The very known punk rock band from Pittsburgh,Pensilvania have just released a new video. The band is famous for the messages their songs have, as the group is very concerned about whats happening in the world and so on they show it in their lyric, full of political critics and idealist minds. This characteristic of the group is what has led them to their last release.
The band has teamed up with "Amnesty International" to produce a new video about a very important and controversial issue. I'm talking about the "National Defense Authorization for Fiscal Year 2012", in particular, section 1021, which allows law to indefinite detention without trial(action of detention executed by a judge). This declaration is based on the fact that this bill violates the basic fact of being caught in prison without the opportunity to prove innocence.
This is what the band commented about the issue:
“The erosion of human rights should always be taken seriously. We wanted to find a creative and clever way to introduce these ideas into the discourse about our new record “The General Strike”. This video is a culmination of that idea, yea, maybe we’ll talk about how funny it is to see puppets beating the hell out of us, but we’ll also discuss the idea that people are being held in prisons without fair trials, and the promise Obama has made to shut down Guantanamo Bay has yet to be fulfilled.” –Anti-Flag
It's not the first time that Anti-flag partners with Amnesty International, and they always "open people eyes". This bill is a very crucial issue about human rights and cannot be left to the will of some suited man, so I invite you to spread the word and tell everybody about this problem.
“The passage of the NDAA represents a further erosion of human rights in the United States and we are excited to be partnering with Anti-flag to help get this message out to a wider audience.” Tom Parker, Policy Director for Terrorism & (Counter)terrorism and Human Rights for Amnesty International USA
Talking also about the single, band's new album "The General Strike" will be released in March 20th(stay tuned for a review).
A Day To Remember is a very peculiar band, you don't find that kind of sound normally, i mean, you can listen to a lot of punk rock bands and also post-hardcore metal bands, but, a band that can mix it in a way that fits perfectly? This is what mainly defines the sound of the punk-rock band from Florida(when saying punk rock band i'm not pretending to place them in an unique genre, its just my opinion about their genre).
The very good fact about this band is that each album sounds very new, but being faithful to the band's tune, this has led them through the right way as their sound cannot be heard anywhere.
Their latest studio album "What separates me from you" is the main character of this post, and this are my thoughts about it:
First of all, and before telling you my minds about the album, it's very crucial to talk about the producer. For some people, the producer is just the guy that mixes the sounds and edits the album, but believe me, the producer takes part in the album as another band member. In this album, the band decided to work with the same producer of their previous work: "Homesick". I am referring to New Found Glory's guitarist Chad Gilbert. For those of you that have heard the album and have also listened to New Found Glory, you may have matched the tunes similars in the record. I'm not saying that the albums sound the same, not at all, what I'm saying is that, in this album you see that the punkish side of the band has more importance than the metal one.
Talking now about the album, as I said before, the band has got to a point where they can perfectly mix unmixable genres, and that's how the album starts actually. "Sticks and bricks" is the kick-off of the album, a verse loaded with the best screamo version Jeremy Mckinnon (singer) and heavy guitars, leading to a way more slight chorus with melodic riffs and a background guitar that defines the mix of sounds I told you about. In my opinion, this is the best song to start the album, is like of the band wanted to tell their fans that they are still A Day to Remember, punk, rock and post-hardcore.
Then, the album is followed by the first single of the band and a very punk rocky song, "All I want". This song is one of my favorites of the album, it shows how a punk rock song can sound so rocky that you want to bounce and bounce all over again.
The album contains a bunch of songs that have that punky side of the band I mention. Here, it is very easy to see how the work of Chad Gilbert has influenced the record. Actually, there is a dramatic change in Jeremy's voice from screamo to a more soft tune that reminds me sometimes of Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stumps. It blows my mind the fact that Jeremy has such ability to sing in diferent tunes in the same song.
This punk-rocky tunes I've mentioned can be perceived in songs like "Better off this way","Out of Time","If I leave" , "All signs point to lauderdale", "This is the house that doubt built" and "It's complicated", which is more pop-punky. The band recently record the acoustic version of the song, you can see it here:
Video for "All I Want", in this video you can see a lot of famous faces, the video was made with friends of the band singing the song:
"All signs point to lauderdale":
Then, there's the other side of the album, the one that follows a way more post-hardcore style. I have to admit that I'm not an inconditional fan of screamo and hardcore, but actually, I dont know how, but this band seems totally different from every screamo band to me. And I think that it happens to more people. In my opinion, a band that always sings screaming ends up boring you, but these guys mix it with punk melodies and kickass guitars. In this side of the album we find hits such as "2nd sucks" and "You be tails, I'll be sonic", this song relies in the hardcore verse and just before the chorus there is a breakdown that ends up in a melodic chorus with Jeremy singing with that peculiar sound which seems to be between hardcore and pop-punk.
Talking about the lyrics contained in the songs, for those who know the writing style of Jeremy Mckinnon, know that he normally writes about sad stuff, and also shows his anger. ''All the things you love, are all the things I hate" (You be tails, I'll be sonic), "I speak the truth and everyone knows it, so set your ego to the side and get the f**k over(2nd sucks). ''You can other issues like being better off without a girlfriend'' (All signs point to lauderdale). But, don't underestimate the band, though this issue the bands signs about seem to be the tipical punk-rock songs, the band has developed a lot and is more mature in terms of sound (because in other terms they do still behave like kids, which is awesome).
