What I've Been Listening To - October 2017

I haven't posted on here for a few weeks. I've been a busy man. I went on tour for 2 weeks. I've been picking up shifts at my jobs (gotta earn them dollar bills y'all). I've started writing articles for Invicta Magazine, which I'm super stoked about. The latter is one of the biggest factors for me ignoring this blog, which has been completely unintentional if I'm honest. I've just devoted more of my time to Invicta. But, that said, I am going to try and balance my time between both and keep this one alive. I like writing innit. And I like listening to music and telling you, whoever you are, what I think of it. I mean no one could be reading this at all. The website is telling me people are reading it but for all I know it could just be my dad refreshing the page a few hundred times to make me feel good about myself. If you are doing that dad, thank you, it's working. But just in case people actually do read this, I'm gonna carry on. And with that in mind, here's some stuff I've been listening to in October, both whilst on tour and whilst working.

Veil Of Maya - False Idol

After the release of their previous album Matriarch, Veil Of Maya really came into their own. Musically they've always been incredible, but the addition of Lukas Maygar provided them with something they hadn't had before. That something was range. A vocalist that not only had a punishing scream, but an incredible set of pipes on him with the ability to perform intricate and melodically impressive cleans. Matriarch was something special, and False Idol continues to impress. Doublespeak is full of pit-worthy riffs and an enormous soaring chorus. Whistleblower is pure filth, and has the potential to snap a few necks with some infectiously catchy riffs. Pool Spray is heavier than heavy, winding and bending through passage after passage of sheer brilliance. The entire album is proof that they've found their formula and know how to use it. If you aren't a fan of this band yet, now is the time to become one.

Movements - Feel Something

I'd never heard of these guys before until I saw Counterparts tweet about them. The tweet was very complimentary, basically saying that if you don't like the new record you're stupid. A bold claim, I thought, so I checked it out. And it's wonderful. Not what I expected at all, considering the type of music the band that mentioned them dabble with. I'd class it as a blend of pop punk and emo; very emotionally driven but catchy in all the right places, and also very chilled out at times too. Think Boston Manor and La Dispute having a baby, but that baby being brought up by Taking Back Sunday. Don't just take my word for it, go and check out single Colorblind and album track Third Degree. If you like what you hear, you'll love the album.

The Used - The Canyon

This is one of the first records I was sent to review for Invicta, and it's honestly one of the best albums I've heard all year. I've been a huge fan of The Used for a very long time, ever since the release of In Love And Death over a decade ago. Their more recent material was harder for me to get in to. Perhaps that was because my music tastes had changed. Maybe the newer material simply wasn't as good. But, regardless, my first listen of The Canyon made me feel the way I used to feel about this band. It was nostalgic, yet still managed to sound refreshing and current. Single Over and Over Again is a slice of emo pop-tinged gold, with an unforgettable chorus and a super catchy verse riff. Vertigo Cave has got one of those riffs in it that I can refer to as THAT RIFF, because when it happens you'll know exactly which one I'm on about. Moon-Dream is a chilled out orchestral masterpiece. The Nexus is a gospel-feeling southern tinged creeper, drifting in and out of both the calm and the storm. The whole album is just brilliant. If you ever loved this band, or have ever been a fan of emo, this album is completely worth your time. Check out my full review for Invicta Magazine here.

36 Crazyfists - A Snow Capped Romance

Reviewing Lanterns last month reignited my flame for 36 Crazyfists, and as a result I started to re-listen to their back catalogue. For me, the album that gets me into a band tends to remain my favourite. And that is definitely the case here. A Snow Capped Romance is full of so much nostalgia for me, and provides me with visual memories when I listen to certain songs. I remember finishing my classwork really fast one science lesson and listening to Skin And Atmosphere with my friend, sharing a headphone each. I remember sitting in my bedroom and repeatedly pressing pause and play to try and figure out how to play Destroy The Map. I remember the time when Kenai was the heaviest song I'd heard up to that point, and falling completely in love with heavy music. And as for Bloodwork, I honestly can't remember having a song on repeat quite as much as when this came out. This was a really important album for me, and it hugely shaped my musical tastes going forwards. If you've never checked this out and like the heavier side of metalcore, this album is essential listening.

Gideon - Cold

Whilst on tour, we had the absolute pleasure of playing a show with In Hearts Wake, Gideon and Silent Screams. We honestly get so lucky having the opportunity to play shows like these, especially with bands this big in the scene right now. Gideon are a massive influence on our guitarist, Andy, and since discovering them a few years back I'd be lying if I said I wasn't influenced by them too. Cold, their newest offering, is a continuation of what they do best. Writing big riffs and big breakdowns and delivering them with class. Cursed is an undeniable mosh anthem, and can open a pit within the first 10 seconds (which they proved with ease at the show). Freedom is a Hatebreed like hardcore anthem, actually featuring guest vocals from Jamey Jasta himself. Walk Alone is heavy as sin, pulling no punches and hitting hard chug after chug. All the material sounds insanely huge live, and they were easily my band of the night. I like to think of these guys as a way more angry and pissed off The Ghost Inside. If that sounds like it might be your cup of tea, it most likely will be. Drink up.

As per usual, if you think there's something that I should be listening to or something that you think is worth reviewing, let me know! I'll listen to literally anything and I could talk about music literally forever, so nothing is off the card. Just sling us a message and I'll check out whatever you suggest, and I'll be as honest as I can be about what I hear.

As mentioned at the top, I will be actively trying to write more for this blog going forwards and balancing my focus between this and Invicta. Expect to see a rise in the amount of things I post in the near future. Thanks for reading!

D.S

x

Life Lessons - The Albums That Inspired Us

We've been having a lot of people, interviewers, friends and fans, ask us what our musical influences were when we recorded Life Lessons. It's such a hard question to answer. The 5 of us all listen to different things, we all draw inspiration from different places. But, there are a number of songs and albums that I know we all share a love for, and know that we drew influence from whilst writing and recording this album. These are some of the albums that inspired me and some of the band when we were recording. But mainly me. This is my blog ain't it, if those guys wanna write about what influenced them they can start their own blog. Ahem. Sorry. I'll carry on.

The Ghost Inside - Get What You Give

Musically, we wanted to create something that was like The Ghost Inside but with a more metalcore edge. We wanted to production to sound similar to this record, as punchy and as huge as this record, as clean cut and defined as this record but still with a hint of rawness. I think we all collectively think of this as one of the defining albums within the genre, and this was an enormous influence on us both as we were writing and recording.

Underoath - Define The Great Line

My favourite album of all time. Hands down. Everything that they do on this record, the builds, the dynamics, the riffs, the melodies, the way the album paces along, everything is flawless. They are such a tight and clever band, but have such a rawness, an almost unpolished feel to them, and that completely adds to the punch of the album, adding a sense of unpredictability. I wanted to take parts of all that and implement it into our album, and there are hints of it running throughout.

Killswitch Engage - The End Of Heartache

One of the most perfect metalcore albums from that era. I think a lot of people, not just us, have this album on a pedastal as being one of the best, if not THE best metalcore album of all time. It has everything. Changes in pace, riffs for days, punishing vocals and soaring melodies, all accompanied by solid production and an almost perfectionist delivery. Killswitch Engage are one of our all time favourite bands, to say they had no influence on our writing would be a flat out lie. We grew up listening to them and learning their songs, our writing style has indirectly been shaped by them.

Unearth - The Oncoming Storm

Much like The End Of Heartache, this was another of the perfect albums from that era. A lot heavier and more unrelenting than Killswitch Engage, but just as riffy and technical if not more so, with breakdowns appearing all over the shop and with blistering leads where necessary. A lot of the breakdowns on this album were approached with a "what would Unearth do?" kind of vibe, and a lot of the breakdowns we feel turned out great as a result of that.

While She Sleeps - Brainwashed

One of the few torches keeping British metalcore alight, While She Sleeps made an absolute corker of an album with Brainwashed. The punishing pace, harsh vocals and raw punchy guitars were expertly balanced alongside enormous anthemic singalongs, exquisite melodies and harmonies and tasteful guitar decoration. We look up to While She Sleeps as an example of how to work hard and knuckle down, how to not give up and push for better things.

A Day To Remember - Homesick

The album that broke A Day To Remember is arguably their best, and that blend of catchy infectious pop punk and hard hitting metal isn't done half as well by anybody else. The perfect example of a metal pop band, structuring songs like pop songs with strong verses and memorable hook laden choruses, this album is essentially a masterclass in how to blend genres. We knew we wanted to put more singing in this album, and we knew we wanted to structure the songs better, and this album was the perfect example of how that's done.

Gideon - Calloused

We referenced this album a LOT when it came to the mixing process. The way all the instruments blend together and burst through the speakers makes the already heavy riffs sound even heavier. Everything has so much weight behind it, and none of the weight gets lost. You can hear every single instrument. We wanted that same impact from our recording.

Architects - Lost Forever//Lost Together

This album was nothing short of monumental when it first came out. Architects are a band we've all been following and paying attention to for years, but this was probably the heaviest and most brutally honest they'd been so far in their career. Both lyrically and musically, this was an album that really set Architects apart from the crowd. Adam is an enormous fan of Sam Carter, and the way he delivered his vocals on Lost Forever//Lost Together was a big inspiration to how he delivered his. Musically it was a huge inspiration too, pushing us to be creative and not do what everybody else is doing.

Bring Me The Horizon - Sempiternal

Similar to A Day To Remember, this album was a masterclass in song writing, but also at how to write structured commercial songs without wandering too far away from the sound you're known for. This was a perfect transitionary album for them, bridging the gap from the heavier side of them to the side we now know about from That's The Spirit. This was a great reference for us, for how to progress forwards without straying too far from the sound we'd already established. We also looked at how our songs would sound when performed live after seeing Bring Me The Horizon perform songs off this album in Cardiff, which greatly helped our writing and recording process.

Stray From The Path - Rising Sun

Stray are a very unique band, and almost nothing like us. They're like a blend of Rage Against The Machine and Every Time I Die. Basically they're Rage Against The Machine but even more angry and the world. Their drummer is an absolute powerhouse, and some of the drum parts on Life Lessons were inspired by a lot of the drum parts on this record. Not drums you'd predict, not drums you'd expect, but musically impressive and often unexpected drums.




Let me know if you can hear any of the above in the record! A couple of album reviews that we've had have picked up on a few of these influences, some have compared us to some cool other bands we didn't even spot. Just the simple fact that it's being listened to is amazing, so I'm beyond happy with anything we get compared to. Even if you compare us to 5 Seconds Of Summer. I don't know why you'd make that comparison, but I'd appreciate it all the same.

Regardless of whether you can pick any of these out or not, thank you so much for checking out the album, it means the absolute world to us.

Thank you for reading.


D.S
x