Hey guys sorry my song of the week is so late, but I have been really busy. And although late, I figure having a song of the week is better than not having a song of the week at all. Anyways, I have decided that in my recent resurgence of listening to The Devil Wears Prada, I will feature one of their songs as my song of the week.
This past August, TDWP released a five track concept EP, titled the Zombie EP. As you can guess, this EP happens to be about zombies. This is also one of the heaviest and most brutal works they have ever written. The band decided that in lieu of their new album, they would make an EP to hold fans over, and I must say, it worked.
I have chosen Escape as my songs of the week. It is the first track of the EP and really sets the tone for the rest of the album. The song begins with the sound of a storm and some eerie sounding orchestral music. Then the music suddenly jumps into the song, with brutal, fast guitar riffs and pounding drums, almost giving you the feeling you are being chased. Eeire keyboards are added in the background to give you the feeling that something is popping out at you. This song in general is really good at putting the emotional emphasis into the actual music instead of vocals.
The vocals on this track are rather simple, speaking of the start of the zombie apocalypse, being forced to run away and leave everything behind. Mike Hrancia's screams are better and more controlled than ever, really showing growth. His range of screaming also adds texture to the song. Jeremy Depoyster adds melody to the middle of the song, singing away the most emotional part of the lyrics, almost crying out, which adds even more to the song.
This song definitely shows the growth of TDWP and I really hope that they continue to go in this new, more brutal, yet still melodic, direction. Having been a TDWP fan for a while now, I would say that this is not only one of their best songs, but their best works. Posted below is a link to the song, let me know what you think.
Escape-The Devil Wears Prada
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Coming Up Part Deux
Hey guys sorry I haven't been able to to post a lot of stuff lately, I've been really busy with final projects and fun college stuff like that. I just wanted to let you guys know whats coming up as soon as i free some time up real quick. I still want to write about how I feel popular bands are charging fans too much for various things, but I also want to write about some other things. For one I want to get my first review in, which is the new A Day to Remember CD. I also want to write about Pandora.com which I have recently stumbled upon. I also eventually want to write about some music festivals I am interested in seeing this summer and get some opinions on them. I am also debating putting an essay that I wrote for a class about music technology so tell me what you think. I will continue to do at least the song of the week selection and try to write about some of these other things, but like I said, I have been really busy lately. Thank you for reading my blog and I hope whoever is reading this, will continue to enjoy it.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Song of the Week (11/28-12/4)
For this week's song of the week I am choosing to do a System of a Down song, in spirit of them getting back together for a few European tour dates. SOAD has been on a hiatus since 2005 and I am extremely excited to know that they have gotten back together. I can only hope that they tour in America and hopefully make more music.
Anyways, them reuniting has inspired me to start listening to SOAD again, almost constantly. I have chosen the song "Needles" off of 2001's Toxicity as the song of the week. This song is one of SOAD's most aggressive and is definitely a stand out on the album, although not a featured single. The guitar riffs are excellent, only being enhanced by the bass line that that mimics it throughout. The drums are very precise and help drive the song and add intensity. The overall sound of the band is aggressive and fast, which is a great back drop for the vocal tandem of Serj Tankian and Daron Malakian. Tankian is the primary vocalist, yelling, singing and screaming vocals that are aggressive on their own, only to have Malakian add more intensity with background wails, screams and growls. Overall this is a very strong and aggressive song with a great message (most feel the song is about getting over a drug addiction or overcoming government holds) and will surely cause you to keep listening to it, as well as check out more System of a Down. Posted below is the studio version of the song. Let me know what you think.
Needles-System of a Down
Anyways, them reuniting has inspired me to start listening to SOAD again, almost constantly. I have chosen the song "Needles" off of 2001's Toxicity as the song of the week. This song is one of SOAD's most aggressive and is definitely a stand out on the album, although not a featured single. The guitar riffs are excellent, only being enhanced by the bass line that that mimics it throughout. The drums are very precise and help drive the song and add intensity. The overall sound of the band is aggressive and fast, which is a great back drop for the vocal tandem of Serj Tankian and Daron Malakian. Tankian is the primary vocalist, yelling, singing and screaming vocals that are aggressive on their own, only to have Malakian add more intensity with background wails, screams and growls. Overall this is a very strong and aggressive song with a great message (most feel the song is about getting over a drug addiction or overcoming government holds) and will surely cause you to keep listening to it, as well as check out more System of a Down. Posted below is the studio version of the song. Let me know what you think.
