Hailing from what is fast becoming the new metal hotbed of the UK, Southampton, come post-hardcore quintet I, The Mapmaker with their self-released E.P. Searching. Seeing that this was produced by Lewis Johns (Employed To Serve, Rolo Tomassi etc) I was already intrigued as to what the band would have to offer and knew that wasn’t going to be a generic by numbers band.Continue reading
One of the few original emo bands left, Senses Fail (Pure Noise)has released their seventh studio album If There Is Light, It Will Find You. The New Jersey natives debuted onto the scene in 2004 with megahit Let It Enfold You and much of the strong energy that was presented on that album has been carried into this new LP. Continue reading
When anyone thinks about Three Days Grace, instantly one thinks of 2003’s ‘I Hate Everything About You’. The song came out in emo’s prime and it fit so well. Ever since releasing their debut self-titled album, the Canadian quartet has stayed true to their three-year interval on releases. Continue reading
Off the back of the critically acclaimed sophomore record Blush, Canterbury quintet Moose Blood are back with a new record I Don’t Think I Can Do This Anymore (Hopeless). Kicking off with ‘Have I Told You Enough’, I was immediately taken with the musical approach by the band as the lead guitar motifs perfectly complemented the vocals, and the whole thing gave off a very warm summery tone. ‘Talk In Your Sleep’ picks up the pace a bit more and features the outstanding chorus of the entire record – an arena-ready anthem for sure. The breakdown towards the end was also a good addition to the feel of the song.Continue reading
Nostalgia for the good old days’ post-hardcore of the 1990s and the early aughts is at an all-time high in 2017. However, few bands made the impact on the scene the way that 36 Crazyfists did, coming on in the middle of that golden decade and reigning hard for years over several acclaimed, and a few other solid releases. Unlike some of their peers, they never really broken up, as much as the hype died down and they settled into veteran band status. Except for a brief lag before their last album, Time and Trauma (Spinefarm) ,they have been consistent,and always supported by their die-hard fan base. New album Lanterns (also Spinefarm) shows these guys are not slipping.Continue reading
Metalcore and post-hardcore icons The Used and Glasjaw are teaming up for a tour. The pre-sale for tickets begins today and go on sale to the public this Friday. Tour dates and further details are below Continue reading
Dependability is an overlooked trait in music. As exciting as innovation is, bands can prove just as important and special with few surprises in their sound; cliché perhaps to say, but AC/DC are case in point. Over an eight-album career, Silverstein are another example of a band with a reliable but recognisable sound throughout, their brand of emotive post-hardcore always maintaining a youthful vibrancy and intensity. Latest album Dead Reflection (Rise Records) follows this trend for the most part, and even reveals a couple of new tricks up their sleeve.Continue reading
The Funeral Portrait 10-12-2016
At The Masquerade,, Altanta GA
All Photos By Boston Chuck Photography
How do you take a pretty kickass tour and make it more awesome? Make the last date of tour an all day festival at one of the best venues in California. The fully fledged Rockstar Energy Drink Taste of Chaos Festival assembled on a hot Saturday in mid-summer at The San Manuel Amphitheater, in the thick of a concert tour and festival season packed with options. Fans still gathered in droves for a show in which more than half of the bands could have headlined and sold out their own tours easily. Although tons of cool food trucks, countless craft beer options, and a carnival type atmosphere helped make it a fun day out, it comes back to being all about the music. It’s a testament to the organizers who put this bill together, but there seemed to be many heads in the venue for each band, all screaming along with every word. For fans of a certain age, this event was the holy grail of millennial teen angst and passion. Dashboard Confessional and Taking Back Sunday are two of the signpost bands of that era, and coupled with The Starting Line, Saosin featuring Anthony Green, Senses Fail and The Early November on the bill might be just too much for the hearts of early 2000s heartstrings to take. Add in 90s post-hardcore kings Quicksand, The Get Up Kids, Reggie And the Full Effect and many more, and you have an incredible day of live music. Captured for Ghost Cult by Melina Dellamarggio of Melina D Photography in her final assignment before passing away in August, you get sense of the spirit these bands still embody, of music that still matters, and a mutual love shared by fans of all kinds.
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It’s been quite a transformation few years for new Artery Recordings signees Wildways. Hailing from western Russia and operating until just a few years ago under a different name, this metalcore prospect comes up big on the US debut Into The Wild. The current wave of modern metalcore, bands with the ability to be heavy, but fluid enough to genre bend and flow well. Everyone aspires to this style, and fewer can make it there own sound. Wildways has done this big time.
Tapping into that millennial angst is easy. Try doing for a generation that would rather Snapchat then make a real personal connection. The kids in Wildways know this, and since they are their own audience, this helps them connect on real level. No fantasies or fakery, but real songs about personal problems. Tracks meld metalcore, EDM, rap (in English and Russian!), punk rock, and even thrash on occasions, coming on like the Linkin Park meets Parkway Drive in a game of carnival bumpercars. Big songs, tuneful melodies, verbose wordplay, and plenty of feel-good moments are the hallmarks of this album.
Opener ‘Skins’ is one of the longer tracks on the album. It’s a kitchen-sink type affair musically, building from a whisper to an emo-core roar of major proportions. Alternating between singing, rapping and screaming, it just kills. They have been a band long enough that they grasp dynamic and tempo shifts and are not just trying to spaz out the listener with changes. Props.
‘3 Seconds To Go’ is a hyperactive song that sounds like what would happen if you had Dragonforce and asked them to write for Enter Shikari or Chiodos at gunpoint. Again, vocalist Toli impresses. There is some baddass keys/programming going on here too. ‘Faka Faka Yeah’ will have the Atilla loving kids losing their shit. I can see this crossing over easily to pop fans. It’s still pretty metal, even though I have no idea what the hell this song is about. The album definitely gets stronger as it goes on with the best tracks being ‘Slow Motion’, the single ‘Princess’ (with mystery female vocals), ‘Don’t Give Up Your Guns’ and ‘Illusions And Mirrors’.
Wildways have arrived and might be a good bet to be the next big thing. This is a good first step into a larger world, and we’ll be following along closely.
7.0/10
KEITH CHACHKES
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