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- Bring Me The Horizon’s There Is A Hell Believe Me I’ve Seen It, There Is A Heaven Let’s Keep It A Secret (10/5)
- Chiodos’ Illuminaudio (10/5)
- All That Remains’ For We Are Many (10/12)
- Senses Fail’s The Fire (10/19)
- A Day To Remember’s What Separates Me From You (10/26)
Non-mainstream essentials: April 2011
April 24th, 2011
By Nick DiNatale
Music Editor
March’s largest success: Yellowcard’s When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes
With alt-rock act Yellowcard now signed to Hopeless Records, When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes comes three years following the group’s previous release, Paper Walls. It was a shock to many of their fans when the band decided to put things on pause in order to go on hiatus in 2008. Yellowcard was coming off of their three most successful records and were getting ready to tour Europe. However, they simply needed to spend extra time tending to their personal lives, so they put their career on hold and took a break from the band. As promised, the hiatus was nothing more than that, and When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes redeems the long wait between albums.
From the first few seconds of the album, Yellowcard establishes that they are poised to surge right back to the forefront of the alternative rock scene. The initial song on the record, “The Sound Of You And Me” is a hard-hitting, fast paced start to the record. The next two tracks on the record are just as powerful and do ascertain the fact the Yellowcard hasn’t made a major jump towards a mainstream sound with the new record. The third of these songs, “With You Around,” contains a captivating melody and lines such as “All I can think about was you and me driving with a Saves The Day record on/We were singing until our voices were gone,” which could easily make it the most memorable song on the album.
“Life Of Leaving Home” and “Be The Young” are also notable tracks, along with “Hang You Up,” which was released as a single prior to the rest of the album. The entire record is filled with hooks, while not being clichéd in the slightest regard. When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes is another success for Yellowcard to add to their résumé of alt-rock/pop-punk mastery. Look for this record to be a fan favorite in no time.
Looking forward to April:
1. Asking Alexandria’s Reckless and Relentless (4/5)
2. Between The Buried And Me’s The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues (4/12)
3. Foo Fighter’s Wasting Light (4/12)
4. Thursday’s No Devolucion (4/12)
5. The Plot In You’s First Born (4/19)
6. Augustana’s Augustana (4/26)
7. Explosions In The Sky’s Take Care, Take Care, Take Care (4/26)
8. Silverstein’s Rescue (4/26)
Non-mainstream essentials: March 2011
March 8th, 2011
by Nick DiNatale
Music Editor
February’s largest success: Bayside’s Killing Time
Killing Time is the next jump forward for Queens-based Bayside, following 2008’s Shudder. With a new label to back them up (Wind-up Records), Bayside returns with yet another memorable alt-rock release to accompany them. Read the rest of this entry “
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Non-mainstream essentials: February 2011
February 11th, 2011Nick DiNatale
Music editor
January’s Largest Success: I Am Empire’s Kings
I Am Empire’s debut is strong, fulfilling, and memorable to say the least. It’s certainly safe to say that a fair number of positive adjectives can be used to articulate the success of the band’s Tooth & Nail debut. As a result of the album’s abundant solos, catchy riffs, and rich, powerful bass tones, January 25th (the release date for Kings) is set to be a good day. Make sure to take the album for more than just face value though: it has a deep, underlying theme of abandonment, and meaningful lyrics which both deserve at least some attention.
The band brings a touch of an 80’s rock vibe (mixed with a modern-day alt-rock band) to the table with their debut full-length. (Comparisons to Mötley Crüe wouldn’t be very far out of line.) The 80’s rock feel is mostly provided by frontman Austin Lyons’ vocal style, along with I Am Empire’s tendency to include guitar solos in the majority of their songs, while the powerful bass tones and guitar riffs add a heavier aspect to the band’s music. However, contrary to many of the band’s competitors throughout the scene, no screamed vocals appear on Kings.
In addition to being ear-grabbing, Kings is also a very diverse album. Rich bass tones and guitar riffs combine with the emotionally fueled lyrics to hook the listener into the record. In both “Love & Despair” and “It’s Not Fair”, deeper lyrics combine with slower tempos to show a softer, ballad-like side to the band’s songs. “Dig You Out” gives off more of a mainstream, pop-rock vibe than any other song on the album. However, none of the aforementioned songs really feel out of place in the slightest. They mingle quite nicely between the faster paced, heavier songs such as “Brain Damage” and “Heart Attack”.
After a good fifteen listens through Kings, it still isn’t getting old. The fact that this is I Am Empire’s first career album is very impressive, as they are certainly rather mature musicians. Make sure to check out the album and the band as well, as they will be touring throughout the year.
Go listen to: “Hammers And Anvils” and “Dig You Out”
Looking forward:
1. A Skylit Drive’s Identity On Fire (2/15)
2. Bright Eyes’ The People’s Key (2/15)
3. Emmure’s Speaker Of The Dead (2/15)
4. Bayside’s Killing Time (2/22)
5. Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows’ D.R.U.G.S. (2/22)
6. I See Stars’ The End Of The World Party (2/22)
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Non-mainstream essentials: December 2010
December 6th, 2010By Nick DiNatale
Music Editor
November’s largest success: My Chemical Romance’s Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys
With a four year wait since the release of their previous album, The Black Parade, one of the main questions that alt-rock band My Chemical Romance faced with the release of their new album Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys was whether or not the gap between the two albums would be justified. The answer to that question? It most definitely was.
Narrated by a man known as Doctor Death-Defying, the new album leads the listener into continuous twists and turns throughout the band’s post-apocalyptic scenario which they’ve created as a theme for the album. New elements are brought into MCR’s music (synthesizers, for example), without being enough to label them with the “mainstream” stereotype. Their sound has progressed, but not too much and not too little. With twelve tracks and three segments of Dr. D’s narration, Danger Days is also a fulfilling effort when it comes to both length and diversity. Between the faster tracks on the record such as “Na Na Na”, “Party Poison”, and “Vampire Money” and the slower ones such as “S.I.N.G.”, “S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W” and “The Kids From Yesterday”, the album is very diverse. MCR even experimented in something very new for themselves with “Planetary (GO!)” which has a very dance-like beat.
With the fact that the album debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200, coupled with the strong musical effort that My Chemical Romance put into Danger Days, the new album is destined to be just as much of a hit, if not more of one than their previous albums. Whether or not you have appreciated MCR’s past work, make sure to give the new album a chance.
Go listen to: “S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W”
Looking forward to December:
1. Silverstein’s Transitions EP (December 7th)
2. Asking Alexandria’s Life Gone Wild EP (December 21st)
Review: Alternative Press Tour
November 23rd, 2010By Nick DiNatale
Music Editor
Alternative Press’s annual Fall Tour made its appearance in Boston last Friday, November 19th at The House of Blues. This year’s tour broke the pattern of primarily pop-punk bands that the tour generally features. Instead, the lineup featured hardcore and metalcore acts which included This Is Hell, Polar Bear Club, Emarosa, August Burns Red, and Bring Me The Horizon. The entire experience of going to Alternative Press Tour was a worthwhile one. In addition to seeing five upcoming, talented bands, AP also sponsored band signings and free signups for subscriptions, which came with bags that contained posters and other gifts.
This Is Hell and Polar Bear Club both play more “old-school” punk/hardcore music, which features fast paced songs with gruff vocals and quick drum beats. The fans of This Is Hell managed to get pretty rowdy during their set and started circle pits after the band’s coaxing. However, for Polar Bear Club, who managed to put more energy into their set, the crowd was more mellowed out. Regardless of the crowd though, each band played a solid show.
Next on the bill for the night came Emarosa, an experimental six-piece rock band from Kentucky. The band has reached a great level of popularity, especially with their latest release; a self-titled effort. The crowd for Emarosa erupted in excitement the second frontman Jonny Craig took the stage. Even with their popularity, and their great performance on stage, Emarosa only played a six song set before giving the stage up to the final two bands.
August Burns Red took the stage in the midst of a storm of strobe lights which was complimented by a backtracked synthesizer. The intro quickly gave way to one of their most popular songs, “Composure,” which simply made the intro seem ironic. The five-piece Christian metalcore band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania went on to play ten more songs (including a drum solo by Matt Greiner) with an unprecedented level of emotion and a crowd going absolutely wild in front of them. Their set was the rowdiest of the night, with crowd surfers pouring over the barricade and moshing taking place all throughout the pit. If it weren’t for Bring Me The Horizon being the more popular of the two bands (which is potentially due to Oli Sykes’ popularity amongst female fans), August Burns Red would have been a valid choice to headline the tour. Without any doubt, they are a talented band with a lot in store for them.
Even after August Burns Red’s eleven song set, once they gave up the stage to Bring Me The Horizon, the crowd was still ready to go. Playing in support of their most recent release There Is A Hell Believe Me I’ve Seen It, There Is A Heaven Let’s Keep It A Secret, Bring Me The Horizon opened with their first single that was released from the album, “It Never Ends.” Needless to say, as the band took the stage, row after row of the crowd yelled at the top of their lungs. The energy stayed around for the entire set as the band played favorites from their last album, Suicide Season, in addition to an old-time favorite from their first full-length, “Pray For Plagues.” In the middle of the song, frontman Oli Sykes called for the crowd to form a wall of death which stretched from one side of the pit to the other. Soon after, the entire pit was engulfed in the frenzy of the wall of death, and “Pray For Plagues” was completed. At this point in the set, it was fairly easy to tell that Oli’s voice had not continued to go downhill with the band’s constant touring, but had instead made a huge improvement since Bring Me The Horizon’s run on this summer’s Vans Warped Tour. As the remainder of their set wound down, they also announced that the show was the largest United States headlining show that they had ever played. As with August Burns Red, Bring Me The Horizon is another young band with a great deal of success ahead of them.
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Non-mainstream essentials: November 2010
November 4th, 2010By Nick DiNatale
Music Editor
October’s largest success: Chiodos’ Illuminaudio.
Following their decision to fire incredibly popular, highly successful, and very talented lead vocalist Craig Owens last September, it’s safe to say that any expectations for Chiodos’ new material were significantly lowered. Skeptics could not have been more wrong. Chiodos produced an album to remember; one that even holds its own against the highly popular, scene-darling band Bring Me The Horizon’s There Is A Hell Believe Me I’ve Seen It, There Is A Heaven Let’s Keep It A Secret, which was released in the US on the same day. Despite the fact that Bring Me The Horizon’s release was far better publicized than their release, Chiodos’ new album still received a great deal of hype regarding how well new vocalist Brandon Bolmer would fill Craig Owens’ shoes.
From the album’s opening title-track, “Illuminaudio”, it’s apparent that Chiodos has changed with the addition of Bolmer. However, that change is nothing too drastic; it’s simply normal progression of a band with a member change. Similarities can be drawn all over the place between Illuminaudio and their previous album, Bone Palace Ballet. Illuminaudio is less of an abstract effort than Bone Palace Ballet was, but it is still undeniably Chiodos. Bolmer’s voice is highly similar to Owens’ on the new record, but it’s still clear that he has some maturing to do. Either way, he still exceeded many expectations with his vocals on the album, and put in a very successful effort.
Other than just Brandon Bolmer exceeding expectations, the band as a whole did too. Many critics claimed that Craig Owens made Chiodos what they were. However, they completely neglected the fact that Chiodos was made up of Owens and five other very capable musicians. Together, the six piece band produced an album that is both powerful and melodic. Tracks such as “Caves”, “Love Is A Cat From Hell” (which features Pierce The Veil vocalist Vic Fuentes), and “Stratovolcano Mouth” are destined to be fan favorites. From the end of the last track, “Closed Eyes Still Look Forward”, listeners are left looking forward to the band’s next record. It should surely be interesting to see Brandon Bolmer’s second effort with the band once he’s gained a greater share of experience.
