Freshly Unique » Post-Hardcore

In Fear And Faith

JAMEZ — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 22:54:31 +0000

In Fear And Faith – Imperial
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Aim For The Sunrise

JAMEZ — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:33:25 +0000

The Bigger Picture; Hope fairly optomistic

Nice little post hardcore metal a well put together EP

5 good solid songs

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Hawthorne Heights

JAMEZ — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:12:51 +0000

Fragile Future, is more a title for the coming decade,

The bad is inherently as bad out furture is bound to be…

Sorry if thats heavy

BUT the truth sucks, least you can get an album out of it

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The Dillinger Escape Plan

JAMEZ — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 01:20:13 +0000

American Mathrock, Experimental/ Metal, some real good heavy stuff right here. Dillinger’s EP is some real good stuff from before Dimitri Minakakis left the band.

If you’re into this band, no doubt you gotta have this EP

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30 Seconds to Mars

JAMEZ — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 01:01:59 +0000

A Beautiful Lie is a much different second album for the band, getting much more personal than their first studio album. This album sounds much more post-hardcore, even has some subtle screams and heavy synth in the background, give a listen, buy it, it’s worth a listen.

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Oceana

JAMEZ — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:03:09 +0000

Before the War on Terror and the war in Iraq began, one of the biggest debates in this country was over the issue of abortion. Thanks to the wars, however, the debate on the political stage was placed on the back burner, but thanks to this dimwit from Kansas, we now know that it is still one of the touchiest of subjects in America today.

I refuse to give my opinion on this issue in the review. If you want to talk about my views on abortion, feel free to PM me, post hate comments at the bottom of this page, whatever. For now, I’m going to praise Oceana’s delicate and masterful handling on the issue of abortion on their new album, Birth Eater.

One look at the record label section (Rise Records, if you’re too lazy to scroll up) will turn people off of Oceana’s music. Known as the “bandwagon label” in the scene, Rise Records has shown a commitment to jump ship to each passing trend, signing bands to get scene points. Can’t blame them for giving themselves a chance at some great exposure, but bands like Watchout! There’s Ghosts and Drop Dead, Gorgeous don’t give me much hope for the label to change its ways. The saddest part is, those who dismiss this record as “just another boring Rise release” will be missing out on one of the most ambitious records of the year.

Oceana’s debut, The Tide, introduced the band to the scene with a load of screaming. Birth Eater continues that trend with the incredibly fast-paced “Breather II,” which serves as a wake-up call to hook the listener in. However, it is on the album’s second (and best) track, “The Family Disease,” that we are introduced to the soft-yet-powerful clean vocals of the band by new vocalist Brennan Taulbee, which are a far departure from The Tide and a great step in the evolution of the band. It’s Taulbee’s clean vocals that dominate the vocal arrangements of Birth Eater.As far as the sceaming fans came to expect from Oceana, Taulbee can more than hold his own (see “Breather II,” “The Constrictor,” and many others for proof).

At its core, Birth Eater is a themed album, circling around the chaotic steps of an abortion. When done correctly, albums with a general theme can vault a band or artist to the forefront, but when done incorrectly, it can be career suicide. While few bands ever correctly pull it off, it is safe to say that Oceana can be added to the list of bands that have. To keep their theme of abortion from growing stale, Oceana explore the many players in an abortion: the child (as seen in “The Family Disease,” “The Abortion Plan,” “BOA,” and “Boneworks”), the mother of that child, who is clearly faced with the decision of a lifetime (“Dead Speaker,” and “I Came as Dust, I Left As Dust”), the father of the child, who feels that the responsibility is his to care for this life (“Mother Love”), and the mother and father, who decide to raise the child anyway (“In Birth”). With all these facets covered, Birth Eater is a bonafide classic in the making.

As far as the music goes, a lot can be said on both sides of the fence for Oceana. While they are indeed a metalcore band, a genre littered with mediocre lyrical content and “bro-downs,” Birth Eater finds Oceana pushing their creative limits to the fullest, thanks both to the guitar tandem of Jack Burns and Alex Schultz (who also adds vocals to the disc), as seen on “The Family Disease” and “In Birth,” and the bass-drum combo of Rob Davies and Denny Agosto (respectively) set a blazing pace to the songs, as seen on the punch-in-the-mouth opener “Breather II” and “Boneworks.” All of the band’s experimentation and creativity is pressed to its breaking point on the lengthy closing song “Devil Walk, God Walk (Heaven Walk, Hell Walk),” which leaves the listener with not only a great album to digest, but a new view on a topic still quite prevalent in our society.

