on.

When it came down to this album containing what I was looking forward to, I was let down. The vocals are still right on, and I enjoy the sound of them, but it just didn't seem to match up this time for me.






















Album: 4 out of 10 zings.

Message to Band: Just keep on thrashing and producing, this is the first album that I didn't like that much. Maybe its just my warped brain, or maybe the effort going in dropped, I'm not sure.


P.S. I fully intend on blogging more frequently, now that so much personal things I had to take care of are out of my way.

Earth Crisis - To The Death

In my few day hiatus away from blogging, I enjoyed my anniversary, gave my brain some time to thing and digest. Returning, I decided to take on something closer to me. Earth Crisis after years of being apart have gotten back together, and of course when I heard that, I was pumped. Being from Syracuse, and a strong believer in what the band believes in as well, this is something I just needed to do.

This more than likely is going to be a short review, I don't have a lot to say about the album. Well, that is a lie, I have a lot to say, but no words to form what I want to say.

From the start, the album promises powerful vocal overhaul, a bit more vicious compared to older Earth Crisis. It also promises strong instrumentals and a dynamic that you just could not find from anywhere else besides those tormented souls that have to reside in Syracuse, NY.

In Syracuse, the majority of us like a few things. We like our hardcore loud, we like our brotherhood, and those who are edge are very proud to be. Even if someone else is not edge, our brotherhood and sisterhoods bring us together for the love of hardcore and doing something that we believe, not only in this moment, but forever will be important, and a great way to send a message.

Earth Crisis once again hits on this album with all of that. Powerful vocals and brutal instrumentals continuously have you rocking and thrashing about. Some of the lyrics portray the straight edge and vegan life style, yet is not overwhelming and "do this or you fucking suck" type of song.

I love the intro to the song that says "The weapons of drugs and dealers kill more in months and weeks than Al-Quida victims, for the cartel's greed", this is simply a great lead into a great edge song. This song actually makes me feel proud to be who I am, and where I come from. Just a great song with a great message. Imagine one song saying everything you want to about the wrongs of society and drug use, etc. This song does that for me, and it should open up your eyes too.

All in all, this album delivers the whole way through, and you just need to listen to it to be able to appreciate it.


Album: 9 out of 10 zings.

Message to Band: Keep it up, seriously. You are the only reason that makes it cool to be from Syracuse, fuck the orangemen.

All American Rejects: "When the World Comes Down"

For as long as I can remember, I have always been an AAR fan. In 2003, when I first heard their Self-Titled album, I was enthralled. The catchy tunes and the beautifully constructed lyrics and instrumentals, amazing. So lets start there, shall we?

The self-titled album held such classics as "Paper Heart" and "Swing Swing". This was the first dose of music from this band that America was subjected to. Needless to say that it was very well picked up by a mass public, as it hit the radio soon after. The songs may have been a bit "choppy" with lyrics and instruments, but their idea was there, and very well put together, and loved by many, including myself.

It seemed like for two years or so after that release, they toured but kept low and wrote another album as well. Until in 2005 when "Move Along" came out. This album was powerful and again had very well put ideas together. From the lyrics to the instrumentals, the album progressed and flowed together a bit better than their previous self-titled album. This album gave us such songs as "Move Along" and "Dirty Little Secret". Once again, AAR hit with catchy lyrics and a great tune for everyone to rock out to.

Now, when I heard that AAR was releasing an album around the same time FOB was releasing their new album, I was kind of worried that FOB's release would have sheltered AAR from getting their album in the light as much as it may deserve. I remember thinking that people would just listen to FOB's and not AAR.

When I first picked up "When the World Comes Down", I hadn't even listened to a single from the album yet, so I wasn't knowing what to expect. But the opening track "I Wanna" just sucked me in from the beginning. "Falling Apart" and "Damn Girl" deliver the same catchy tune and lyrical type that I was used to, be even showed more progression since their previous album "Move Along".

I can admit, I love "Gives You Hell", the first single from the album. It is very catchy, very great tune, and a song lyrically I think all of us can identify with at some point or another. The next two songs "Mona Lisa" and "Breakin" kind of tone the album down a little, but still keep it catchy, and give the album a little bit of a darker feeling, more emotion seems to flow through these songs.

"Another Heart Calls" is in my opinion one of the best ballads ever written, it is right up there with "If It Means A Lot To You" by A Day To Remember. The lyrics and emotion flow from both the male and female voice in this song, and give it a very connective feeling. I even found a video on youtube of two girls singing along in their bedroom to the song, absolutely loved it!

To sum up the rest of the album, it is a bit toned down from the first half. The songs are still good, but make me want to get up and boogey less. The album never really loses its touch on reality or on the emotions that the band portrays in each of its songs since the beginning.
























Album: 8 out of 10 zings

Message to Band: I completely respect how you have gone about your "fame" or music business. I actually like how you seem to disappear for a few years and keep low, something that a lot of people seem to forget, and stay in the light for too long, and it makes them weird. Keep up the amazing tunes!

Burden of a Day: Oneonethousand

So, my wife being from Southwest Florida, I have always been into finding bands from the Tampa Bay/Sarasota area. One day my search brought me to a Christian metal/hardcore band called Burden of a Day. I loved their EP, and followed them closely. After only about 2 months of listening to them, I read that they were writing a new album, so again, I kept a close eye on this.

The first song off the album, "Remember", was released as a single on their myspace. I noticed right off the bat that there was more singing in this album, and the vocals were a lot more crisp and clear. Nothing to complain about, his voice is a very nice asset to the band's sound. The instrumentals still sounded strong in this single, as well as the screams.

When the album was first available, I immediately downloaded it. I have to start off by saying, they very smartly and artistically mixed their screams and clean vocals. The clean vocals gives songs a bit of a poppy feeling to it, and makes the songs a bit more catchy than their previous EP had sounded.

Clean vocals on this album remind me a bit of Bedlight for Blueeyes, and I thought that their vocals were amazing as well. Not whiney, not too deep, and certainly doesn't sound like the vocalist is struggling to make his pitch.

The scream vocals on this album remind me a bit of The Devil Wears Prada and A Static Lullaby. Once again a band hits another good note and has their rough vocals easily understood. I cannot tell you how much I it when I cannot understand screams.

Lyrically, this album is a hit. I don't find it hard at all to connect with what the band is trying to convey or say in the songs. Instrumentally, this album is clean and has some very interesting riffs in it.

This album is one in which I do not skip and tracks, and once again I have found an album hard to rate portion by portion or song by song. The whole album delivers and I urge you to listen. If you like to sing along to your music, if you like to thrash, if you like to just jam out, if you like gang chants, I HIGHLY recommend this album.





















Album: 9 out of 10 zings

Message to Band: Keep on progressing as a band, and find the sound you like, or you have in mind. Personally, I am a big fan of Christian harcore/metal, so please keep up the good tunes, and you'll go places.

Vanna gives A New Hope

The way I found out about Vanna was actually boredom with the music I currently had in my music library. I was at Best Buy and just decided that I needed some new music, and I wanted to try and listen to a new band. When I usually did this, I started at A and made my way towards Z. This day however I went from Z to A, and Vanna was not all to far in. Their release from Epitaph "The Search Party Never Came" had a "comparable to bands like" sticker on it, and Every Time I Die was on there, along with some other bands I liked, so I decided to check it out.

I got into my car, and listened to the whole cd on the ride home. I was not sure what to make out of it, since they had quite a different sound. After a while, the cd grew on me immensely and I knew that I loved Vanna.

When their second CD curses was released, I was enthralled that they were releasing new music. "Curses" was an ok album, I was not swept off my feet by it, but I liked it. I found myself singing random parts of some songs and having them stuck in my head like "I don't wanna see you fall apart..." -continues to sing-. my favorite part of the whole album was actually the intro to the album.

Now...when I heard that Vanna was releasing even more music, I was kind of undecided as to whether or not I was going to check it out. I was a huge fan of "The Search Party Never Came" and didn't care all too much for "Curses", but nevertheless, I picked up the album.

"A New Hope" has been in regular circulation into my car's cd player ever since I have first gotten the album. I love the intro song, and the mix of screams and vocals are the most well mixed out of all their albums. There are only 2 songs in which I usually skip which are tracks 5 and 8.

A lot of these songs are catchy. You can understand his screams as well, which I find to be a very important of heavier music that has screaming, be it screamo, hardcore, metal, etc. The singing voice is also very enjoyable. I can garuntee that if you give this album a listen, you will definitely enjoy the lyrics, and find yourself singing them regularly.

Honestly, I know in my previous blogs I try to review album song by song, or portions of album in chunks. However with this album I can't do such a thing. The album remains strong throughout the playout of the tracks. Each track delivers powerful and mindblowing vocals, through screams and sings.

























Album: 8 out of 10 zings.

Message to Band: Keep up the good work. Your progession as a band has done nothing but astound me. I hope to hear more music from you guys soon, and I hope that you stay true to yourselves.

"A Shipwreck in the Sand" is More of a Salvage

Let me be the first to say, I love all Silverstein albums. However as the band has progressed, they have experimented a little more and more each album, and get a more and more definitive sound with each album produced. This band is definitely one of the best at producing what music they feel like producing, and Shane does an amazing job of writing about what he feels.

When I first heard When Broken Is Easily Fixed, it was easy to say I was in love. I believe that album did not leave my car cd player for over 2 months. Within the first week I knew every song and sang along loudly. That album seemed to fuse all aspects of music that I liked, and still do. The correct timing of screams with vocals, heavy and light riffs, etc, beautiful.

So when their next album "Discovering the Waterfont" came out, I was excited, and learned that whole album within a week as well. I can't say that the album didn't leave my cd player, but most of my favorite songs come from that album, including "Call It Karma" and "My Heroine" and for the longest time "Smile in Your Sleep" was my favorite song, until "My Heroine" grew even more on me.

Needless to say, when I found out that Arrivals and Departures was in the making, I was pumped. "If You Could See Into My Soul" was an excellent song. However, I felt like I didn't connect with a lot of songs on the album, and it made me less interested. The instrumentals on a lot of songs didn't appeal to me either. I am not saying I don't like this album, but it definitely got the least play time out of all of them.

Now, when "A Shipwreck In The Sand" was announced, again, I found myself salivating at hearing Shane boast his amazing vocals. The single "Broken Stars" was an amazing single in my opinion with some classic Silverstein signature in which the screaming is powerful and kicks in at the end, when, in my opinion, the passion of the song is strongest.

So when I first gave the album a listen, the first three songs were signature Silverstein, and I loved the guest vocals on "Vices". I was a big fan of on "18 Candles" album how Shane had WiL from Aiden guest sing in "Bleeds No More" and thought that they should definitely have more guest vocals.

Over the next couple of tracks, the album takes a little bit of a lighter turn. Still as passionate, and still sending a great message as do the other songs. Shane did a great job writing so that the emotional connection to the songs could be felt. Then, the album takes a heavy turn once again for a couple songs.

Those few songs in the middle of the album come out of no where with a powerful punch. I give a lot of credit to a band who has never really had a breakdown per-se in a song, into having two in an album. I am not saying they were very moving breakdowns, but they were good. When I first heard them, my heart lept out of my chest. I would love to see Silverstein produce a couple more heavier songs like this...maybe even a bit heavier.

The final songs in the album end the album nicely. I don't feel like there should have been more songs added, or that some songs should have been taken out. The album was the perfect length and no song made the album awkward. The album flows nicely together, and its not too heavy, its not too light, the vocals don't have "whiney" parts, nor do they have too deep of vocal parts.

This album for me, reasserted why Silverstein is my favorite band. They again showed their progression and ability to write and produce amazing music.





















Album: 9 out of 10 zings.

Message to Band: Keep on doing what you're doing. I love Shane's ability to write, I respect everyone else's ability to play amazingly (Billy, Josh, Paul, Neil). Stay true to yourselves, and I will always love you guys, and so will your fans.