Review 009: Famous Last Words – “Arizona”

This extended ply was released on May 17th, 2019 on SBG Records.

Famous Last Words were Ice Nine Kills before Ice Nine Kills skyrocketed, in imagery only. The theatrics that the band put into their performances and their overall portrayal echoed My Chemical Romance-levels of angst, and their concept albums with exceptional storytelling and writing left a very niche impression in the hard rock community. With their extended play Arizona, the band distanced themselves from the Hot Topic-esque resemblance and gave them a chance to work on a new, more matured sound. With five tracks, the energy is dialed in and concentrated into each second of the seventeen-minute runtime. There are a few problems that the EP has, but overall, the band poured their heart and soul to create something that stands a bit far out from the typical generic drones that we have consumed for years on end.

The progression from Two-Faced Charade and Council of the Dead to The Incubus to now is a far road that we have traveled with the band. So much of the band’s appeal was the imagery associated with the stories they presented. With the new tracks, they have abandoned the conceptual aspect of their lyricism and focused on personal experiences from Jeremy Tollas’s life. The news came as a shock, but ultimately paid off, as Tollas’s heartfelt delivery is able to overcome what they have been typecast as in metal. The intimacy of the content matter that is displayed is also something that went hand-in-hand with the music and meshed in a positive fashion. Aside from a few quips (“Runaways” containing cliché gang vocals proclaiming we are some group that has to band together), the lyricism on the project is a solid effort.

Instrumentally, the EP sounds incredible. Produced by Matt Good (From First to Last, Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows), the generic approach to the music was a fantastic move to make, opting to forego all of the strings and orchestral elements that made Famous Last Words popular. This EP stands well on its own, with first-project drummer Cody Paige being a highlight on the tracks, pummeling his way into the band’s discography with ease, not forcing them to miss a step. The riffs on songs like “Runaways” and “Scream” are infectious, and despite the lighter approach to the sound of the record (“Scream” being the heaviest track of the five), the quality does not suffer.

If there are any gripes I have about this EP, the track length could be a bit longer. Five songs is the amount of music that typically gets put onto an EP, but as more bands opt to release EPs and use them for touring cycles and treat them as an album, Arizona could have stood to carry two or three more songs, at the most. Overall, while generic metalcore and post-hardcore will always remain a constant amidst hundreds of bands. Famous Last Words took a chance on something outside of their comfort zone, and the final effort was more than enough to suffice. I do believe that the band will likely lose a bit of steam differing from their conceptual approach, but music is subjective, first and foremost, and the band put out an honest record.

Rating: 6/10

Favorite Songs: “The Game”, “Broken Glass”, “No Walls”

Review 008: Eat Your Heart Out – “Florescence”

This album was released on May 17th, 2019 on Fearless Records.

Eat Your Heart Out has worked very hard to get to the point that they are at now. With their debut extended play Mind Games being a breath of fresh air in the alternative rock world, relentless touring, and spots on big festivals like Download Australia, there shouldn’t have been room in their schedules to record their debut album. Regardless, the five-piece found a way to get into the studio and put out an album that is sure to catapult them to the top of their label’s roster, and to the front of the rock world. Does the album do anything that’s out of the box or unordinary? Not particularly. Florescent isn’t here to reinvent the wheel, it’s here to keep it rolling and give us a good time.

As mentioned before, EYHO doesn’t progress much from a sonic perspective – Mind Games and Florescent are not drastically different from each other. The music is still very well-composed despite this observation. A big Paramore influence is present in the writing, and the bombastic choruses are harking back to some older anthems like “Misery Business”. There are some tracks that carry a bit of a heavier weight to them (“Heavy with Envy”) and some smaller-scale semi-ballad-like songs (“Pear Tree”) that switch up the pace of the album just enough to keep it unpredictable and exciting. The riffs on this album are also a high point of the listening, as every song feels a bit different and contains some major earworm melodies (one in particular being “Blinded”, where the guitar can be prominently heard in the backdrop of the mix) and all contain just enough of an edge to satisfy those who aren’t exclusively pop listeners. The closing song “Cold Hands” works in perfect symbiosis between vocals and instruments more than any other song on the album, as the emphatic final minutes of the album carries an emotionally heavy, PVRIS-like impact.

