Warped Tour Comes To London

     For Rock, Alternative and Pop Punk fans across the Atlantic, the U.S’s Warped Tour line up has been a dreaded time for Brits since its inception 14 years ago. But in November this this year, Warped Tour will be gracing our shores!

      With no word with regards to line-up as yet, it is Warped’s incredibly successful reputation fans are trusting, and who can blame them with past tours involving the likes of All Time Low, Of Mice and Men, Yellowcard, Lostprophets and Rise Against it cannot be missed!

     Details are being kept under wraps for the time being, but head over to www.vanswarpedtouruk.com and register for any updates. Perhaps it won’t be too long until Warped Tour blasts its way through the entirety of the UK

The Sacrificed- ‘III’ (31/01/2012 – Roxx Records/Divine Metal Distribution)

     The Sacrificed is a metal and progressive Christian Rock band from Lakeland, Florida who were formed back in 2005. Despite different backgrounds and musical influences such as Dream Theater and Iron Maiden, the band shared Christian faith. Their first demo, ‘The Da Vinci Hoax’ was released in March 2007 and was signed by Roxx Records in 2009 and recorded their debut album ‘2012’ in July of the same year, aiming to reach a much wider audience. After adding two more band members, ‘III’ is intended to be simple yet powerful and represents this as the band’s third effort, whilst also reflecting the three nails that were meant to have pierced the hands and feet of Jesus Christ when he was crucified.

'Powerful' Album Artwork

      Despite being wary of uproar the mainstream world may bring to the controversial album art, the band emphasise that their music and lyrics can reach out to any listener. Commencing with the theatrical, scary movie style spoken lyrics ‘A plane has crashed into the world trade centre…’, ‘The World is Changing’ attempts the Angels & Airwaves, 30 Seconds to Mars or Rise Against flair with very little effect. Merging into ‘Falling’ which immediately crash lands into a much heavier, metal style. Subconsciously, many perceive metal as full of anger and hatred and The Sacrificed’s attempt to eradicate this idea with terrible sound effects but decent guitaring, combined with odd vocal styles and lyrics. The worship and prayer orientation of this album is almost like a parody of more mainstream metal music.

      ‘Ark of the Covenant’ works well in terms of rhythm and instrumentation, but its aspiration to be powerful and not for the faint hearted is definitely questionable. Perhaps even laughable. However, The Sacrificed speak from the heart and make music about what is important to them, which is something to admire from any band or artist. Yet, referring to divisive topics, even amongst the Christian community, such as the reality of the crucifixion of Jesus and how horrific it was meant to have been, does not bode well with the Christian or Metal conventions as such. ‘The Nephilim Agenda’ (yes, I have no idea either!) and ‘Times Up’ illustrate almost inaudible vocals, excessive guitar solos and no worship elements whatsoever. From my experience, Christians tend to devote time to showing God, and people around them how much they appreciate him, in a joyful and more peaceful manner, with the likes of Hillsong United and Phil Wickham.

      Although, with a much lighter, more sentimental elegance, ‘Words on The Gin’ has the potential to be much more effective, but is very lacking lyrically. ‘Behold The Power of God’ may come across as another emotion or worship driven offering, but The Sacrificed opts to revert back to their odd merge of Metal and God. By convention, Metal tracks tend to be rather long, but ‘Regeneration’ is so repetitive, its 4 and a half minutes snails by, much like ‘Offended’ does.

The Sacrificed: Merging Metal and Christianity  

      Concluding with ‘Before the Storm’ and ‘24’, ‘III’ fails to provide the promise The Sacrificed propose they are capable of. With an unruly merge of Metal and Christianity, inaudible or ineffective lyrics and a few decent guitars solos thrown around, the album, especially for a third release, it abysmal and fails to reach out to either Metal heads or Christians.

0/5

Drones- ‘Mutiny’ (December 2011)- Lock Jaw Records

     Surrey-born Drones were formed in early 2010 due to an aspiration to create likeable music and significant lyrics concerning social and political issues that are often overlooked in modern music. With inspiration from the likes of NOFX, The Clash, Rancid and Anti-Flag, Drones managed to personally organise a video-shoot for single ‘Shells Fall, Pins Pulled’ with vocalist Daly George’s long-term friend Theo Marlow. This was greeted with fan-driven chaos over the internet and over 1,000 views on YouTube within one week.

     In June 2011, the trio became the first punk band to play the student music festival ‘Beach Break Live’ Drones wrote ‘Mutiny’ with an experimental drive in mind including marching snares and megaphone effects, which do not reflect the album’s overall budget of £60. Towards the end of recording in August this year, Drones were approached by Lock Jaw Records and happily accepted, helping them to organise a UK tour this month.

    The artwork of ‘Mutiny’ was created by Mitchell Thomas and depicts a character protesting against the government. The album commences with ‘Jack Won’t’, a heavy yet melodic drum and bass rock offering, in which vocals are deemed somewhat unimportant. The instrumentation in particular, is very well produced, especially for such a young band. Drones’ Rise Against style, however, does not bode well in title track ‘Mutiny’ or ‘Thursday’s A Full Moon’, as they are rather rapid, making the lyrics difficult to understand for such an issue based band. 

Mitchell Thomas' Artwork for 'Mutiny'

   

     As the album continues, it does so in much of the same format; with good instrumentation and overall 

production but sweeping vocals and emotion. ‘The Jester’ is made up of faint drumming, weak vocals and rhythmic guitar, which may be decent stand-alone elements, but do not work when blended together. ‘Spite’ and ‘Assassins of Youth’ start in much the same speedy way, but seem to speed into nothing but another weak couple of tracks.