All in all, I have to admit that I discovered this band just a year ago and I wasn't a big fan, but, lately, I've been listening to them a lot and, if you listen to their records properly, you can appreciate the work behind the sound and the quality of it. I hope this guys keep creating new music because, as people say, they are like wine, they get better with time.
It was early 2010 and the band from Florida "A Day to Remember" started recording their fifth studio album. The album would be called "What separates me from you" and it was being produced by the one and only Chad Gilbert(New Found Glory guitarist), who also produced band's last album "Homesick", having a great response from the audience.
The album was released on November 16, and just only a few weeks before the release, the band uploaded a whole series of studio recording videos. This "behind the scenes" videos showed the band working and messing around, especially messing around and joking, but dont expect the guys acting like pro musicians and being serious,i tell you now that all of them are for making fun.Seriousiosly, all of them are hilarious.
Enjoy:
I did not know how to name this post as there are so many news coming from the band to tell you guys.
Lets start from the beggining, band's last record was released almost a year ago, "When you are through thinking say yes" hit the charts reaching to the highest positions and appearing in every radio staion you could listen to. The album contained massive hits such as "For you and your denial" or "Hide" mixed with slowed tunes like "Sing for me" or "Hang you up". Due to the success of the record, the guys from Jacksonville decided to record it in acoustic(as we all know, this band sounds incredible in acoustic). The record was even better than the original one and also hit the charts.
"For you and your denial":
"See me smiling(acoustic)"
But the band always want their fans to be as happy as possible, so, during the 2011 tour, they announced that they were going to start recording a new album in March 2012. We could see how the date was arriving as the tweets made by their frontman @williamryankey.
But, though all the fans were very excited for this day to come, the band announced a very sad new, the bassist of the band from Florida, was leaving. Sean o'Donell wrote a letter to all the fans so they could understand why was he leaving:
A message from Sean O'Donell: In April of 2010, the 5 of us met up in Los Angeles to play some music, hang out, and talk about the future of the band. I felt privileged to be invited to get to do so, and it was an amazing couple of days. Fast forward a year and a half and we’ve put out two full lengths, shot 6 music videos, and traveled to almost 30 countries. It’s been an exhilarating time for all of us in the band and some of the most fun I’ve ever had in my music career. Which is why I’m sad today to let you all know that I am leaving Yellowcard.
This is not one of those ugly messy band member departures that seem to plague rock music. This is a personal decision, and it’s mine. Simple as I can put it, playing in a band that is on a full time touring schedule demands a balancing act of work and family that I can no longer pull off and still remain happy. As you can imagine, this was not an easy decision to make, but usually the really important ones never are.
While I feel confident in my decision, I know I’m walking away from a lot. I feel truly blessed to have been invited to such a close knit family, one that I was welcomed into completely. I’ll miss the guys, I’ll miss the shows, I’ll miss making all those ridiculous YC sessions videos. I’ll miss all of the love I got from the thousands of fans all over the world. When my former band Reeve Oliver was on tour with Yellowcard in 2005, I said onstage that all I could ever hope for was for us to attract fans who were as supportive as Yellowcard fans. I meant it then, but now I realize the full impact of the love and support you guys give. It’s immense, it’s real, and it’s completely necessary for this band to survive and to thrive.
Yellowcard has made great rock records before me, and will no doubt continue to do so without me. I will now continue on in the role that I have held for the last 13 years, that of a devoted fan.
Thanks for your time, and thanks for reading this,
Sean O’Donnell
So on, the band needed a new bass player and they announced it a couple of weeks ago in their page, check the letter they wrote:
Hello friends. As you may know, Sean O’Donnell has decided to leave Yellowcard due to personal reasons. You can read a message from him written to you all here. We are all sad to see him go, but we completely understand his need to make this incredibly difficult decision.
With that said, we are stoked to let you know who will be filling the spot at bass guitar from here out. Please welcome Josh Portman to the family. Josh has been a close friend of ours for several years and he is more than excited to start getting to know you all. Feel free to send him a message saying hello on Twitter @joshportman or via email at josh@yellowcardrock.com
We know all of this news is a lot to take in but in the end it is the best thing for all of us. We wish Sean the best with all his future musical endeavors and can’t wait for you all to meet our buddy Josh.
Thanks
-Ryan, Sean, Longineu, and Ryan
Then, everything was right where we left it before, the band was about to begin recording a new album, and then, just 24 hours ago, the band announced that they just started the recording proccess, which will be produced by Neal Avron, who produced band's last album and whose latest work has been the record by "New Found Glory" "Radiosurgery" (review soon).
Well, all this news already got us totally blown up, but, there is one more thing, the band is going to stream their entire studio activity for today!!!. Europeans, do not panic, the stream starts at 2pm (PST)(US time), thant means that in about 50 minutes you'll be able to see them live!!!! You can watch the live stream here:
I know you cant wait for it! so I let you here a video that the band uploaded on tumblr, the video is Ryan Key playing a demo for the new album and it sounds soooooo good!!
