Riots And Violence

5 Best Albums Of 2007

2007-12-26T17:07:00.000-08:00

The title is pretty self explanatory...

5.
Emery- I'm Only A Man

Rock Hill, SC
Label: Tooth & Nail Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/emery
Genre: Alternative Rock

Is it just me or does Emery just keep getting better by every album. Though I didn't really get insanely stuck on many of the songs, I'm Only A Man delivered some of the most extraordinarily orchestrated songs I've heard this year. This Emery release however, was a bit different from their previous releases. There is less screaming than both The Weak's End and The Question and musically not as rowdy either. However, they did introduced a new sound style; more acoustic and classic rock sounding riffs mixed into Emery's alternative style provided great depth and diversity in the album. One criticism I do have for the album though, is the vocals. Emery has two sensational vocalists, but on some of the songs need to tighten the strings considerably. They still haven't written a lyrical masterpiece yet, but besides that and some minor vocal flaws, Emery writes some of the most impressive music... Especially instrumentally.

4.
Anberlin- Cities

Orlando, FL
Label: Tooth & Nail/ Universal Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/anberlin
Genre: Rock

Anberlin, same as Emery, has musically matured at an incredible rate between their second and third album. I don't think there was a single song on this album that I didn't like. Such a good album top to bottom. There aren't many ways to describe Anberlin's sound, but not many sound changes were made on this album from their first two albums. The deluxe edition also features two excellent cover songs and an Anberlin original which is probably one of my favorites of the entire album. As successful as Anberlin has been, it's about time a major label signed them. This also wasn't Anberlin's only release of 2007. They just recently released a b-sides album entitled 'Lost Songs', featuring all of their b-side tracks, demos, and acoustic song versions. Anberlin's on a role folks. I'd pick this album up while it's still hot.

3.
The Almost- Southern Weather

Tampa Bay, FL
Label: Tooth & Nail/ Virgin Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/thealmost
Genre: Alternative Rock

Aaron Gillespie es un caballo. Between Underoath, The Almost and his hair, it's amazing that this guy has time for anything. I just loved this album. As I mentioned on the previous posts, I didn't expect much out of this album after hearing the demos last year. But to my surprise this album delivered a great alternative rock sound that Aaron really put his all into making. Not to mention, everyone and their mom bought this album. Though The Almost is supposedly just Aaron's side project, he's getting a lot of mileage out of this album and will probably continue to by releasing future albums. Solid album... Pick it up.

2.
Paramore- Riot!

Franklin, TN
Label: Fueled By Ramen
Website: http://www.myspace.com/paramore
Genre: Pop/ Rock

Paramore's Riot! currently stands at #15 in the Billboard 200, they've sold out dozens of show in the US, Europe, and Japan, they've headlined the warped tour, they're a 'Best New Artist' Grammy nominee... Not bad considering 75% of the band are still teenagers. These guys have pretty much done everything but disappoint people. Ok, so they have a female vocalist, but these guys are anything but a cheesy pop band. Hayley is not an Avril Lavigne or a Britney Spears. Unlike those guys, she actually sings... And sings with authority. Not going to lie, she's probably one of the most impressive vocalists I've heard. Their debut album All We Know Is Falling just seemed to be such a big hit, but I'm telling you, compared to Riot!, that album is garbage. Such a young band doing so many incredible things. They've said in an interview that they would like to tour with Emery and The Chariot... I'd shave my knuckles to see that.

1.
The Devil Wears Prada- Plagues

Dayton, OH
Label: Rise Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/tdwp
Genre: Hardcore/ Metal

If you are a fan of hardcore or metal music, and have not yet heard of The Devil Wears Prada, then shame on you! This album was just absolutely fricken amazing. - (Is that a double negative?) I don't if there's much more to say. Every song on this record just blew my mind. They did a great job at pulling off the continuous tracks where the end of every song led right into the next. Excellent effects and editing really put the icing on top of the cake for this album. 'Plagues' is definitely a drastic improvment from their debut album, 'Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord' and brought out a much more intense feel. Be sure to check out The Devil Wears Prada's first music video for the song 'Hey John, What's Your Name Again?', their first single off of 'Plagues'. Just a stunning record to say the least. This album, full of intricate guitar riffs, face-melting break downs, and just incredible effects, really broke the ice for metal albums this year.

