just so it’s clear, wolves at the gate will probably be my breakout heavy band of 2011 AND 2012. there’s very little like what they’re doing at the caliber they’re doing it. this video is beautiful.
cheers.
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of mice & men’s new track from the upcoming 2-disc The Flood Reissue is below.
i’m a little torn about austin carlile. i can’t deny that he’s a great screamer, and he’s decidedly magnetic. people are drawn to him like they are craig owens… but carlile has a bit of baggage. he’s been kicked out of a few bands, and he just has too many questionable rumors going for him for me to really enjoy his work. i dunno. i don’t have a solid opinion on him i guess.
i first heard carlile at creation NW two years ago, where one of the event booths was cranking attack attack. i walked past the booth with my friends, then backtracked because the 10 seconds of stick stickly was so catchy i had to ask. but that was a long time ago.
but anyways. the video is here. the song is pretty solid.
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#1 band that needs to get back together and do something big: @saosin.
for most, saosin was first famous because living legend anthony green was in it. this was before circa survive, obviously, and at the time the five-piece was something along the lines of post-hardcore: moderate amounts of high screaming, but primarily a hard rock sensibility paired with green’s unbelievable voice.
green left in 2004, either to start circa or because saosin signed to a major label, and cove reber stepped in. he was and continues to be a GOOD vocalist with a strong voice and stage presence, but the parts written for/by him seemed out of his range. it’s evident in their live shows that reber had to fight to hit some of the high notes, and near the end of his time with the band there were rumors that he needed autotune to even be presentable on stage.
whether by choice or by circumstance, however, once green left, there effectively ceased to be screaming in any saosin tracks. in my mind, this took saosin out from the middle of the already super crowded post-hardcore genre and propelled reber, guitarists justin shekoski [lead] and beau burchell [rhythm], bassist chris sorenson, and wunderkind drummer alex rodriguez straight to the forefront of modern rock.
2006’s self titled LP, Saosin, turned out to be one of the most rock-solid rock albums i’ve ever laid ears on, especially with the unforgettable single, Voices . the musical arrangements are first rate, with little in the way of needless experimentation. in short: saosin knew what they were good at, capitalized on it, and delivered a knockout rock album.
the follow up LP, In Search of Solid Ground, was then a disappointment. It is a strong album in many ways, but it seemed that saosin had lost its edge where it counted: musicianship. solid ground lost the driving powerhouse drums rodriguez should have been generously doling out, and the seamlessly coordinated solos between burchell and shekoski were almost completely eliminated. reber still had hard parts to sing though, and after years of smoking and drinking, his voice had more or less left him. reber was asked to leave the band in 2010.
saosin went dark for about a year, with each band member tending to their own lives and writing and practicing here and there. there are rumors that tilian pearson, formerly of tides of man, will be on a forthcoming saosin album, but there have been so many rumors of new vocalists and new lineups since reber left that i’ll just wait and see.
for now, voices, an excellent single from the self-titled LP:
http://bit.ly/nPrLoJ
you can find a copy of the self-titled NEW on amazon starting at 2.86! “solid ground” starts at around $10 new.
cheers,
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