Needles-System of a Down
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Concert Review-AP Fall Tour
Who: Bring Me the Horizon, August Burns Red, Emarosa, Polar Bear Club and This is Hell
When: November 19, 2010
Where: House of Blues in Boston, MA
The House of Blues in Boston has to be my favorite venue of all times. I love how it is a smaller venue, providing a more intimate experience. It is well maintained and almost caters to the fans, offering free water mid-show to prevent dehydration. I have seen four concerts this year alone, and will definitely see more in my life. I came to the HoB on November 19th to catch the AP Fall Tour, which is an annual tour put on each year by Alternative press magazine. This year featured an interesting lineup, co-headlining Bring Me the Horizon and August Burns Red. They received support from Emarosa, Polar Bear Cub and This is Hell. Although I was there primarily for BMTH, i also looked forward to seeing the other bands.
After spending only an hour in line, my girlfriend and I quickly made it through bag/body check to get front row standing room for the concert. We talked and waited patiently for an hour and then the lights suddenly cut out as well as the music playing. We knew it was time.
This is Hell was up first. Out of all the bands I was least excited to see this one, and they didn't impress me much. There music is a poor mash up of hardcore punk and thrash metal and it just didn't fit well with the show. Many of the songs felt too similar, and the singer seemed to be simply yelling vocals and not getting much of a crowd reaction back. The highlight of TiH was their lead guitarist, Rick Jimenez, who not only played well, but added the only energy to the performance. Jimenez frantically hopped about the stage jumping about and doing mid-air kicks. And even though Jimenez did add a much needed energy kick to their performance, I was still happy when they exited the stage.
Up next was Polar Bear Club. I was excited to see what they could do live even though I only liked a few of their songs. Pushing out a mediocre performance, the post-hardcore punk band powered through their set saving their best songs for first and last. The thing I liked the most about PBC was their lead singer, Jimmy Stadt. Stadt has an awkwardly rough vocal style, which works really well with the cleaner style of the bands sound. Stadt used the full stage to his advantage, running, jumping and spinning around everywhere while singing.Although the band had a couple technical difficulties with the amps, they still managed to out on a pretty good show.
Everybody knew who was up next. Fans were instantly going crazy for lead singer of Emarosa, Jonny Craig, and it was just sound check. Craig has been considered by many to have one of the best singing voices in the industry. His control of his highs and lows and his soulful shrills are almost unrivaled. And to my surprise, his vocals translated well live. I just didn't think he could sing so well live and it really added to the performance. Back by a band that plays either faster paced punkish music or a lighter blend of almost spacey sounding punk, Emarosa really knows how to enhance their front man. The band as a whole was great, playing hits from both of their CDsand hyping the crowd up for the headliners.
The first of the two headliners to play was August Burns Red. Having already seen them before, I was anticipating a good showing but they really add to their show when they headline. Entering to techno and strobelights, the band casually walked on stage and then began to tear the roof off the HoB. Full of screams, breakdowns, great riffs and amazing drums, ABR ignited the HoB. Not only are the members of ABR great musicians, but they are also great people. When they stopped to take breaks, they thanks the fans and the other bands they were with and talked about how blessed they were to be on this tour. ABR was really good at keeping their energy up through the entire set and capped their performance off with a drum solo by Matt Greiner.
Last up was the band I was anticipating throughout the show, Bring Me the Horizon. Hailing from England, it is always special to know they are coming to the states. Unfortunately this is the first time I have made it out to one of their shows, but at least I finally got to see them. BMTH had the best stage presense among the bands, constantly engaging the crowd. Initiating things like crowd surfing, cicle pits and even a wall of death, intensified the crowd and kept the shows energy up. The tuned down guitars and breakdowns matched lead singer, Oli Sykes, screams perfectly and allowed the crowd to really get into the music. For the last song, guitarist, Jona Weinhoffen, climbed on top of his amp and then climbed on to the second floor balcony and performed part of the song there. Then just before the breakdown, he climbed back to the top of his amp and jumped off to start the breakdown. At the end of the song the bass player, Matt Kean, threw his bass across the stage and the band exited. Then to top it off, the drummer, Matt Nicholls ran back out and jumped into the crowd.
All in all, the AP Fall Tour was a great concert to go to. The show featured a bunch of varying acts that gradually got better with each band. I would love to see all of the bands again (even This is Hell, to give them a second chance) and always love coming to the HoB. If you would like to see pictures from the show, check out my facebook page. They are kind of blurry, but I don't have the best of cameras.
