CD of the Week: Have Heart - Songs to Scream at the Sun

This week's CD comes with a funny story about how I first heard this band! So even if you aren't interested in the hardcore tunes, this is worth a read:

In 2003, I was way into the hardcore band Death Threat from Connecticut, and I still am now, actually (even though they've broken up and reunited exactly 4912 times). So when I heard they were playing in Rhode Island, I made plans with some friends to go. Long story short, it was some of the worst rain storms I have ever been through, and at the time I didn't have a license, so this girl named Danielle drove. Now she is a good driver and all, but when visibility is so bad that passing semi-trucks looks like going through a carwash, you start to get a little nervous. When you pass 4 lanes to the right without a blinker or seeing the lines on the road, you may get a little antsy. Long story short (TOO LATE!), what should have been a 3 hour drive took almost 5 hours. When we finally got there, 4 of us couldn't even get in because it was 18 and up, even though the flier had said "all ages." Those 4 dudes sat sad and lonely in the pizza shop, being taunted by the ability to hear all the bands through the walls, while the other 5 of us went in (2 cars had came). Those 4 weren't the only ones upset by this sudden change in venue policy, which was apparently related to liability and insurance issues, but there were about a dozen young-looking kids outside who tried to break in by means of an old freight elevator. They failed miserably, so I talked to them while I was outside in between bands. When I asked who they were there to see, they said "Have Heart," which surprised me. Have Heart at the time was a new, fairly small-time band from Massachusetts, the hardest state to spell in the entire US of A. One of the reasons they had failed to break in was because there were 5 opening acts, and the room was almost empty for Have Heart, so it was kind of obvious that they were there. Regardless, I watched them and was mildly impressed, later downloaded their demo and thought it was complete shit. Posi, youthcrew-style hardcore that has been done a million times over, with trite and boring messages about staying true and straight edge and blah-dee-blah-blah. The production was also terrible.

Fast forward 5 years. Have Heart is now relatively big, on Bridge 9 Records which is a label I have seen change bands for the worse (namely Death Before Dishonor). Not liking B9 too much, and having a negative opinion about this band to begin with, I hadn't listened to them in years. I had avoided them like the plague, and now as it turns out they are touring Japan with Shipwreck A.D. and Loyal to the Grave, both great hardcore acts. Of course I'm going to see them when they play Shinjuku tomorrow, and I figured that if I'm paying $20, I might as well check out the new Have Heart record to see if I could enjoy it at all. As you have probably already deduced, it blew me away. Passionate lyrics, and an actual theme album really caught my attention; That theme being remembering a troublesome childhood and coping with issues such as coming of age, boyhood versus manhood and understanding the vast amount of needs and wants that exist in the world besides yours, as we are all "under the same sky." Indeed, the record begins with lyrics like: "there's more to life than the boy in that mirror," and ends with the equally emotionally volatile:

"Sisters starving, brothers begging.
Mothers mourning, fathers folding

When I look in the mirror I see:
A boy not a man...

The fortunate son who dwells in the city,
with the poorest of the poor, still, I ask for your pity"

I usually don't like to quote so heavily, but I really enjoy and relate with what this guy is saying. And just that connection is something that is quite rare. A band can play great music, sure, but does it really mean something?

Speaking of music, this whole record kicks. It's fast when in needs be and takes enough breaks to maintain a level of dynamics that keep it interesting. The chanting is mixed very well at the beginning and end of the cd for a feeling of coming full circle, and overall the production is excellent. The riffing is also varied and interesting, huge leaps and bounds ahead of the boring stuff these guys used to play. The band has really matured with this record, and great music makes a great foundation for vocals, which can either make or break a band in my humble opinion. Luckily for me and you, fellow listeners, the singer is harsh and engaging in a way that makes you want to keep listening. All in all, definitely worth a listen.

Myspace

Oh, and to wrap up the earlier story, Death Threat was great as expected. They are a fun band with prolific lyrics like: "Hardcore is what we're all about, drinking smokin' weed and fuckin' hangin' out!" Afterwards Murphy's Law played until last call, I saw a guy drink beer out of a tuba, and needless to say we were all exhausted and the kids in the pizza shop were extra grouchy. Luckily I went back home in the happy car. It was still raining terribly, and we almost died about 5 more times. I specifically remember Danielle taking a wrong turn down a one way street and almost running into a taxi cab at 5:30 in the morning. Ah, memories.