Just A side note, 'The Serpent' by Still Remains was a very close fifth. I thoroughly enjoyed that album, but felt that 'I'm Only A Man' was just slightly better.

5 ½.
Still Remains- The Serpent

Grand Rapids, MI
Label: Roadrunner Records
Website: http://myspace.com/stillremains
Genre: Metal/ Rock

Still Remains has been heavily criticized for their 'less-metal' sound on this album as opposed to their previous release 'Of Love And Luncay'. This is true, yet I don't see this as a bad move for them. The 'less screaming, more melodic' sound has really become a growing trend among hardcore and metal bands and really seems to fit Still Remains perfectly. It is much less heavy that their last album but replacing the chaotic guitar shreds is a much more melodic type of hardcore. There's even a really slick dance song. Good album... Just missed the top five. Check it out yo!

5 Best Debuts Of 2007

2007-12-22T21:37:00.000-08:00

Before we get into the five best of the year, I've got five bands that really made a statement with their debuts this year. In fact this is the one 'top five' where I really had a hard time narrowing it down to the five best. Lots of new bands, lots of new material, and not a lot of room left on my iPod.

5.
High Flight Society- High Flight Society (Self-Titled)

Ceadertown, GA
Label: Selectirc Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/highflightsociety
Genre: Rock

This album impressed me to say the least. High Flight Society debuted with a very energetic fast-paced style of rock. These guys will sell albums. I guarantee it.

4.
Before Their Eyes- Before The Eyes (Self-titled)

Findlay, OH
Label: Rise Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/beforetheireyes
Genre: Post Hardcore/ Screamo

This one's a late addition to my iTunes library. I seriously hadn't even heard of them until yesterday, but as soon as I did I picked this guy up. Their sound is probably in the perfect genre range for me. Not all screaming and thrashing, but considerably heavier than just plain rock. And I'm a sucker for the type of riffs these guys do. Just an excellent album. Now all they have to do is work on improving their music videos. Their video for 'City In A Snow Globe' is garbage.

3.
The Glorious Unseen- Tonight The Stars Speak

Nashville, TN
Label: Tooth & Nail/ BEC Records
Website: www.myspace.com/thegloriousunseen
Genre: Alternative

I actually picked up this cd yesterday too at the same time I picked up the Before Their Eyes album. I've been listening to their stuff for a while but haven't been able to get my hand on it until yesterday. This is probably the best non Chris Tomlin/ David Crowder etc. Christian worship band I've heard. Just a great album if you like worship stuff but are sick and tired of those other guys.

2.
The Almost- Southern Weather

Tampa Bay, FL
Label: Tooth & Nail/ Virgin Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/thealmost
Genre: Alternative Rock

Because of this album, I think I love Underoath that much more. I had heard some of the song demos for The Almost last year and really wasn't that impressed. But this cd just blew me away. Every song on this album is superb and some even easy to relate to when you're in my neck of the woods.

1.
Oh, Sleeper- When I Am God

Fort Worth, TX
Label: Solid State Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/ohsleeper
Genre: Hardcore

Just for the record, I probably enjoyed The Almost's record more than this one. I also enjoyed the Before Their Eyes album more than The Glorious Unseen's even though I ranked it higher. But in this top five, I'm focusing more on the quality of the release more than the genre or my personal preference. Which is why When I Am God is number one. This is probably one of the best hardcore albums I've heard. Oh, Sleeper really has their own unique hardcore sound which I really liked. They're not metal like As I Lay Dying, they're not screamo like Underoath and they don't sound like a Facedown band. I guess you can say they're like a new breed of Hardcore. New is always good. Another thing that really suck out is the sound quality. This album does not sound like a debut album. These guys literally sound like veterans. The quality and complexity of the songs were beyond any other debut album I've ever heard. If you like the heavy stuff, these guys are worth checking out.