Caitlin Henry’s vocal performance on Florescence may be one of my favorite female-fronted performances as a lead singer on an album ever. Her delivery is belted across the tracks with such a sense of ease that when you think of her range, it’s crazy to imagine the octaves being spanned and performed so fluidly. Some of her standout moments are on songs like “Closer to the Sun”, where Henry’s soaring chorus is all over the place, weaving together a somewhat-standard progression with some over-the-top intonation. Her lyrics are honest and vulnerable, which is the case with several artists, but this dependable formula has not let a lot of people down; Henry bet safe writing about her experiences.

Florescence draws from a lot of influences from EYHO’s predecessors, and the work they have put into this album shows. As is the case with pop-punk, it is very hard to create a sound that stands out from the contemporaries, and this record is very far from making that kind of impact. Despite some of the shortcomings of the album, such as some of the songs simply not being as memorable as others due to a genre-fatigued formula (examples being “Daydreamer” and “Nowhere”), the Newcastle quintet hit more than they missed. They will have no problem keeping the wheel moving at the pace they are moving, and at this rate, why need to reinvent your sound when what you’ve been releasing is working?

Rating: 8/10

Favorite Songs: “Spinning”, “Constellations”, “Pear Tree”

Review 007: Diamond Construct – “Diamond Construct”

This album was released on May 17th, 2019 on Greyscale Records.

With the amount of metalcore coming out today, there really has to be something that makes a band stand out from its contemporaries. The new trend seems to be making things as overtly complex as possible while adding different hardcore, progressive, and industrial elements in the music (see Jesus Piece, Vein, Code Orange, etc.). Diamond Construct, a young Australian band, almost fell in the hole of being lumped with these artists and lost in the wave of the new up-and-coming heavy-hitters, but they have just enough fresh sound to give themselves a leg up on everyone else. With raw, belted vocals that have that hardcore edge, to absolutely brutal guitarwork and pounding drums, the band’s debut album is one that has already received acclaim for its drift into atmospheric metalcore and descent into beatdown hardcore.

The radio tunes into the opening of “Animus”, the album’s opener, and the band wastes no time getting into the thick of the absolutely disgusting mix. The guitars are very clear as they shred through the course of the record, and the drums never let up, save for some atmospheric passages such as the dichotomous clean section of “Dreamcatcher”. Drummer Alex Ford does a fantastic job of pushing the frenetic pace even further with his up-tempo beats, and the guitarwork by Braden Groundwater and Adam Kilpatrick doesn’t lag behind. Everything is fast-paced, everything is fiery and passionate, and the soft passages serve as small resting points before the action resumes.

Kynan Groundwater’s lyrics are very well-composed, and as a metalcore vocalist, the overarching themes of light and darkness, blood, sweat, and tears, and lament and loss often take center stage content-wise. Groundwater’s vocal delivery is similar to many other vocalists coming out in the scene right now, most notably Dealer’s current vocalist Aidan Holmes (ex-Alpha Wolf). The current trend of semi-yelling verses with occasional gutturals and highs is becoming a tad overplayed, and Groundwater fell into this trap. This is by no means calling his delivery bad, but rather, a predictable and stale performance that has been heard in many other musical efforts. The clean passages suffer from the same situation, but again, the performance is strong. “Morphine Eyes” showcases the singing ability of Groundwater and makes for a nice change of pace in the otherwise-stagnant vocal presentation.

Twelve tracks and forty-minutes later, the journey Diamond Construct has procured ends, and the effort put forth by the four-piece is well-documented in their small discography (one extended play preceding this album). Where other bands are okay with putting out some filler songs among their singles and crowd favorites, these Aussies put their heart into all twelve tracks, and it shows. Expect Diamond Construct to make some bigger moves in the future, as this album should be soon noted for helping pioneer the new style of metalcore.