When: November 19, 2010
Where: House of Blues in Boston, MA
The House of Blues in Boston has to be my favorite venue of all times. I love how it is a smaller venue, providing a more intimate experience. It is well maintained and almost caters to the fans, offering free water mid-show to prevent dehydration. I have seen four concerts this year alone, and will definitely see more in my life. I came to the HoB on November 19th to catch the AP Fall Tour, which is an annual tour put on each year by Alternative press magazine. This year featured an interesting lineup, co-headlining Bring Me the Horizon and August Burns Red. They received support from Emarosa, Polar Bear Cub and This is Hell. Although I was there primarily for BMTH, i also looked forward to seeing the other bands.
After spending only an hour in line, my girlfriend and I quickly made it through bag/body check to get front row standing room for the concert. We talked and waited patiently for an hour and then the lights suddenly cut out as well as the music playing. We knew it was time.
This is Hell was up first. Out of all the bands I was least excited to see this one, and they didn't impress me much. There music is a poor mash up of hardcore punk and thrash metal and it just didn't fit well with the show. Many of the songs felt too similar, and the singer seemed to be simply yelling vocals and not getting much of a crowd reaction back. The highlight of TiH was their lead guitarist, Rick Jimenez, who not only played well, but added the only energy to the performance. Jimenez frantically hopped about the stage jumping about and doing mid-air kicks. And even though Jimenez did add a much needed energy kick to their performance, I was still happy when they exited the stage.
Up next was Polar Bear Club. I was excited to see what they could do live even though I only liked a few of their songs. Pushing out a mediocre performance, the post-hardcore punk band powered through their set saving their best songs for first and last. The thing I liked the most about PBC was their lead singer, Jimmy Stadt. Stadt has an awkwardly rough vocal style, which works really well with the cleaner style of the bands sound. Stadt used the full stage to his advantage, running, jumping and spinning around everywhere while singing.Although the band had a couple technical difficulties with the amps, they still managed to out on a pretty good show.
Everybody knew who was up next. Fans were instantly going crazy for lead singer of Emarosa, Jonny Craig, and it was just sound check. Craig has been considered by many to have one of the best singing voices in the industry. His control of his highs and lows and his soulful shrills are almost unrivaled. And to my surprise, his vocals translated well live. I just didn't think he could sing so well live and it really added to the performance. Back by a band that plays either faster paced punkish music or a lighter blend of almost spacey sounding punk, Emarosa really knows how to enhance their front man. The band as a whole was great, playing hits from both of their CDsand hyping the crowd up for the headliners.
The first of the two headliners to play was August Burns Red. Having already seen them before, I was anticipating a good showing but they really add to their show when they headline. Entering to techno and strobelights, the band casually walked on stage and then began to tear the roof off the HoB. Full of screams, breakdowns, great riffs and amazing drums, ABR ignited the HoB. Not only are the members of ABR great musicians, but they are also great people. When they stopped to take breaks, they thanks the fans and the other bands they were with and talked about how blessed they were to be on this tour. ABR was really good at keeping their energy up through the entire set and capped their performance off with a drum solo by Matt Greiner.
Last up was the band I was anticipating throughout the show, Bring Me the Horizon. Hailing from England, it is always special to know they are coming to the states. Unfortunately this is the first time I have made it out to one of their shows, but at least I finally got to see them. BMTH had the best stage presense among the bands, constantly engaging the crowd. Initiating things like crowd surfing, cicle pits and even a wall of death, intensified the crowd and kept the shows energy up. The tuned down guitars and breakdowns matched lead singer, Oli Sykes, screams perfectly and allowed the crowd to really get into the music. For the last song, guitarist, Jona Weinhoffen, climbed on top of his amp and then climbed on to the second floor balcony and performed part of the song there. Then just before the breakdown, he climbed back to the top of his amp and jumped off to start the breakdown. At the end of the song the bass player, Matt Kean, threw his bass across the stage and the band exited. Then to top it off, the drummer, Matt Nicholls ran back out and jumped into the crowd.
All in all, the AP Fall Tour was a great concert to go to. The show featured a bunch of varying acts that gradually got better with each band. I would love to see all of the bands again (even This is Hell, to give them a second chance) and always love coming to the HoB. If you would like to see pictures from the show, check out my facebook page. They are kind of blurry, but I don't have the best of cameras.
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