Others of Honorable Mention

As I said in the beginning, it was so difficult sifting out the top five that I thought I'd mention a few that just missed my top five.

The Send- Cosmos

Albany, OR
Label: Tooth & Nail Records
Website: http://myspace.com/thesend
Genre: Alternative Rock

Hey, check it out! It's Falling Up's right arm. After amputation, now known as The Send. This one just didn't make it in. I thoroughly enjoyed this album from top to bottom and was one of the albums that surprised me the most this year.

Cry Of The Afflicted- The Unveiling

Kelowna, British Columbia
Label: Solid State Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/cryoftheafflicted
Genre: Post Hardcore/ Screamo

This album didn't quite cut it quality wise to make it into the elite five debuts of the year for me. However, some of the songs on this album are just amazing and I was stuck on a few for a while.

A Dream Too Late- Intermission To The Moon

Albany, OR
Label: Tooth & Nail Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/adreamtoolate
Genre: Mars?

Hey, check it out! It's Falling Up's little brother. The first time I heard stuff from these guys was probably about three years ago, and they sounded kind of like Emery. Yes, with screaming and all. They finally get signed, they finally put out an album, and now they sound like a bunch of cosmonauts. No doubt Falling Up's musical direction had an influence on their sound change. But these guys really have a great alternative rock sound with an album well above average for a debut release. It took them a while, but they're finally on Tooth & Nail and leaving their mark.

And that's my personal 5 + 3 best debut albums of the year. MySpace links are up there for a reason. Check those guys out. Ok, goodnight.

5 Worst Albums Of 2007

2007-12-22T16:33:00.000-08:00

Well it's been a year of goods, but with the good always come the bad... And the ugly. Everybody keeps talking about the best this' and thats of the year, but lets talk about the worsts, shall we? Hold on to your faces... We've got some pretty big names in this one.

5.
Dizmas- Lacking, Tension

Lancaster, CA
Label: Credential Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/dizmas
Genre: Rock

This really wasn't a terrible album. In fact, I enjoyed many of the songs on this record. The only problem is, aside from the vocals, it sounds nothing like Dizmas at all. Gone are the days of glass-shattering screams and knuckle-cracking guitar riffs. This album lacks the very thing it was titled... Tension. After what they did on On A Search In America, my expectations for their sophomore release was very high. Overall, I wasn't really disappointed in the songs. In fact this album is probably a lot more 'musical' than their first. But I was very disappointed in their change of sound. Where's the tension folks?

4.
Chasing Victory- Fiends

Camilla, GA
Label: Mono Vs Stereo
Website: http://www.myspace.com/chasingvictory
Genre: Post Hardcore

This one would probably surprise a lot of people. Overall it's not a bad record at all, but it did record the beginning of the end to Chasing Victory. This album, did however, disappoint me for some of the same reasons Tension did. Another sophomore release that just didn't outdo the debut. Soon after releasing Fiends, Chasing Victory announced the bands deformation stating, "They had lost their passion for writing music." Though the statement was recorded after the release of the album, I think it showed quite a bit in their music.

3.
As Cities Burn- Come Now Sleep

Baton Rouge, LA
Label: Solid State Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/ascitiesburn
Genre: Post Hardcore/ Atlternative Rock

Here's another shocker. But keep in mind that these as all based on my personal opinion, and I'm an idiot, so you don't have to listen to me. But I honestly hate to put As Cities Burn all the way into the top three. I was probably more disappointed in their drastic sound change more than the actual songs on the record. I understand that As Cities Burn is a favorite to many, not to mention they put on a heck of a live show. And I also respect the many changes and difficulties they've gone through, especially in reconstructing the band. But I just wasn't feeling it on this album. They've seemed to divert from the post-hardcore sound to more of a melodic sound. Though that's cool and all, I sense they still have a desire to thrash. Unfortunately that door has been closed since loosing their other vocalist. But even with the sound change, I feel like they could've done a little better on their sophomore release.

