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Your Demise – Cold Chillin’ EP

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Your Demise - Cold Chillin' EP

Your Demise are a band that, despite not having been around that long, have a few major career talking points. They’ve also developed a fairly large and loyal fan base too. With their original vocalist, George Noble, Your Demise produced some simple, yet effective hardcore. Noble left the band after their first album however, and was replaced with former Centurion frontman Ed McRae. This saw a slight change of direction for the band, in which they now began to focus a little more on melody. They then released ‘The Kids We Used To Be‘ studio album through Visible Noise in 2010, which comprises some of Your Demise’s best material to date. This led to much excitement about their last release ‘The Golden Age‘ which came in 2012, however, they took the melody aspect too far and ultimately released a dreadful album by their standards.

‘The Golden Age‘ saw somewhat of a backlash against Your Demise. Despite this, Your Demise still stuck up for ‘The Golden Age’, however I think the release of this new EP ‘Cold Chillin‘ proves otherwise. Right from the first minute of opening track ‘Karma‘, the lead single of the EP, you can just tell that this is well above the standard of ‘The Golden Age‘. The four tracks on this EP are on a par with some of the best material Your Demise’s have ever written.

‘Cold Chillin‘ has raised the standard, and therefore the anticipation for Your Demise’s next full length album, and it’s definitely very exciting to hear what comes next from the band.

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The Wonder Years – Sleeping on Trash: A Collection of Songs Recorded 2005-2010

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The Wonder Years - Sleeping on Trash: A Collection of Songs Recorded 2005-2010

‘Sleeping on Trash‘ is, as you can probably tell from the title, a collection of The Wonder Years’ tracks from 2005-2010, taken from various different EP’s and split releases that The Wonder Years have been involved in throughout these years. This is a purely digital release that the band has decided to put out there so as to provide fans with a means of getting their hands on these tracks without having to spend out a whole heap of cash in obtaining all the individual CD’s from eBay.

If you’re at all a fan of pop punk music then the chances are that you’ll be a fan of, or at the very least familiar with the music of The Wonder Years. As far as I’m concerned, The Wonder Years is one of the very best pop punk bands to have formed in the last decade, and ‘Sleeping on Trash‘ is a great collection of rarities from the band that’s well worth investing in. There are some absolutely beautiful tracks contained within this release; tracks like ‘Through Two Hearts‘ that just really make you appreciate this band all the more, and tracks like ‘You’re Not Salinger. Get Over It‘ and their Kid Dynamite cover ‘Cheap Shots, Youth Anthems‘ that just really hit you with their biting edge and synthy brilliance. ‘You’re Not Salinger. Get Over It‘ is probably actually my favourite track from this collection, right from its swirling intro you know that the track is going to be something special, and the band definitely don’t let you down here as they launch through an incredibly catchy piece of pop punk. As always, the keyboards really add something incredible to the sound, the vocals are absolutely top notch, and the guitar work always has a huge amount to offer also. There’s an absolutely fantastic bass sound on display here, a beautiful precision bass tone that really fits the music perfectly. Everything about the track just really works, and if there’s any track here that’s not to be missed then it’s this one (although I’d personally highly recommend listening to each and every track in the collection, multiple times over, every day).

There’s not a single bad track present in this collection, there’s a Christmas song which catches you a little unawares, the quality is still high even with this track though, it just might seem a little strange listening to the collection in the summer and suddenly finding yourself listening to ‘Christmas at 22‘.

As well as the aforementioned Kid Dynamite cover, there are also covers of Lit’s ‘Zip Lock‘ and Fountains of Wayne’s ‘Hey Julie‘ included in this collection, with the band demonstrating a fine ear not only for penning their own perfect pop punk, but also for recording a quality cover too. The Fountains of Wayne cover provides something a little different to the rest of the collection, it’s great to hear the band showcasing a little diversity and for me this cover is a real success. Dan Campbell’s vocals sound absolutely incredible throughout the entirety of this collection, and this I feel is The Wonder Years’ greatest strength. Instrumentally this is a band that really knows how to hit the spot, but it’s Campbell’s vocals that really help separate the band from the pack and make sure that The Wonder Years stand strong as one of the finest pop punk band’s around.

‘Sleeping on Trash‘ really is an incredibly impressive collection of material from The Wonder Years, and there are plenty of tracks here that are insanely catchy and will certainly make you smile. If you’ve ever been a fan of The Wonder Years then ‘Sleeping on Trash: A Collection of Songs Recorded 2005-2010‘ is, without question, a collection that you’re going to want to have on your iPod.

