Anarbor will release Burnout on June 4th. You can pre-order it here and listen to the band’s new song, “Every High Has A Come Down,” below
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Orlando, Fla. indie/punk veterans The New Lows will be partnering up with Kiss Of Death Records to release their 2012 full-length I Couldn’t Sleep on vinyl. Release info is expected soon. The band will be touring the US this summer in support of the album; expect a full itinerary shortly.
The New Lows self-released I Couldn’t Sleep in November on CD and digitally. It’s still available at their Bandcamp page, as well as on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and Grooveshark.
Rise Records is proud to welcome FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS back into the family. The band has re-enlisted original vocalist Chad Ruhlig to take over front man duties. Chad has been busy with his own band Legend, but he made the time to pursue both endeavors. FTFD’s debut album, Changes, has been a cult classic for years and fans can now rejoice about a new album and tours. The new material is akin to their debut album and will surely not disappoint. The new single “Substance” will be released next week, stay tuned.
With the release of Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!’s second album “Pardon My French”, fans can expect to hear the beloved pop-punk/hardcore band at its best.
The opening track “Restart” immediately brings listeners into the style of pop sung melodies followed by the rivaled heaviness of the sound that the band has come to master. This band has really proven that pop-punk and metalcore can be fluidly mixed at a happy medium, and in a more original way than most bands. The album reeks of an aura that can be compared to “Homesick” (A Day To Remember’s most popular album) only with a more creative spin to it. Songs like “Taking Chances” and “Between Your Lines” are perfect representations of the band and especially of this album.
Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! takes the all too familiar sound of pop vocals with hardcore breakdowns to a more personal level on this album. The album’s eighth track “I Am Nothing Like You” gives an insight to the heavy side of the band. The song was not as intrusive as “Mr. Highway is Thinking About The End” was on A Day To Remember’s album “Homesick”, but it still has an impact that excites the listener for the rest of the album. The band also represents its versatility in the pop-punk genre with their song “So Close and Yet So Far”. This song shows a slightly softer side of the band that can be compared to a more intense and modern version of “I Miss You” by Blink-182.
Although the songs themselves are very good, this album does have its downfalls as a whole. The band created its pop-punk/hardcore sound from its first album “Something for Nothing” and the new release seems to follow too closely in its footsteps. Even though a definite progression can be heard overall, it seems the band played it safe with this album. They stayed close to the pop structured songs, catchy melodies, and punk verses that can be heard on almost every single song on both of their albums.
In the end, this album is a very good representation of the band but doesn’t bring anything new to the table. Considering that this is only the band’s sophomore album, not much else can be expected. Many bands will stick to what has worked in the past when it comes to releasing new material. For fans of the band, this album will be highly praised as it only reinforces the Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!’s definitive style. But for listeners that may not have liked the band’s first album, there really isn’t anything new to hear. It is more of a continuation of the pop-punk/hardcore style than a new revolutionary take on the well known genre.
Rating 7.5/10
With the promising release of the single “Now,” Paramore’s self-titled fourth album appeared to be headed in the right direction for the newly-diminished lineup of the band. But now the 17-song album dropped, and fans are in for a dramatic turn in the band’s sound.
What used to be a powerhouse of punk rock has now turned into a vocal-oriented indie/pop band with a sound only vaguely reminiscent of the unique style that Paramore proved itself with. The opening track of the album, “Fast In My Car,” surprises listeners with a retro drumbeat backed by electronic effects and a new fuzz guitar tone that permeates the whole album.
By eschewing the natural progression set forth by the previous three albums, the new album has turned out to be, for the most part, a disappointment; with the exception of a few select songs like “Part II” and “Future,” these new songs are almost unrecognizable as being Paramore.
The sixth track, “Ain’t it Fun”, starts off in a solid direction, but veers off into a confusingly-placed bluesy choir which ultimately ends the song with a whimper. Even their soft love song, “I Hate to See Your Heart Break,” only brings a lack of excitement and style that could never live up to the immensely popular ballad “The Only Exception” off of their third album. If it weren’t for the vocalist’s (Hayley Williams) growing writing style and vocal skill backed by the scarcely-heard airy guitar leads trademarked on their platinum-selling second album Riot!, there would be nothing to carry over from the sound they built themselves upon.
The band was not expected to release a repeat, but this album represents a change in the band’s style that does more harm than good; progression is one thing, but changing genres is another. Even the single that was released shortly after the lineup was reduced to three, “Monster,” is only a false illusion of what fans are to hear on this album. The lack of synergy on this album is very unlike the band, and the three “Interlude” songs on this album only serve to dissipate any hope of these songs clinging together. On their own merits, the songs aren’t horrible; if this were a debut album of an upcoming band, they would be promising.