More posts coming soon, I got a 3-day weekend thanks to Respect for the Elderly Day!

CD of the week - Caitlyn Bailey - Fuego!

As promised, I'll be reviewing different styles of music - predominantly metal, hardcore and punk - from different places all over the world. This week's band is Caitlyn Bailey from Region XI in the Philippines! I stumbled across this band the other day and was really impressed by their chaotic culmination of unpredictable grind-parts, rhythmic breakdowns and massive crescendos.

The bottom line here is that if you like old Converge stuff that was short and sweet, like Locust Reign for instance, you'll like this band. The vocals are reminiscent of old Jake Bannon screams, and the final track "Object Permanence" really shows the bands ability to step outside of just the heavy and chaotic sphere.


Myspace: Caitlyn Bailey - Download Fuego!

CD of the Week: Loss of Reason - the Nightmare Ages

Today's CD of the week is dedicated to some special friends of mine from Virginia Beach, Virginia, who've worked hard for a long time to produce what is easily their best album yet. The Nightmare Ages is their third CD in the last 6 years, and it is a 7 track EP that is chock-full of catchy riffs, gutteral but comprehensible vocals, and solid drumming.

This release strikes a note with me not only because I've seen this band go from a sloppy Every Time I Die knockoff into a tight metalcore quintent with their own sound, but also because this is yet another band who has not received any kind of real label support, and are therefore generally overlooked. The music is passionate and real, and subscribes to no genre stereotypes like the infamous "chugchugweewee" trends of Norma Jean or the Acacia Strain. That being said, there is plenty to mosh to on this record!

Another highlight of the band is the singer Ian's witty lyrics. Song titles like "Hit by an Oceanliner" and "Blood Bath and Beyond" should tip you off that this isn't just your standard generic and cliche' lyrics - this guy actually has something unique to say. The dynamics of said lyrics also range from positive to very negative: "Everything will fail...I know how the world will end" vs. "Take every chance that you get from life." The schizophrenic nature of the lyrics is personally a big plus for me, and give the music a kind of depth most bands just lack nowadays.

In summary, this band is a must listen for fans of non-trite metalcore. With such an implosion of copy-cat bands over the last 3 or 4 years, these guys are a breath of fresh air, and even manage to do something which is damn near impossible in this day and age: be somewhat original.

My Rating: 8/10

Listen!

A new feature: CD of the Week

Every week, I will now be featuring a CD that I recommend all you people out there check out! First off it's H20's first cd in like 8 years, "Nothing to Prove." True hardcore heavyweights, they could sometimes be called pop punk, sometimes positive hardcore, sometimes melodic hardcore, but regardless of their genre placement, one thing is for certain: This CD is some of the most well-written, passionate hardcore I have heard all year. It cries out questions that have been eating me for years, especially pertaining to the current state of the "hardcore" and "punk" scene in America:

"What happened to the passion? What happened to the reason for screaming? What happened the music and the message that I love?"

The whole record is solid through and through, and is significantly more angry and hardcore than some of their more "recent" releases. Guest vocals from Lou of Sick of it All, the singer of Madball, and Agnostic Front should be enough to attract any fan of the genre, if not the fact that this band has never forgotten their roots.

There are intermittent clips of a lot of different people talking on this, but especially amusing is the kid on the record who says things like: "H20 GO!" "I'm straightedge for life you suckers!" And my personal favorite: "My Dad has too many tattoos!" Overall the record is, if anything, over too quickly.

My Rating: 8.5/10

Link: http://www.myspace.com/h2ofamily

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Please feel free to give any feedback on these entries! (and all of them, for that matter) I'm also always looking for new bands to listen to, so I'll gladly take recommendations. Expect something more Japanese next week, although I will be trying my best not to limit myself to one specific genre or locality.

A really big update on this crazy weekend coming by tomorrow at the latest, and with lots of pictures! Thanks for reading everyone, it gives me motivation to keep writing!