Go listen to: “Love Is A Cat From Hell”
Looking forward:
1. Escape The Fate’s Escape The Fate (11/2)
2. A Bullet For Pretty Boy’s Revision:Revise (11/9)
3. Underoath’s Disambiguation (11/9)
4. A Day To Remember’s What Separates Me From You (11/16)
5. My Chemical Romance’s Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys (11/22)
Preview: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys
October 14th, 2010By Nick DiNatale
Music Editor
With the release of their highly anticipated fourth full-length album still over a month away, alternative-rock act My Chemical Romance released their second single from the album yesterday. Titled “The Only Hope For Me Is You”, the new single contrasts their first single, “Na Na Na”, which has more of a raw and rebellious sound. The newly released track gives the band less of a punk-rock vibe, and instead, one that is mellower and a lot closer to the My Chemical Romance of years past. “The Only Hope For Me Is You” is more comparable to tracks from The Black Parade such as “Famous Last Words” and “Sleep”, while “Na Na Na” is closest to the band’s cover of Bob Dylan’s “Desolation Row”.
With what has been released so far, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys is shaping up to have a lot in common with 2004′s Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, with a brand new, more mature spin on things. The album will have fifteen songs on it; a number which can almost justify the four year gap between The Black Parade and Danger Days, which can be expected on November 22nd. However, even with a release date just over the horizon, questions surrounding the band are still left to be answered. Questions that include who their new drummer will be, whether Gerard Way’s hair will remain bright red, and when the band will be touring in the United States. Stay tuned.
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Non-mainstream essentials: October 2010
October 6th, 2010By Nick DiNatale
Music Editor
Septembers largest successes: Amely’s Hello World EP and I Am Alpha And Omega’s The Roar And The Whisper
September brought two very memorable releases, both coming from very young bands that have a great deal ahead of themselves. With contrasting styles, Amely and I Am Alpha And Omega both brought convincing recordings from their respective genres to the table.
Pop-punk band Amely released their debut EP, Hello World, which is an eight-track effort. Amely’s sound on the EP draws comparisons to fellow Fearless signees, Artist Vs Poet, and on a larger scale, The All-American Rejects. Although Hello World may not contain a sound that can’t be heard in countless other ways from other pop-punk bands with releases over the last few years, it’s still worth taking the time to listen to. Catchy, upbeat songs such as “Say Goodbye” give the album a good hook for the listener to latch on to. Even if you feel like you’ve heard it just a few times before, it just may turn out to be your favorite clichéd record of the year. However, with the fact that there is a high volume of other pop-punk albums out there put aside, the truth remains: these guys are talented and have good things ahead of them.
Go listen to: “Say Goodbye”
I Am Alpha And Omega’s debut full-length The Roar And The Whisper presents twelve diverse post-hardcore tracks. For a debut album, it is a very mature musical effort. The Roar And The Whisper is a heavy album, but it remains melodic at the same time. It’s clear that the band wasn’t simply trying to show off how brutal they could possibly make the album, as many young bands tend to do. Instead, they displayed that they have some serious musicianship as a whole, by writing an album with real substance. A perfect example of this is the interlude track, “The Rescue”. Unlike with a lot of bands that just waste their interlude song on a track that may as well have been skipped over, I Am Alpha And Omega produced a great sounding post-rock-like recording. Also included on the album is the slow, heartfelt track “Chasing”, which is nestled in at the very end of the album, and gives the record a soft, yet solid finishing touch.
The Roar And The Whisper is currently available for free downloading on I Am Alpha And Omega’s MySpace page, so there really isn’t a valid excuse to not give it a chance. Support them. They put a great effort into this album.
Go listen to: The entire album. (It’s free after all).