The vocals are catchy, the songs are simple, and give small insights into each genre. But for Paramore, a band that has built itself on an out standing pop/punk/rock style, and had all three of their albums reach gold status (one of them being Riot! which went on to reach platinum status in the US), this album is misleading and unacceptable. This album proves what can happen to a band after losing two main members and having an almost 4-year break in between records.
Although the album mostly rings of disappointment, there are songs that stick out. Their single “Now” showed a catchy intro still in the style of the new found trio. This song could even be connected to the same sound that “Monster” had. The song that ends the album, “Future”, even has the feel of “Misguided Ghosts” and when it breaks out into a full band it ends the album in a fade-out/fade-in which was a very interesting effect that fit well with the song.
With this album leading into Paramore’s new sound and career, fans can only wait and see what is to come next of the band. With a band comprised of only three original members and a record that has redefined their sound for the worse, things are looking cloudy for the band.
5.5/10
-Nic Cheatle
Electronic-rock quartet I:Scintilla have released “Marrow 2,” the second EP from the band’s new “Marrow” series. This installment features four new studio recordings that mark a significant progress in the band’s sound and direction. Groove tracks like “Ruin” and “Drag Along” coincide with high-tempo stompers “Skin Tight” and “Sequins & Pills.” Meanwhile, four interesting remixes highlight flavors of electro-funk, stompy industrial/EBM, and experimental dubstep chaos. Definitely something for everyone!
The Saddest Landscape will release a new 5-song EP Exit Wounded on June 11 via Topshelf Records. The band recorded the EP this past winter with Jon Taft at New Alliance in Cambridge, MA. Exit Wounded serves as the follow-up to last year’s critically- acclaimed 7 song album, After The Lights.
Track listing and cover art will be announced soon, along with pre-order information.
Atlanta, GA’s bastards of noise rock, Whores have entered the studio to record their highly anticipated follow-up to 2011’s critically acclaimed Ruiner. The band is recording with Ryan Boesch (Melvins, Helmet, Tomahawk, Fu Manchu) at Parhelion Recording Studios and a late Spring / early Summer release is expected via Brutal Panda Records. Vocalist / Guitarist Christian Lembach commented on the upcoming material:
“Ryan is a total badass, and we’re really excited to be working with him. We look forward to getting this record in peoples’ hands so we can continue to melt faces on the road!”
Southern California heavy music giants THROWDOWN will be entering the studio next week to begin working on their next full length record, with ZEUSS mixing.
The new, yet to be titled effort is the follow up to “Deathless,” which came out four years ago, in 2009 highlighted with tracks “This Continuum,” “Burial at Sea" and “The Scythe.”
Vocalist Dave Peters offers a statement on the current state of the band and the mindset behind making this next record:
"It’s really exciting, if not a little nerve-wracking to be recording again. It has been almost 4 years since ‘Deathless’ came out, which is about twice as long as the time between albums before it. While that has probably been annoying for fans that have been waiting and expecting a new record, it has also been the best thing for the writing process for the new album.
I’m really meticulous when writing and arranging even the simplest riffs and songs, so I like to take my time. It has been strange and nice having the freedom to come back to a song or part several weeks later with a different perspective after hitting a wall with it.
We’re taking a very minimalist approach with these songs, more like Vendetta and (the first half of) Haymaker. I avoid putting the cart before the horse, but I see the songs on the record coming out stripped down and yet still refined. A two-minute song can arrive at the same place as one that fucks around for six, and while it’s more challenging to get there in less time, it is a lot cooler when you do. I’ve been going back to that when I find myself maybe adding parts or lines that are at risk of being superfluous.
I’m very proud of ‘Deathless’ and all the work that went into it, but it wasn’t a record that Throwdown fans expected. It was really polarizing on account of that. I’m simply not looking to continue down that stylistic road with these songs. This is going to be a hard record. I look forward to making it as much for myself as for longtime fans of the band.”
"Slayer is devastated to inform that their bandmate and brother, Jeff Hanneman, passed away at about 11AM this morning near his Southern California home. He was 49. Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his sister Kathy and his brothers Michael and Larry, and will be sorely missed.”
He wrote the hit songs “Raining Blood”, “War Ensemble” “South of Heaven” “Seasons in the Abyss” and “Angel of Death”