     The band’s single that was released earlier this year, ‘Shells Fall, Pins Pulled’ is as bad and ineffective as its title, with unrythmic vocals that do not mix together whatsoever. It is definitely not the successful single bands and artists dream of. From start to finish, each track builds into nothing significant and appear to end so abruptly that it leaves the listener in a daze or resentment for the music, and ‘The Static Truth’ is no different. 

Drones

          ‘Raise The Arms’ and ‘Watch It Burn’ partner up perfectly with the skip button, despite their more gentle tone, and final track ‘Call Your Own’ is no variation on the rest of ‘Mutiny’. Overall, the instrumentation works well for minor moment, until it is utterly tarnished by useless shouted vocals and random thrashes of guitar and drumming.

2/5

Rise Against- Endgame (15/03/2011 DGC/Interscope)

Produced by Bill Stevenson, ‘Endgame’ is Rise Against’s sixth studio album, marking how much they developed as recording artists, songwriters and veterans from their aggressive outset. Impressively, they have retained their signature theme of expressing the negativity of the world through sentimental songs that are treasured by many thousands of fans all over the world. Rise Against have never been conventional, but it is their individuality and high standards that have made them so well-known.

     The Chicago quartet have enjoyed mainstream success, after being considerably underground, since their third album, ‘Siren Song of the Counter Culture’. With politically enforced, activist driven and animal rights protesting lyrics and three straight edge members (excluding drummer Brandon Barnes), they are somewhat unusual components of the punk puzzle; a world overflowing with drugs, booze and girls. After being formed over a decade ago, fans were anticipating a variation in sound from Rise Against, as well as the inspirational hits the bands have brought before.

The Album Artwork of 'Endgame'

     With influences from punk rock heavyweights such as Face To Face and Down By Law, Rise Against certainly don’t make it easy for themselves! ‘Endgame’ is boasts some of the band’s best work to date, opening with a melodic punk riff in first track ‘Architects’, in which, you can really feel the heavier sound of Rise Against. The ferocious backing drums and thunderous chorus, ‘Do you still believe in all the things you stood by before?’. Along with a powerful guitar solo, you can practically feel the mosh pits opening up.

     ‘Help Is On The Way’, which was released as a single on 25^th January, peaking at number 3 on both the US Billboard Rock Songs and Alternative Songs Charts, is a catchy, crunchy track, portraying the band’s cluster of influences. The speedy intro is reminiscent of The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus’ ‘Face Down’, but the addition of Tim Mcllarth’s unique vocal abilities tinged with anger and frustration allow the band to almost adopt theatrical elements with the dramatic drive of their proceedings. A welcomed element is the use of light and shade in the track, illustrating Mcllrath’s talent for both singing and screaming beautifully. The constant change in speed keeps the listener attentive and interested, and gives long-standing fans something to clutch to.

      Third track ‘Make It Stop (September’s Children’) retains Rise Against’s established dramatic backbone to create a ready-made head-banging workout. Think 30 Seconds To Mars meets Green Day’s Boulevard of Broken Dreams.’ War-inspired gang vocals, mammoth musical muscle and a superb clutter of instruments, tempos and arena-filling swagger help reiterate Rise Against’s serious message about the evils of the world. A breakdown of the song towards the end is almost identical to Green Day’s ‘Holiday’, but with Mcllrath reading the names of fallen soldiers in their early teenage years, the solemn backbone of the band’s music is fantastically emphasised.  

     ‘Disparity By Design’; drenched in punk-edge, truly delivers the concept of Rise Against’s music with frantic flourishing from start to finish. ‘Satellite’ conveys the band throwing what they know to the wind, with a gentle introduction and a chorus that not only ties the song together, but also combines band and fan, ‘We won’t back down, we won’t run and hide!’ Rise Against have the compelling ability to compose solemn music without ballad after ballad and emo or self-orientated lyrics, ‘We are the orphans of the American Dream’, which must be applauded.

     Sixth track ‘Midnight Hands’, along with ‘Survivor Guilt’ and ‘Broken Mirrors’ depict work peppered with funk and heart, which is a rare mixture to find in punk rock tracks. ‘Wait For Me’ appears to be the expected ballad of the album, and it does not disappoint, although it is by no means superior to ‘Hero of War’ from previous album ‘Appeal To Reason’, which is a stunning tear-jerker. However, it stretches the sheer diversity and overall verve of Rise Against, boosting their appeal to new fans, allowing them to clamber further up the mainstream ladder.

Rise Against

     The speed and skill communicated through ‘A Gentlemen’s Coup’ and its start/stop framework expresses the intended anger, ‘We storm the gates, raise the flags...’.  The capabilities of Rise Against appear infinite thanks to the vast variety found throughout ‘Endgame’ and the split second of acapella vocals from Mcllrath propels his gift into the well-deserved spotlight. ‘This Is Letting Go’, as track eleven on a twelve-track compliation, should be the clear waker-uper, really showing what the band can do; impelling the listener into the band’s solid graft admirably. Final and title track ‘Endgame’ is a bass filled finale, exploding with a beautifully broadcast, stunningly-deafening melody. Along with bonus track ‘Lanterns’ a reasonably chilled song, ‘Endgame’ is rounded off wonderfully.

     Hitting the listener like a speeding train from beginning to end, ‘Endgame’ marks the development of Rise Against as musicians and their determination to use their music for good and making political messages accessible and seamlessly ear-splitting.

5/5