Rating: 8/10

Favorite Songs: “Submerged”, “Hypno”, “Attitude”

Review 006: The Get Up Kids – “Problems”

This album was released on May 10th, 2019 on Polyvinyl Records.

The Get Up Kids were responsible for a big part of the third wave emo movement, even going as far as disassociating themselves from the term and changing their style to a more alternative rock approach. After breaking up and getting back together, then releasing an album and disappearing again for six years, the extended play Kicker served as a fresh start for the group. Then, “Satellite” was released, the album hype came back, and everybody who grew up watching the band open for Green Day and still has Bleed American on repeat daily wanted to see if they could keep their spot at the top of the emo throne. The hype was somewhat justified, as the veterans put out yet another record that has bouncy pop-punk anthems, alternative-influenced deep cuts, and an overarching, youthful sound that screams “we aren’t done just yet”, although some elements of the album show that the band didn’t want to take the risks of revisiting their older work.

As pointed out before, the album is the first album in eight years released by the band, so there was a skepticism as to how new material would sound (There Are Rules was a departure from the emo style that the band used to play). The acoustic strumming guitar at the beginning of “Satellite” is just a pretense for what’s to come, as the song explodes into a pop-punk frenzy that is an instant portal back to the late 90’s wave of music that dominated the scene. That same influence is echoed in “Lou Barlow”, where the lyrics pertaining to relationship concerns clash with the earworm riffs that play out through the course of the song. Matt Pryor’s signature vocals continue to shine on songs like “Salina” and “Common Ground”, where the alternative rock instrumentals (think mid-career Cage the Elephant or Black Keys) are able to take a backseat to his more downcast vocals. Pryor stays comfortably in his range and croons his trademark nasally vocals for the majority of the album and it works out well for the dynamic of Problems.

Instrumentally, the album has just enough variety to get by on a listen without too much dragging by. The album straddles between classic pop-punk and alternative rock for the first half, and the signature emo influence that The Get Up Kids are known for takes shape in the silence, especially in “Fairweather Friends” and “Symphony of Silence”. Unfortunately, the energetic first half of the album is miles ahead of the second half when it comes to overall difference in instrumentation, as the sequence from “The Advocate” to “Brakelines” blends together. “Your Ghost Is Gone” is a great album closer in that it breaks the spell of the monotonous tone that the album took in the second half.

Long story short, The Get Up Kids have tried writing music in three different eras. They revolutionized an entire genre in the first era, departed from said genre in the second one, and maintained relevancy in the third with Problems. The album isn’t perfect; it’s far from it. Despite this record not holding up to the classics like Four Minute Mile and Something to Write Home About, it has perks that will keep listeners coming back for the singles, and maybe some deep cuts like “Now or Never” and “Common Ground” every now and then.

Rating: 6/10

Favorite Songs: “Satellite”, “The Advocate”, “Your Ghost Is Gone”

Review 005: My Epic – “Violence”

This extended play was released on May 10th, 2019 on Facedown Records.

It’s always cool seeing a band from my home state make it big. Outside of the niche genres and community, we have a bit of talent, but as far as the hard rock spectrum goes, Alesana and He Is Legend might be the biggest names to come out of North Carolina. Charlotte-based My Epic is following their footsteps with their supercharged hard rock in the form of their new extended play Violence. The band played under an imprint of Facedown Records (Dreamt Music) until 2013, when they moved to the major label, and haven’t looked back since.

Something I noticed was that the band puts out extended plays at a more consistent rate than full albums. Their last three releases were all EPs, the last album released being Behold. I was curious as to why this was, so I listened to their discography before this release and understood immediately why they went this route. The energy and songwriting is so concentrated on Violence, as well as Ultraviolet and Viscera (the past EPs mentioned) and contains virtually no filler, where Behold worked well cohesively but had some down moments in its runtime. Even though the concept behind Violence and Ultraviolet are connected (the band has said that these two projects are companion pieces), they don’t sacrifice the short runtime for experimenting, save the odd track “Spit and Blood”, which resembles a lo-fi dream with some warped vocal effects and ambiguous lyrics. “Tsuneni” displays another off-the-wall production choice, but it is a bit easier on the ears than “Spit and Blood”.