What sticks the most on Birth Eater is the atmosphere created throughout the album. Though it gets old to give singers all the credit, the mood of this album is solely created by Taulbee. Singing cleanly with a hint of defeat and pessimism in his delivery, and evoking the chaos of not knowing the next step in life with his screaming, Taulbee truly pushes himself to the edge, and for the thrill of the fall, base jumps off of it. The atmospheric genius of the album quickly reaches its pinnacle in “The Family Disease,” again, the album’s second track. It’s almost as if all of the children who were never given the chance to plead for their lives are rubbing the decision to abort in their parents’ faces, while Taulbee screams his face off (or at least attempts to), speaking for all of them as loud as he can. This is seen again in “Devil Walk, God Walk (Heaven Walk, Hell Walk),” though it is not as effective.

As I said before, most people will dismiss Oceana for different reasons: their deal with Rise Records, their fight for survival in the pool of monotony in the metalcore genre, their open stance against abortion, or anything else haters come up with. However, if they are able to bypass this bias, they will be blessed with an ambitious, almost perfectly executed release that will (hopefully) remain as one of the premier records of this year, and one of the few great metalcore records.

Artist: Oceana
Album: Birth Eater
Genre: Post-Hardcore
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/oceanafl

- Tracklist -

1. Breather II.
2. The Family Disease 3:48
3. The Constrictor 3:31
4. Dead Speaker 3:09
5. Mother Love 3:04
6. In Birth 3:14
7. Boneworks 2:33
8. The Abortion Plan 4:57
9. Boa 3:43
10. I Came As Dust, I Left As Dust 3:17
11. The Spine Collection 3:28
12. Devil Walk, God Walk (Heaven Walk, Hell Walk) 8:53

Try Album [Mediafire] | Oceana – Birth Eater

Burden of A Day

JAMEZ — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:55:06 +0000

There’s been a flood of these “scenecore” acts in the past year and it seems Rise Records is the depot of a lot of it. Each band on the label, with the exception of one or two, sounds nearly the same = breakdowns, some synth/piano, and a mixture screaming and singing. I’m not saying this is bad because if you have an ear for it, sign it, but still, it’s gotten a bit ridiculous. One band hoping to break away from this image is Burden of a Day, whose new album, One, One Thousand,” is just hitting stores this week and let me tell you, it packs a punch.

Starting heavily with punk like chords and sing/scream vocals, “Remember,” quickly displays the technical abilities of the group. It’s not the most approachable opener, but it’s surely one to grab your attention. However, the catchy riffs of, “Fool Me Once,” will likely pull more people into the record. I would like to note, the electronics are much more absent on this than most Rise Releases and it’s all for the better as BoaD’s punk like metal helps draw attention like synthesizers only wish they could. A solid example can be found on the epically brutal, “The Mason,” which is an easy standout for best track on the record.

A problem with albums of this genre is not siply lasting power on repeat plays, but keeping things interesting even the first time through. I mean breakdowns can only get you so far before you have to find a new game. For Burden of A Day, the ability to keep us listening is something that seems to come easily for awhile. Tracks like, “Sly Fox,” and “OneOneThousand,” have great structure and instrumentation that give way to hooks that just latch onto your subconscious and remain there for days. However, that’s only two of the back 5 tracks and let me say, the other three feel a bit dull. I mean, not only does this band play the same sounding song over and over, but so does about 45 other full time touring acts right now that are on the same exact shelves. I will note that the closer, “My Forfeit,” has a beautiful message and true display of the band’s faith, but it still feels like something I’ve heard twelve other times this year.

In the end, I’m split on my thoughts for One One Thousand. I mean, they play breakdowns and meld sing/scream vocals quite well, but so does I See Stars, A Day To Remember, In Fear and Faith, and a few other acts who’ve had album out thus far this year. However, the lyrical content hear is quite strong and I wish there was a better platform to get their message of faith across than metalcore, but it’s what they’ve chosen to do. So, as I walk away from about the tenth play of the album, I’m still at a crossroads. There’s something to be said for doing what everyone else does well, but it’s still what everyone else does. I guess it’s a genre of pick and choose acts and to me, Burden of A Day just doesn’t make the cut.

Artist: Burden Of A Day
Album: One One Thousand
Genre: Screamo / Post-Hardcore / Christian
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/burdenofaday

- Track List -

01. Remember 03:39
02. Fool Me Once 03:43
03. The Mason 03:31
04. Oceans 01:24
05. The Shame In Shedding Wool 03:35
06. Sly Foxes 03:52
07. Isadora Duncan 03:47
08. OneOneThousand 03:28
09. Modern Gentlemen 03:34
10. My Forfeit 03:59

Try Album [Mediafire] | Burden of A Day – One One Thousand