This is the last project of Alkaline Trio 's frontman Skiba, who has joined My Chemical Romance's drummer Jarrod Alexander and AFI's Hunter Burgan on the bass guitar. The band, named "Matt Skiba and the Sekrets", will released their record the 8th May, entitled "Babylon" and Superball Music will be the record company airing it.
The band's sound has been described as a mixed of Alkaline Trio's sound and something in the 80's post-punk style. The record has been produced by the very well known Cameron Webb(30 Seconds to Mars, Social Distortion,Pennywise).
Here is the tracklist:
Hell yeah!!, the ska-punk band from Florida just released a couple of weeks ago their brand new EP called "Season Greetings!, aired and done by their own record label "Sleep it off records".
The band has been together now from 17 years!! incredible, and they do still kick some asses.
Thanks to punknews.org, we all can listen to this masterpiece of ska-punk!, enjoy, here's the link!
Last 29th february, the very famous NME awards had place at the London's O2 academy in Brixton, there were many surprises in the show, as the winners differed quite a lot from last year's.
NME(New Musical Express) have always been a very important entity in british music and has fought against their biggest competitors (Kerrang!) for being the greatest music award in the UK.
We were able to see lots and lots of known faces at the awards(aired yesterday on Channel 4).
I have to say that i was very unpatient to know some award winners such as "villain of the year" or "worst band". Now here are the winners:
Best british band:
In this category, Kasabian replaced last year's winners Muse, and won the award competing against bands like Bombay bicycle club, The Horrors or Arctic Monkeys.
Best international band:
I actually have to say that this year is totally their year, and you can watch a review of what they've been doing. I'm referring to the uniques Foo Fighters, who replaced My Chemical Romance(not even nominated) and beat Arcade Fire, Odd future, Justice and The Strokes. Unluckily, The foo's were not able to reach the show but they let a video thanking the award.
Best solo artist:
One of the prettiest voices of nowadays music and its not Adele!!, I'm talking about Florence + the machine,this beautiful and talented girl won against icons such as Noel Gallagher and The High Flying irds, Adele, Miles Kane and Frank Turner.
Best new band:
This category always allows people to discover new great bands and so on, it seems that they do still have a very good taste about it. The Vaccines won this category against bands like Foster the People and even Lana de Rey, who seems to turn everybody crazy with her music.
Best live band:
Last year's winners of this award were the icons of rock "Biffy Clyro", and this years winners revealed that there is a possibility of reaching that level and even being better. This year's winners were Arctic Monkeys. Seems that Alex Turner and co. are going in the right way, as they were competing against bands like Kasabian, Muse and Two door cinema club.
Best album: The Horrors made the win in this category with their last record "Skying", beating recods like "Suck it and see(Arctic monkeys)". This award had some controversy as it differs a lot from last year winner Arcade fire and their master piece "Suburbs".
Best track:
Florence + the machine made it with their hit "Shake it out", here you have it:
Dancefloor anthem:
Katy B with her hit, "Broken record"
Best video:
Sunday made it with "Hurts"(quite weird in my opinion)
Best tv show:
Fresh meat
Best festival:
The one and only Glastonbury, who beat Reading festival!
Best film:
Submarine
Best music film:
Foo fighters "Back and Forth", it's a master piece, if you haven't seen it, go watch it!
Greatest music moment of the year:
The reunion of The stone roses
Best reissue:
The Smiths: "Complete reissue"
Hero of the year:
The great Matt Bellamy (Muse leadsinger), totally worth it, this guy is a role model for everybody and his message is clear, and his skills in music are amazing.
Villain of the year:
Every hero has its villain and this year's villain is the chosen one "Justin Bieber"!,NME as always, say everything they think, and so on thats what nme supporters have voted. sorry Bieber, but there you got it!
Worst album:
Justin bieber's "Under the mistletoe". Bieber was,with Foo Fighters, the winner of the night, bringing home 2 awards, but i think the mind about both sides is totally different XD.
Worst band of the year:
One direction, i mean, yes, we have to try to keep music alive and this kind of awards help a lot!Thanks nme, keep doing that!
Best album artwork:
Friendly fires: "Pala"
Best band blog or twitter:
@LadyGaga
Best small festival:
Rockness
Most dedicated fans:
Muse, yeahhh we won!
Hottest male:
Jared Letto, 30 seconds to mars.(Sorry im not gonna say anything about this, i let you girls comment it.)
Hottest female:
Hayley Williams, this girl is an angel, seriously.
Talking about the performances, the biggest and most anticipated one was Noel Gallager and The High Flying Birds, as they played 7 songs as part of the Godlike Genius performance. However, there were performances by Pulp, The horrors, Kasabian, Florence + the machine, The Maccabees and The Vaccines. wanna see some?:
Pulp:
The horrors feat Florence:
Kasabian:
The Vaccines:
The Maccabees:
Florence + the machine:
Noel gallagher and the high flying birds! performing "dont look back in anger"of Oasis!:
Following the Nme awards, nme itself has made up a tour that looks like this:
