Brave Tin Soldiers – Black Snow Angels EP [Review]

Black Snow Angels EP is the debut release from Chicago-based Alt Rock band Brave Tin Soldiers. For the time being, the band is still unsigned (noted on their MySpace that they would like to change this). The band is made up of long-time friends guitar player Pete Alexander, bass player Jason Kedsch, and drummer Patrick Szczypinski.

Track listing:
1. Paranoia from Insomnia
2. Ruby Drops
3. Breathe
4. Black Snow Angels

The EP itself is quite short, but it is an EP so I expected nothing more in terms of length. The band says in their bio that they “take cues from Muse, Radiohead, and Steroephonics” – this is very easy to hear. Don’t worry, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. It definitely works very well to their advantage, especially given the timbre of Pete’s vocals. Most of the vocal lines seem as though they could have been written by Thom Yorke or Matthew Bellamy, but somehow still manage to be quite unique. During the song “Breathe” however, they have a very “glam rock” vocal feel, straight out of the ‘80 sunset strip stuff.

The next item up for bids is the guitar work (also Pete). This is VERY different from the styles of the vocals, which is refreshing. At times I hear something like the Smashing Pumpkins, at other times it floats around to some old Radiohead guitar, and also hits the Muse style repetitive picking melodies (each one of these is represented quite well in the song “Black Snow Angels”). For there being only one guitarist, the guitar parts are very full. I am not sure whether to attribute this to great writing, great production, or both. The dynamic and change in tone/timbre of the guitar is fantastic on this EP. It matched perfectly with what the bass is doing at every moment without mirroring them, or stealing the bass player’s spotlight (one of the bonuses of a three-piece band). Speaking of the bass player, Jason did not have a whole lot of spot light as far as technical bass playing goes, but he always have groove to spare. This extra groove goes for miles in the song “Paranoia from Insomnia” and moves the track along (the only instance I noticed where the bass line was the driving force).

The drumming on the album is average. This could be due to many things, however. This style of music does not lend itself kindly to impressive technical playing, nor does it lend itself to very creative drum sections without strange time signatures or phrasing (neither of which I noticed on the EP). The drums to their job, and do it well. They sound good, and don’t ever steal the thunder from the great melodies. Patrick does a great job at doing what needs to get done, and nothing more.

All in all, this EP excites me a lot. The band is currently in the studio recording their second release, and first full-length album. From the great potential I hear oozing out of this EP, their debut album should be a good one, and should aid them in finding a label.

Track pick: “Black Snow Angels”

Overall Score: 8/10
(Sorry, not metal enough for my usual devil horns, and I could not think of an item to represent this style of music)

For anyone interested, check out their myspace. You can get the EP for free, or pay $3.00 to a good cause and get it. I highly recommend it.

underOATH – Lost in the Sound of Separation [Review]

Lost in the Sound of Separation is the sixth full-length studio album from the Solid State/Tooth & Nail act Underoath (or underOATH, or UNDERØATH). THe album was released September 2, 2008 (Us/Canada/Japan). The lineup for the album is the same as their last two releases, Define the Great Line and They’re Only Chasing Safety. This is another band that also falls in the horribly mundane and vague category of Christian Metalcore. The band has also been considered to be a post-hardcore band. In my opinion, the band floats in the grey area between the two genres.

As with a few other reviews I have written, this is the first album I really sat down and listened to by Underøath. I did eventually listen to them, but this was their first of their albums I had been exposed to.

Upon my first listen, the album is sonically one of the best I’ve ever heard. There is simply no way to compare with this album in terms of the sound output. Take away what the music is and whether you like it or not, the production values on this album are perfect. Period. This is al album to be listened to with a nice pair of headphones, and deserves something far better than poorly compressed .mp3 file as you would get from say, the iTunes Music Store? Get yourself a nice pair of headphones and listen to this on a good vinyl setup if possible. It really is an experience.

Anyway, on to the music itself. Although I had not heard any full albums by Underøath before, I have herd songs. I sort of knew what to expect, but I had sort of discounted this band (regrettably) as another crappy screamo band, but with a little extra heavy. I was sadly mistaken. This band is a gargantuan band in terms of their musical performance. Great lyrics, and vocals that make me feel. Few voices I have ever heard have really spurred real emotion in me. Throughout Lost in the Sound of Separation I felt sadness, anger, hope, empathy, and so many more emotions. The rhythms and guitar melodies are always fresh, exciting, and interesting. The drummer doesn’t seem overly talented from what I heard on this record, but he sure as hell gets the job done.

The songwriting on this album is flawless as well. It feels like a gapless album when listening to it (well, other than the break between “Desperate Times, Desperate Measures” and “Too Bright to See, Too Loud to Hear” – that’s pretty obvious). The album really isn’t gapless, however, that is just how well put together the album is. Of course, they had to put the one song on the album that people who don’t like brutally heavy and raw music could enjoy… *cough cough* “Too Bright to See, Too Loud to Hear” *cough cough* Although it’s a good song, I wish that Underøath could just get rid of the soft, melodic songs they just stick into the albums. I guess it worked on the other albums, but it feels out of place on this album. At least it is at the end, and does a decent job at bringing the album to a calm, along with the last song (“Desolate Earth: The End is Near”). In my personal opinion, I would have been personally 100% content if the album had ended at the last note of “Desperate Times, Desperate Measures”.