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Stone Sour – Do Me A Favor

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Stone Sour - Do Me A Favor

2008 was the last time Slipknot released a new studio album, since then Corey Taylor has still kept himself busy with two Stone Sour studio albums however in ‘Audio Secrecy‘ and ‘House of Gold & Bones – Part 1‘, and later this year Stone Sour will follow these up with another album in the form of ‘House of Gold & Bones – Part 2‘. ‘Do Me A Favor‘ is the lead single from ‘House of Gold & Bones – Part 2‘, a track that perhaps provides us with a taste of what’s to come when the band unleashes its new album in April.

As Corey Taylor growls through the opening lyrical lines, you could be forgiven for thinking you were actually listening to a Slipknot record here, as ‘Do Me A Favor‘ reaches its chorus however it becomes very clear that what we actually have here is a Stone Sour release. The chorus here is a real driving one; Corey Taylor powers through it and I could definitely imagine a packed arena singing along to every word. This is a mainstream rock song done well, and if you like your rock music to have a bit of bite but also a lot of pop appeal then you may well love what you hear with ‘Do Me A Favor‘.

There’s absolutely fantastic musicianship on display here, the track demonstrates supreme pop sensibilities, and this is most definitely a brilliant first single to be chosen from the ‘House of Gold & Bones – Part 2‘ studio album. April 8th can’t come around quick enough in my opinion, and I personally can’t wait to hear what Stone Sour has to offer with studio album number five.

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Payback Season Review

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Payback Season is your typical Adam Deacon drama, offering a view of working class London and an aspiration for a life beyond the mundane, something that key protagonist Jerome has been able to achieve by becoming a professional footballer. Despite his having become a professional footballer however, his roots still weigh heavily upon him and his childhood gang connections threaten to hold him back in his quest for a better life for both himself and his mother and brother family unit.

Whilst Payback Season doesn’t really offer anything particularly new, it does provide for a pretty enjoyable viewing experience, and there are also some decent acting performances on display here. There are a few faces here that you’ll probably recognise, but also a few more that are clearly fairly inexperienced, yet do still stand out in a raw kind of way.

If you like Adam Deacon as an actor then you’ll no doubt find some joy here, and whilst Payback Season is unlikely to become your favourite film of all time, it will provide a decent hour and a half of entertainment. The storyline is nothing new, the film itself is nothing exemplary, but if you’re looking for a decent low budget British drama then you can definitely do a lot worse than watching Payback Season.

Pure Love – Anthems

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Pure Love - Anthems

‘I’m so sick of singing about hate’ cries Frank Carter, former front man of my favourite band ever. With that in mind, you can imagine how bitterly disappointed I was when Frank left Gallows. Fortunately though, Wade McNeil managed a superb job on the last Gallows album.

So, with that sightly awkward bit out of the way, ‘Anthems‘ is the first release from Carter’s new band, Pure Love. A fairly self-indulgent album title in my mind, especially given that there are only really 2 songs on here that you could consider as being actual anthems. Those songs are ‘Handsome Devils Club‘ and ‘Riot Song‘, other than these two though, this is a completely unoriginal album from a man that once produced genre defining classics with his old band.

It sounds as though they’ve just bought a Gaslight Anthem record, and said ‘Shall we have a pop at this? Maybe we could throw a Darkness riff or two in there as well‘. Perhaps Frank Carter wasn’t the genius he was touted to be after all. This album just screams many reasons at you as to why Frank Carter should never have left Gallows.

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Bad Religion – True North

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bad-religion-true-north

31 years since the band released their debut studio album and still they show no signs of losing momentum. ‘True North’ is album number sixteen from Bad Religion, and once again here they’ve released an album that is absolutely packed full of quality. Bad Religion provide 16 excellent punk rock tracks for us here, complete with the intelligent lyricism and incredible catchiness that you’d expect from the band.

Title track ‘True North’ kicks the album off in fantastic style, and right from the word go here you know what to expect from this release. Instantly you have incredibly high expectations, and the band definitely doesn’t let you down as they progress through the album, either. They slow things down a bit during the intro for second track ‘Past is Dead’, before long they shift the momentum back up in the track though and provide a showcase of the pulsating punk rock that you’d expect of the band. The band sound as venomous as ever here, the music hits you hard and never does it cease to impress as Bad Religion hit you with chugging riff after chugging riff, Gregg Graffin’s vocals sounding as great as ever and Brett Gurewitz also impressing with his sublime backing vocal tone. Gurewitz even provides lead vocals on the track ‘Dharma and the Bomb‘, one of the strongest tracks from the album. Jay Bentley’s basslines resonate through the very heart of the album, and there is of course some supremely strong drum work on display here from Brooks Wackerman. Instrumentally the album is absolutely spot on, providing exactly what you’d expect of a Bad Religion record, and making you smile all the way.