2.
Thousand Foot Krutch- The Flame In All Of Us

Toronto, Ontario
Label: Tooth & Nail Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/thousandfootkrutch
Genre: Rock

It's hard to imagine that there could be a bands fourth release worse than this one. But because of what awaits at #1, apparently there is. I'll try not to be too harsh with this one, since I'm saving the worst of my criticisms for the tombstone at #1, but this one is pretty much the same story as most unsuccessful albums... First couple song aren't bad, but nothing much going on after that. Quite frankly, I have little doubt that TFK is pretty much out of gas, because this flame didn't light at all. They took a nice big jump from Set It Off to Phenomenon (till this day one of my favorite rock albums), but since releasing The Art Of Breaking, I doubted if they'd ever beat that. And this album pretty much solidifies that theory. If TFK ever 'falls apart', Trevor should go into producing... He'd be good at that. Not a complete waste of money, but if you're looking to buy a good rock record, there's better options out there.

1.
Falling Up- Craptiva...

The Death Star, OR
Label: Tooth & Nail/ BEC Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/fallingup
Genre: Reedsport?

No, the 'r' in the title is not a typo. But technically, the whole title should be a typo because last time I checked 'Captiva' isn't even an English word. I guess they can add that word to the "Falling Up Dictionary" to join 'Arafax' and 'Calypsan'. Ok, let's get to the album. It's really hard to be nice to this once. First of all, Falling Up is signed to Tooth & Nail Records... Not Jedi Starfighter Records. In other words, we can do without the whole 'si-fi' theme. Secondly, the first three songs on the album were very catchy and actually pretty good. But I don't have many nice things to say about the rest of it. Just to keep this from being an overly critical, lopsided review, I will say that I don't think anyone is more passionate about writing music than Jesse Ribordy is. But sometimes that passion can carry you a little too far. Oh yeah, anyone heard about the movie script he's writing? Wonder what that's all about. Armageddon 2? Or maybe Alien VS Arafax? Anyway, I think we kind of have the gist of what's going on here. Crashings was by far Falling Up's best album. They seemed to have matured musically a lot by the time they got to Dawn Escapes (though it wasn't the same after they lost Tom Cox), then that whole remix thing which pretty much lead them right into this 'galactic conquest' (which by the way is the title of Eleventyseven's new album, graciously left off of this top five list.) One thing however, has not changed a bit through all of their albums... Their atrocious, flabbergastingly degenerate, downright awful song writing. To be nice, their song writing is probably an equivalent of Sanjaya Malakar's singing ability and hairstyle's combine. If Falling Up is ever gonna roll in the Benjamin's, I think it's about time they actually start playing some music. Their lyrics, now don't take this wrong Jesse, are LAME! (I just couldn't resist the School Of Rock paraphrase.) But seriously, they should sober up a bit before they start writing, because I'm literally sick of Murexa's, legacies, indoor soccer and whatever other jargon they write about. They pretty much just write stories that only they would understand. I think I understand why Joe Kisselburg and Tom Cox left the band. Now don't get me wrong, I may have a lot of gripes about what they're doing musically, but I am by no means saying not to support Falling Up. They're a great band doing great things, although not lyrically. Do support them, but please, buy a t-shirt instead.

There's my bottom five... Coming up will be the top five and what to look for in 2008.

5 Most Surprising Albums of 2007

2007-12-20T19:30:00.000-08:00

As the year comes to an end and this blog comes to a start I've got the five albums that surprised me most this year. The are not my five best albums of the year, but in a nutshell, the five albums that I didn't expect much from, yet blew me away.

Starting at numero cinco...

5.
The Almost- Southern Weather

Tampa Bay, FL
Label: Tooth & Nail/ Virgin Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/thealmost
Genre: Alternative Rock

Yes, I know there was the high anticipation, a huge promotion and whatnot for this album. Not to mention, it is Aaron Gillespie. But I honestly didn't expect the gargantuan eruption that came with this album. Every single song on this album stuck to me like chewing gum. And after moving from the sunny west coast to Virginia, I myself now know a thing or two about southern weather.