Where Ultraviolet dealt with a more laid-back approach to the band’s vocals, Violence blows it out of the water with its themes of anger and struggling with faith. Even though the instrumentation is much more dialed up than the EP’s predecessor, there is virtually no screaming on the record. Aaron Stone pours his heart out over the concepts of hate, vitriol, empathy, and many more emotions. The feature by Cory Brandan of Norma Jean on “White Noises” was also well-placed; his intensity brought a lot to the song via their traded verses and choruses. As far as the ability of the actual vocals come, Stone kills it on this record. Soaring highs along with a sense of urgency in the verses makes for a very pleasant listen.

I didn’t give this band much attention until now, and they definitely have put out a solid release in Violence. The strong vocal delivery, penmanship, and overall musicianship of the group suggests they can take the next step and be talked about with some of the heavyweights in the hard rock community. Here’s to hoping they can add to North Carolina’s lacking résumé.

Rating: 7/10

Favorite Songs: “White Noises”, “Spit It Out”, “Bad Accent”

Review 004: Employed to Serve – “Eternal Forward Motion”

This album was released on May 10th, 2019 on Spinefarm Records.

The rushing wave of new hardcore and beatdown bands (as well as every offshoot of that genre) started with Knocked Loose’s extended play Pop Culture in 2014. Laugh Tracks was released in 2016, and suddenly, there were a thousand copycats trying to recreate the same energy that Bryan Garris barked into existence. Enter Employed to Serve. It’s easy to write them off as another hardcore wannabe until you actually take a few seconds to listen to Justine Jones scream her throat to shreds. This band is one of the very few current hardcore bands that has elevated themselves past their contemporaries with their new album Eternal Forward Motion.

Luke Morton of Kerrang! Magazine summed up this album perfectly when he said that EFM sounds like it would spit in your face before punching you. This album is BRUTAL. There is no letting up from the intensity until the album closer “Bare Bones on a Blue Sky”, and even then, the shoegaze influence that the background provides keeps for a very haunting overtone. With everyone in the band sounding like they want to break their instruments, the heaviness is definitely an accustomed taste. Even the instrumental interlude “Sore Tooth Twin” doesn’t allow any breathing room. There’s a lot of different influences at play on the album: the two aforementioned tracks show signs of post-metal, while numerous songs employ sludge and groove metal influences, namely “We Forgot You” and “Owed Zero”.

The lyrical aspect of this album is an incredible touch to the already relentless album. The themes that Jones expands upon are relevant to society in today’s day and age; concepts like trying to stay content in a world that’s constantly evolving, social media and the myriad of issues that spawn from that behemoth, and the overall anger from the new generation are all prevalent in the eleven-track mauling. Jones shrieks about suicide and depression over the instrumental of “Harsh Truth”, lending the band’s insight into that specific topic as well. This album isn’t just a bunch of pissed-off members; it’s a bunch of pissed-off members longing for an answer to the ever-changing status quo.

As far as hardcore records go, this has been one of the most insane records I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. From the moment the title track started, the passion, vigor, and enraged attitude that stemmed from the five-piece threw me for a huge loop. EFM is an album that stands head and shoulders above its competition, and has the power to inspire a new generation along with it.

Rating: 9/10

Favorite Tracks: “Dull Ache Behind My Eyes”, “We Forgot You”, “Reality Filter”

Review 003: Defeater – “Defeater”

This album was released on May 10th, 2019 on Epitaph Records.

The self-titled record is always the one spot in a band’s discography that’s examined the most. Typically, when a self-titled record is announced, the media props up the notion of the music being the artist’s magnum opus, the defining moment in their careers. We saw this with Being as an Ocean, which didn’t sit well with fans to the point that the melodic hardcore band doesn’t play anything from that album live, save “Little Richie” and “Sleeping Sicarii”. On the contrary, you have albums like Slipknot that get consistent praise for being diverse, original, and most importantly, a microcosm of the band themselves. When Defeater announced their new album, opting not to give it a separate title from their namesake, it was clear that this record was going to be under the magnifying glass more than their other releases. It’s safe to say that they delivered some of their best music yet, though not without its faults.

Jay Maas leaving the band left a lot of doubt in the heads of the band’s fans, what with the already lukewarm reviews to their previous album Abandoned. Then, the news came out that the production for Defeater was going to be helmed by Will Yip, another sign of skepticism in the eyes of the public, as Yip has been known for laying vocal tracks within the instruments. With the storytelling aspect of the lyrics such an integral part to the band, this spelt disaster. When “Mothers’ Sons” dropped, the doubt went away, and we were treated to a wonderful return to the hardcore roots that we’ve become accustomed to. However, as the rest of the singles came out and the fans were treated to more and more music, it became evident that the fears in production came to fruition. The vocal tracks are so far back in the final mix that it almost creates a chore to decipher what Derek Archambault is howling in the microphone. “Mothers’ Sons” seemed to be an outlier in the final cut regarding the vocal mix, and even then, it isn’t crystal clear.

I will give credit where credit is due though. Yip’s multi-layered approach to his mixes may be the subject of controversy in the eyes of the fans, but from a purely instrumental standpoint, the record sounds phenomenal. The guitar feedback that you can hear in some of the songs’ sullen moments adds to the intensity of the record. This is especially evident in “Desperate” and “Hourglass”, where the music takes a break from the onslaught received from the past four tracks to add to the overall gloom of the record. The music is still just as fast-paced as ever, and despite being darker than the previous albums, it still carries that signature Defeater sound.

Now, as I mentioned before, Defeater stands out from most of the other bands in the hardcore sphere due to their ability to continue the story of our WWII Glass family and the characters we’ve come to know, love, hate, and love again. The interspersing points of view from the priest (from Abandoned) and the dad’s brother (the protagonist of this album) bring new and exciting turns to the story and the connections that the band has crafted since 2008. Archambault’s lyricism continues to stand out on top of the hardcore vocalist spectrum, and despite the troubles with the mix, sounds just as boisterous and passionate as ever.

If it wasn’t for the poor vocal mix, this album would be near perfection, as most Defeater albums have been for me. The story has been one of my favorite subjects to keep up with, and with a new set of songs that add to the weaving tales of all the characters involved, internet forums will be ablaze deciphering every detail that is hidden in the lyrics. It truly is some of Defeater’s best music: gloomy instrumentals, frenetic guitarwork, pummeling drums. It is their namesake, and has summed up their career well amid the mishaps.

Rating: 8/10

Favorite Songs: “Mothers’ Sons”, “Dealer / Debtor”, “No Guilt”

Review 002: Danny Worsnop – “Shades of Blue”

This album was released on May 10th, 2019 on Sumerian Records.

Shades of Blue is an album with music that you might hear when you walk into an American Eagle or a TJ MAXX. Is that a bad thing? Absolutely not (unless it’s “Starlight” by Madonna. That song is ruined for me because of working in retail). The catchiness of this album is definitely at display, and Worsnop’s ability to write a hook is unparalleled on this project. Now, Shades of Blue is, for the most part, different from Worsnop’s last album, The Long Road Home, which lent itself to a large country influence and was more grandiose in nature than this project. This one leans more towards a pop genre with stripped-back instrumentals and a more subdued approach, while honing some of the country rock elements used on TLRH. Regardless of the criticism that Worsnop received from that foray into his career, or the backlash for his ungraceful fallout (and subsequent rise back) into Asking Alexandria, or the hate he received again when he took AA into a more alternative rock direction, he remains dedicated to creating something he’s passionate about, and it’s evident in the material.

Instrumentally, the album is mid-paced for a majority of the runtime, with some groovy riffs (“Little Did I Know”, “Keep On Lovin’”) and some softer, more vulnerable areas on display (“Tomorrow”, “I’ve Been Down”, “Tell Her I Said Hey”). Worsnop’s vocals, praised by many, are at a moderate range here; he doesn’t show off too much, save for some passionate parts in the third act of songs. The country instrumental influence isn’t completely erased away either; as mentioned earlier, the southern rock progression he built upon in TLRH is heard most of the songs, especially “Am I A Fool” and “Edge of Goodbye”, along with a signature vibrato sequence in the former that one can come to expect can only come from Worsnop. Songs on the second half on the album tend to blend together, but album closer “Ain’t Feeling Sorry” captures the energy that was spastic across the first half off the record.

Lyrically, Worsnop plays upon clichés that country artists (and most other genres) have sang about time and time again, the main focus of the album being love and the circumstances revolving the ever-conflicting emotion. “Little Did I Know” finds Worsnop helplessly falling for someone while not looking at the ramifications of that action, while “Tomorrow” talks about his plan to break up with his partner so that she can have someone better. It’s a tried-and-true concept that Worsnop is able to execute well.

As someone who has never been an avid fan of country rock music, I think that Worsnop makes Shades of Blue accessible enough for a casual listener to enjoy, while not shoving too much honky-tonk and country clichés to alienate someone on the fence about the genre. There are some weak parts in the album – the aforementioned second half drags a bit until the end, and the variety of the musical choice can be a little jarring on a song-to-song basis (an example being the heart-on-the-sleeve vulnerability of “Tomorrow” leading to an anthemic “Keep On Lovin’”) – but overall, the album is an enjoyable listen.

Rating: 7/10

Favorite Songs: “Little Did I Know”, “Am I A Fool”, “Heaven Is A Long Way Down”

Review 001: Aaron West & The Roaring Twenties – “Routine Maintenance”

This album was released on May 10th, 2019 on Hopeless Records.

I got into The Wonder Years when Sister Cities came out. That’s a lot of material to catch up to, and I am well aware that I was late to the wondrous imagery that Dan “Soupy” Campbell can portray through his words. When I learned that he had a solo project as well, I knew I had to check it out. There’s a reason I place Campbell within my top five lyricists in the pop-punk genre (he quite possibly sits at the top), and he solidifies that spot on the pedestal with his work in his side-project. A blend of folk rock and Americana, complete with woefully poignant lyrics, Routine Maintenance is one of the better albums that I have heard in quite a while.

Right from the start, “Lead Paint & Salt Air” carries that signature Aaron West sound, even referencing Springsteen, whose influence you can hear pretty clearly. Campbell’s knack for writing toned-down verses only to explode into enormous choruses is also evident here, and was evident on Sister Cities as well. It was a topic of debate for his band’s progression into a more alternative rock / emo sound that this writing style was used too much on every song, but it’s a great way for Campbell’s emotion to bleed onto the chords.

The singles that were put out before the album’s release (“Runnin’ Toward the Light”, “Just Sign the Papers”, “Bury Me Anywhere Else”) were great indicators of what the album’s sound was as a whole. Despite me saying that, this doesn’t mean that the album is predictable. Incorporating horns added a completely different dimension to the instrumentals behind Campbell’s raw voice and opened the rest of the album to expand upon that soundscape. “Rosa & Reseda” is a nice and upbeat composition (contradictory to the lyrics of the song, which are heartbreaking) that launches into “Wildflower Honey”, which is a completely different tone than its predecessor, then it picks right back up into “Runnin’ Toward the Light”, another upbeat and lively song.

The emotional rollercoaster that Campbell and Routine Maintenance takes the listener on is heart-wrenching, agonizing, and frankly, should probably leave some listeners in tears due to its relatability. Sonically, it’s an expected progression from Campbell’s writing on Sister Cities, and the story that he paints through his lyrics is just as real as ever. Even though there’s a looming sense of lowness on the album, there’s a certain charisma in this project, one that gives us a view of hope from being rock bottom. Maybe it’s the Americana sound, a genre that we have heard all too many times by musical legends like Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen. Maybe it’s because Campbell can paint a picture through his words that shows we aren’t so different after all. Whatever the notion is, Aaron West’s second album is able to show an extensive amount of heart and soul.

Rating: 9/10

Favorite Songs: “Bloodied Up in a Bar Fight”, “Rosa & Reseda”, “Runnin’ Toward the Light”