The last thing I want to address is the album artwork. Now, is it just me, or does Underoath always have the best album artwork? I don’t have the slightest clue about what this album art is all about, but it’s awesome. There’s also no way to discount the album art for They’re Only Chasing Safety or Define the Great Line.

All in all, I absolutely love this album, and it is one that every fan of raw, heavy music should OWN. Yes, own as in BUY. If not only because the album is great, then buy it for the opportunity to get the “golden ticket” that allows free passage to every Underøath show form now until forever.

Track picks: “Only Survivor Was Miraculously Unharmed” and “Desperate Times, Desperate Measures”

Overall score: 9.5/10 devil horns

The March – Unearth [Review]

The March is the fourth full-length release from Massachusetts metalcore band Unearth, their third release on Metal Blade records. The March is the first release with new drummer Derek Kerswill. The album was released October 14, 2008 official, but was leaked a few weeks prior to the release date.

To be completely honest, I have been awaiting the drop if this album for a long time, and I had high hopes for it. VERY high hopes. Then I heard the first track of the album when it was added t the band’s myspace, and it was simply incredible. Now, I wish I could say the rest of the album is that ludicrous, but it’s not. Nor could it ever be. It’s simply that good. The rest of the album’s pretty good, too.

I’ll say this, it is their most metal release to date. They’ve moved closer yet to the metal scene with their latest release, only furthering the progress from III: In the Eyes of Fire (although, nothing is as metal as “Sanctity of Brothers” on this album). The biggest aid to this venture is what the new drummer adds. Overall, the sound of the drums, and the style of the rhythms, is more metal than hardcore. I think it suits the band, as Buz McGrath can write some pretty fantastic metal riffs (aforementioned “Sanctity of Brothers” is a good example).

As far as production goes, this album is your standard well done album. Nothing really sticks out as bad or good, and it serves it’s purpose. I did notice, however, that the bass is pretty much buried in most of the tracks, which I am personally indifferent about. I can’t say for sure how good the bass lines are on the album, but I will assume for now that is the reason that they are not too prominent in most places on the album.

Arguably the strongest attribute of this album is the songwriting and album composition. There is a lot of style in the construction of this album, and works well as a unit. The songs all run together seamlessly, but are clearly separate songs. The nature of the beast is the abrupt beginning and ending of almost every song, which is usually a no-no, but somehow these guys found a way to make the album move alright even when doing so. I feel that this could be attributed mostly to the abrupt nature of the music itself, even without all the breakdowns that Unearth used to feature on their albums (there are still a bunch, though).

The final thing I want to comment on are the guitar solos and harmonies. Though most people won’t pick up on this, the sweeps that start the album off are harmonized. That means? Yeah, you guessed it, two separate guitar parts. Then there’s the chugging behind it. Doesn’t that just blow your mind? The solos throughout this album really are fantastic, and tasteful at that. Contrary to popular practices, they’re not only tapping and sweeps at the fastest speeds the guitarist can play (don’t worry, though, Buz still melts some faces with some blisteringly fast shredding).

All in all, this album is a great listen, even though it falls off significantly after the first track. The guys from Unearth really brought everything to the table this time around, and now we get to enjoy the sonic feast they have prepared.

Track picks: “My Will Be Done”, “Letting Go” and “Cutsman”

Overall Score: 8 out of 10 devil horns

Haste The Day – Dreamer [Review]

Dreamer is the fifth full-length release from Haste the Day, a band on the primarily Christian metalcore label Solid State Records. This is their second release with new vocalist Stephen Keech. Dreamer was released on October 14, 2008.

Being a fan of Haste the Day from the near beginning (Burning Bridges was where I picked them up), I was not sure whether or not the band would be ready to do something a little different this time around, especially considering the change in vocalists. Turns out that they decided to stick with the same old thing, adding a new cliché metalcore flavor to the mix. That is by far the largest downfall of the album. The songwriting sounds exactly like every other metalcore band out there these days (with very few exceptions).

Where they go right with the direction they took with Dreamer is the fact that it was executed PERFECTLY. They nailed down the sound to perfection, and it is all perfectly balanced. The album could have been moved around from song to song (the order of the track on the album is a bit strange), but each song sounds great. The new vocalist has the perfect voice for Christian Metalcore, and in my eyes is an improvement from Jimmy Ryan (don’t worry, Jimmy, you’re still great). I want to make special note of Devin Chaulk’s drumming on this album, though. Devin, that shit is TIGHT my friend. Crisp, clear, pounding, etc. Everything you could want in a drum sound for an album is right here (yeah, yeah, argue personal preference all you want).

Being the fact that it is a Christian Metalcore band, putting out a Christian Metalcore album, there is nothing more to be said. It is what it is – like most every other album in that category. At least that did it well, and did it right. It’s not a crappy hack job, and you can at least differentiate the sound from the mediocrity that is metalcore these days. A great listen, but nothing groundbreaking.

Track Picks: “68″, “Porcelain”, and “Haunting”

Overall score: 6.5 out of 10 devil horns

On a passing note, does anyone else think that the opening track sounds eerily like something from As I Lay Dying’s newest album, An Ocean Between Us? Creepy…