For the most part Bad Religion maintain a rather fast paced and frenetic pace on the ‘True North’ studio album, ‘Hello Cruel World’ is a fine example of the success that Bad Religion can achieve when they opt for a slower paced, more melodic approach, however, and is perhaps one of my very favourite songs that Bad Religion has ever recorded. There’s just something about this track that really strikes a chord with me, and since ‘True North’ was released in January I have found myself coming back to this one on many an occasion. ‘Fuck You’ was a fantastic lead single for Bad Religion to release from the album, and title track ‘True North’ was another good choice, I definitely wouldn’t be at all surprised to see ‘Hello Cruel World’ released as a single at some point though, and it’s a track that I for one would absolutely love to see a video for at some point in the not too distant future. Just like 2001’s ‘Sorrow’ and 2004’s ‘Los Angeles is Burning’ single’s, there’s just something really very soothing about the band’s sound in ‘Hello Cruel World’, and whilst they may be better known for their harder hitting efforts, they can definitely still cut it when providing a more melodic approach to their music, and ‘Hello Cruel World’ is a Bad Religion track that I can see myself consistently coming back to for many years to come.

What I’ve always loved about Bad Religion is how the band has managed to remain relevant and interesting all throughout its career. Some bands seem to lose momentum and perhaps even interest at a certain point; cracks begin to appear and the band either falls short of the mark or ceases to exist altogether. 34 years on though and Bad Religion is still a band that is going strong, releasing music that is as well thought out and as powerfully put across as ever. Many of the band’s members may be approaching/heading past 50, they still retain the same passion for making music that they always had though and definitely don’t seem to be short of ideas when it comes to creating new music. The same intelligent lyrical content is still there, the passion is provided in abundance, and this is a band that still has an incredible amount of punk rock power.

If you’ve ever been a fan of the Bad Religion sound then ‘True North’ is most certainly an album that you should be looking to give a spin. This album perhaps contains some of the band’s best ever material; fast, intelligent punk rock at its finest from the fantastic Californian six-piece that is Bad Religion.

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Fall Out Boy – My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)

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Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark

Despite numerous rumours that Fall Out Boy was to return from hiatus, the band insisted that the rumours weren’t to be believed and kept us in the dark about their future plans. On February 4th 2013 the band announced its comeback however, as the world learnt that the band was not just coming back, but was in fact ready to release a sixth studio album. Accompanying the news of the band’s return was a brand new single, ‘My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)’, the first new single from the band since 2009’s ‘What a Catch, Donnie’.

‘My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)’ marks the start of a new era for Fall Out Boy, with the video for the song demonstrating visually their intention to start something fresh as old instruments and albums are chucked on the fire. The band is not seeking to disassociate itself from its past, it is however opening itself up to a whole new chapter in its history, and with this lead single from the album we’re made very clear of this decision from the band to do something new now.

‘My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)’ is another incredibly catchy single from Fall Out Boy which will no doubt mark the band’s return with a huge commercial success. This new single from the band provides something different, but also something familiar; this is distinctively a Fall Out Boy song, but there’s also something about the track that marks it out as new and different from what we’ve heard from the band in the past. Patrick Stump’s vocals sound better than ever here, and the chorus is every bit as infectious as you’d expect it to be. There’s a real driving feel about the music here; the track is instrumentally simple, yet there’s a real cutting edge about the sound here as the band powerfully pulses through the track’s 3 minute duration.

Every time Fall Out Boy has returned with a new album there has been something a little bit different about their sound. Fall Out Boy is a band that likes to keep things fresh, and their decision to continue progressing as a band upon their return is most definitely the right one. Just like when Blink-182 returned with ‘Neighborhoods’ in 2011, there will no doubt be some fans that don’t appreciate the band’s decision to provide something a bit different with their latest single (and presumably their latest album), this new track from the band will definitely win them some new fans however, please a lot of old ones, and perhaps even delight a few doubters.

With ‘My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)’ Fall Out Boy continues to progress and improve as a pop punk band. Their sound has received an upgrade and the band is now ready to ‘Save Rock and Roll’ with its sixth studio album.

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Dropkick Murphys – Signed and Sealed in Blood

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Dropkick Murphys - Signed and Sealed in Blood

Album number 8 from Massachusetts’ favourite sons, Dropkick Murphys. If you don’t already know (you should), Dropkick Murphys are a band that blend punk rock with Irish folk music. This results in fast anthemic songs that are made to drink to.

Straight from the opening seconds of the first track, ‘The Boys are Back’, this is unmistakably the Murphys. Lead single ‘Rose Tattoo‘ is one the bands finest songs to date, and is the perfect encapsulation of this album. There’s a load of brilliant, catchy hooks on this album, none more so than with ‘On the Town’, a track which sums up the fun times vibe of this album. The most interesting song on here however is Dropkick Murphys’ attempt at a Christmas song, ‘The Season’s Upon Us’, an absolutely fantastic offering from the band that made me laugh out loud on multiple occasions. It’s reminiscent of The Pogues’ ‘Fairytale of New York’.

Don’t ask questions, just down a cider and enjoy some great, fun, singalong punk rock songs.

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Black Veil Brides – Wretched and Devine: The Story of the Wild Ones

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Black Veil Brides - Wretched and Devine: The Story of the Wild Ones

It’s 2013, and we start off the year with a release from one of the most talked about and divisive bands around right now, Black Veil Brides. Black Veil Brides have developed a massive fan base in their short ascendancy, but with that has come a massive amount of haters too, and so this release was always likely to be a major talking point.

First off, I must say that I admire Black Veil Brides’ ambition with this record. It’s a nine track concept album, complete with incredibly high production values. The album takes you on a bit of a journey as well, especially with the 3 spoken word pieces, the ‘F.E.A.R Transmissions’, courtesy of Wil Francis (formerly of Aiden and now of William Control). Black Veil Brides have produced some of their strongest material here, with the leading single ‘In The End’ and the great guitar riff on the second track of the album, ‘I Am Bulletproof’. There are a couple of other decent tracks on here such as ‘Resurrect the Sun’ and ‘New Years Day’, but unfortunately this album also has its share of stinkers. As it does with most bands similar to them, the really bad songs come in the form of their more ballad bassed songs, such as ‘Done For You’ and ‘Lost It All’. These tracks are just dreary and weak.

On the whole I think this album had good ideas, just with a pretty weak execution. 19 tracks is just too many. Did the world, and even Black Veil Brides’ current fan base,  really need a 19 track concept album? Maybe if they had cut out the bad tracks and tweaked the average ones they may have been onto something good here. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

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Live Review: Parkway Drive, Emmure, The Word Alive, Structures @ Leeds University, November 16th 2012

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First up were Structures, a young band from Canada making their first trip over to the UK. They started developing a dedicated fanbase in 2011 after releasing their debut full length album ‘Divided By‘ through Sumerian Records, and I was surprised at just how many people in attendance were clearly already fans of this band. A big pit formed, and they had quite a few people singing their lyrics back to them, quite a rarity when you’re the first band on a four band bill. Sound wise the band was very tight, and the frontman got the audience as hyped up as he possibly could. As someone who’d not heard of them before they left me very impressed.

7/10

Second up was The Word Alive, a band that has been over here quite a few times, from Arizona USA. They play some fairly standard metalcore, nothing any metalcore fan wouldn’t have heard before. Although the band sounded decent, and the crowd in general seemed to dig them, they didn’t leave much of an impression on me like Structures did. Static performance, and no material that really resonated with me.

5/10

Next up was the main support act, New York heavy hitters, Emmure. Almost ten years of ferocious deathcore has seen them become one of the most divisive bands in metal today. People either seem to have massive love for the band, or massive hatred for the band. Luckily, the fairly young audience seemed to love them, and the band received a crowd reaction worthy of headliners. Their mixture of almost spoken lyrics, vicious growls, dissonant chords and signature breakdowns sounded massive in the fairly big venue, and went down a storm.

8/10

Then finally the band everyone had been waiting for took to the stage. Anyone who has seen this great Australian band before knows that they’re arguably the best and most fun live band around. This night was no exception, playing to the craziest crowd reaction I’ve ever seen. The high production values of the stageshow in terms of the enchanting lights and enormous projected backdrop just increased the experience tenfold. I went to a lot of shows in 2012, and with the exception of Sabbath at Download, this was the best I’ve been to. Parkway Drive is one of metalcores shining beacons, and they’ve set the standard for live performances. Incredible show.

10/10
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