4.
The Send- Cosmos

Albany, OR
Label: Tooth & Nail Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/thesend
Genre: Alternative Rock

The debut madness continues. This album, very similar to Southern Weather. Both albums side projects, the one difference being that Joe Kisselburg (The Send) left his band, Aaron Gillespie (The Almost) did not. Unlike Southern Weather there was very little anticipation and not much of a promotion for this album. But I'll tell you what, it's freaking amazing. Like The Almost's record I didn't expect this album to carry the punch that it did. To be honest, I was quite disappointed when I found out that Joe Kisselburg had left Falling Up because he was such a staple to the band. But given the direction Falling Up is taking their music, and how successful this album was, I think it's safe to say that as 'bittersweet' as leaving Falling Up was, he made the right move.

3.
12 Stones- Anthem For The Underdog

New Orleans, LA
Label: Wind-Up Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/12stones
Genre: Rock

After being unseen or unheard from for several years, the now resurrected 12 Stones just spontaneously shows up and throws out a jaw-dropping album. One thing I really liked 12 Stones for, is they never change their style much like some other bands do. You pretty much always know what 'sound' to expect from them. What I didn't expect was their rebirth to be this epic. Just a great album with that same pure rock sound that we heard on their previous releases. I also really digged the albums theme/ title 'Anthem For The Underdog'. I've always been a sucker for the underdog, especially in sports. Last year's Golden State Warriors in the NBA Playoffs, Boise State in the 06' Fiesta Bowl, and just out of respect for a few people I know attending USC and a few friends of mine who are Wolverine fans, I won't mention Appalachian State or Standford. But I'll be singing that song once again for this year's Sugar Bowl.

2.
TobyMac- Portable Sounds

Nashville, TN
Label: Forefront Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/tobymac
Genre: Hip-Hop/ Rock

TobyMac?.... What? No, this doesn't mean I am a big fan of TobyMac. But I'll tell you what, this album blew the bejesus out of me. I still don't care much for his musical style, but the guy is a freaking genius. The layers and assortment of instruments and sounds just blew me away. This is just an unbelievably well put-together album. I really don't know how to describe it. Just go buy it.

1.
Kids In The Way- A Love Hate Masquerade

Indianapolis, IN
Label: Flicker Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/kidsintheway
Genre: Rock

So I saw Kids In The Way live in Monterey, California (Spirit West Coast to be exact), and they were just babbling on for awhile about how everyone should go buy their 'Apparitions of Melody' album. They even went as far as to beg us to get it. And I really got kind of sick of their whining. I know bands don't make much money and big festivals like SWC is really their chance to promote and haul in their load from the bakery, but one of the reasons why I was annoyed was that I had already heard the album and really wasn't that impressed. So they shut up for a year or so and boom (excuse the John Madden-like expression), they drop 'A Love Hate Masquerade'. No big promotion or anything. Not even a single MySpace bulletin saying "Hey, go buy our new album!" I had heard about it, but nobody was really talking about it. Just very under the radar. I picked it up not expecting much more than what I got from 'Apparitions of Melody' and I was simply amazed. I wouldn't go as far as saying it's one of the best albums of the year, but it's undoubtedly the biggest improvement by a band. After their debut album, Safe From A Loosing Fight, Kids In The Way seems to turn away from that raw punk sound, and in Apparitions of Melody got a little heavier. This album is a bit different from both. Not much screaming going on, if any at all, and a little less emo than their last album. However, it's much more musically sound than either of their other records. Even after its release I still feel like it's either underrated or just unheard of. But 'A Love Hate Masquerade' has definitely been a giant leap... Not step, leap... for Kids In The Way.

Those are my biggest surprise albums of the year. I'll try and get around to posting my best and worst albums of the year soon. Peace.