Looking forward:
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Non-mainstream essentials: September 2010
September 21st, 2010
By: Nicholas DiNatale
Staff Writer
Post-hardcore band The Word Alive was originally started as a new project by Craig Mabbit, after he left blessthefall. However, after he created Escape The Fate as a side project, the members of The Word Alive decided that he wasn’t paying equal attention to both bands and decided to replace him. The result was Tyler Smith. With the addition of Tyler, The Word Alive migrated towards a heavier, metalcore sound and recorded an EP in 2008, titled Empire. Consistent touring followed the release, and in 2009, the band signed with Fearless Records. In early 2010, The Word Alive entered the studio in order to record their first full length album titled Deceiver. Read the rest of this entry “
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It’s Back To The Roots for The Devil Wears Prada
September 1st, 2010
For the first of two nights that The Devil Wears Prada’s Back To The Roots Tour would be at Harper’s Ferry in Allston, Massachusetts, the line to get in was stretched around the corner and a sign was posted on the door that the show was 100% sold out. Fans waiting in line without a ticket, hoping to see The Devil Wears Prada, Miss May I, and Your Demise up close and personal would be out of luck.
Starting promptly at 8pm, British hardcore band Your Demise took the stage. Promoting their new album, The Kids We Used To Be…, they’ve been touring in order to spread their UK popularity farther to the west. A smaller portion of the crowd showed good interest in their set, but with most people being there to see Miss May I and The Devil Wears Prada, a larger number of them saved their energy for the later bands. The band’s set was fairly short, but still solid. Soon enough they handed the stage over to Miss May I.
When the club went dark and Miss May I marched up onto the stage, the crowd immediately pushed together in anticipation. As soon as the music started the crowd rushed the stage. With the club already sold out and well packed, the fans closer to the front were comparable to a can of sardines. The set continued like so until the very end. The only break that the front rows received from getting crushed together was when lead vocalist Levi Benton initiated a wall of death. (For those who aren’t familiar with a wall of death, it’s an event that normally takes place at a metal or hardcore show, when the band tells the crowd to separate. Once the singer says “go”, the crowd runs in from all four sides of the pit into a sea of moshing. It is an impressive sight, for sure.). Miss May I performed songs off of their older release, Apologies Are For The Weak, but with their new record, Monument just being released, they also advertised for, and played songs off of the new CD. The band’s music was a big hit throughout the crowd, but with The Devil Wears Prada still waiting to go on stage, the crowd had even more energy left to exert.
With the club engulfed in darkness, The Devil Wears Prada began their set with their song, Danger: Wildman, a fan favorite. For those in the crowd that thought Miss May I was rough, The Devil Wears Prada’s set brought it to a new level. The fans packed in tighter, the pit got rowdier, and even more people sang along. Performing songs off of their first three full-length albums, and their newly released, Zombie EP, the band brought and unprecedented amount of energy to the stage and truly got the crowd to feel their music. Members of the crowd were moshing, jumping, and pumping their fists in appreciation. When the band took a break and asked the crowd, a show of hands showed that a fair number of fans would be coming back the following night to see the band play their second night at Harper’s Ferry. The band then continued their set, which went on for at least a half dozen more songs, including new tracks, such as Outnumbered. The band was very thankful to the fans for coming out to the show and supporting them in their return to small venues, which was the purpose of The Back To The Roots Tour. They have definitely done a great job with the tour, with great attendance, and emotionally charged shows. If you didn’t get the chance to, make sure to check out The Devil Wears Prada next time they’re in the area.
If you’re interested in seeing the complete collection of pictures from Back To The Roots Tour, please visit our Flickr!
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Non-mainstream essentials: July/August 2010
August 17th, 2010By Nick DiNatale
Staff Writer
Seeing that we’ve been rather busy for the last few months, I’ve sort of lost track of what’s been coming out for new music. However, I still managed to develop a strong liking for Call The Cops, a young band from Long Beach, California with a heavily pop-influenced sound. Their debut album, which is self titled, was released back in June through MySpace Records. It was a follow-up to their EP, Motion Sickness, which was released in 2009. Read the rest of this entry “
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Interview: Chloe Grabanski of To Write Love On Her Arms
July 12th, 2010
At the last date of Bamboozle Roadshow, in Mansfield, MA., I interviewed Chloe Grabanski of the organization To Write Love On Her Arms. Chloe runs communications for TWLOHA, and is also the Benefit Coordinator. As of the end of August, she will have been with the organization for a full two years. Her full biography can be viewed here.Here’s the full transcript from the interview. Read the rest of this entry “
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