From First To Last - Heroine

Given the age of lead singer Sonny Moore when recording From First to Last’s debut album Dear Diary, My Teen Angst has a Body Count, it would be unfair to describe the sound on Heroine as a more mature effort. Unfair because it might focus attention on age only, and not on the huge musical evolution From First to Last have made as a whole. (And don’t blame ME for bringing up Moore’s age, if it wasn’t so prominently raised in the bio which accompanied this album, I wouldn’t have mentioned it either).

Also according to the bio, the debut album was as much a parody of scene politics as it was inspired by the scene around it. Unfortunately most people didn’t notice. For all Dear Diary’s tongue-in-cheek ribbing of the emo/screamo/post-hardcore genres – through tracks like Featuring Some of Your Favourite Words (“Here’s to playing tug of war with my vocal chords / Maybe I can give this another shot or sing about a broken heart / Or imitate the way it feels if this is happening for real”) – stylistically it didn’t bring anything new along with its complaints. The music was catchy and well written, but it still had a lot in common those who were around them (although perhaps this was needed for their point to get across?).

Heroine corrects this imbalance. Guitarists Travis Richter and Matt Good have driven the band’s sound into a much different territory this time around. The albums first two tracks are the closest to what would have been expected had they continued on the one path. But the first indication of something new is there in the end of Mothersound where a “solo” alternates between notes, feedback and the sound of someone chocking their guitar, as well as the soaring background vocals of Jaqueline Marie. The overall feel of the album is a lot darker and atmospheric, while still keeping the band’s passion alive. Think the change from Deftones’ Around the Fur to White Pony, or Finch’s What it is to Burn to Say Hello to Sunshine (although much more cohesive musically than the latter).

A lot more effort has been put into the production of this album too. The work of producer Ross Robinson almost feels like an extra instrument on the album due to the clarity and space given to everything that is going on. It also means the newly discovered industrial elements fit in seamlessly. The quiet guitars of Waves Goodbye are joined at the end by breakbeats and glitches, while The Levy features programming courtesy of Atticus Ross (12 Rounds, Error and engineer on the most recent Nine Inch Nails album). There are a few notable guest appearances on the album with Ross’ fellow Error member and full time Bad Religion member Brett Gurewitz providing backing vocals on Mothersound (Gurewitz also runs Epitaph records to which FFTL are signed), and the band’s vacant bass slot being filled by Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit, Black Light Burns).

But despite this calibre of guests, their input is used to enhance, rather than as a significant element. The real star of the album is the stronger song writing of From First To Last as a whole. When Moore sings of falling on The Levy, “the distance grows as the ground approaches”, the guitar attack suddenly drops out at the end of the line, even though we’re only a minute into the song. The feeling of a fall and sudden stop this evokes is such that it’s difficult to tell whether the lyrics or the music came first. The highlight track for me though is The Crows are Coming for Us. The slow build up goes from a subdued and eerie verse to a chorus which starts out with Moore’s wail, surround only by light guitars and Derek Bloom creating a crescendo on his cymbals before the full drum and guitar aspects come in. Then we move into an industrial whispered section with high pitched guitar and lots of echo, before a final sing along of:

The crows are coming for us
Let ‘em in, Let ‘em in

Heroine is definitely an evolution for the band. The direct cynicism of Dear Diary has been left behind and replaced with a more poetic, darker and atmospheric sound. Having both these weapons in their arsenal should be a significant benefit to From First to Last.

(Originally published on FasterLouder)

Atreyu - A Death Grip on Yesterday

Atreyu’s first album Suicide Notes & Butterfly Kisses, was a straightforward hardcore album – raw, loud, full of energy and shouting. Their breakthrough second album The Curse was a bit of a surprise for most people. Finally the photos of band members in Motley Crue t-shirts made sense as the Atreyu sound was mixed with a generous dose of 80s hair metal. Surprisingly, long solos, sweetly sung choruses and hand pumping rhythms melded well with the existing base and provided a refreshing contrast to the straight-up hardcore which was starting to get a bit tired under the weight of so many clone bands. So well in fact that a cover of Bon Jovi’s You Give Love a Bad Name included as a bonus track on some versions of the album didn’t even make an impact on the flow.

The band’s latest effort falls somewhere between the two. It would be wrong to say it was a return to the early sound, as there is still more variety in rhythms and sounds than there was on the first release. The crisp sound quality of The Curse has been kept too, this time at the hand of producer Josh Abraham. At first listen the solo’s seem to have been ditched too, but after a while you notice them hiding away in tracks such as Ex’s and Oh’s and Shameful. What has been toned down is the cheese factor. Whereas The Curse delighted in mildly tongue in check over-the-top riffs, there are no shouted sing-along’s a la Five Vicodin Chased with a Shot of Clarity, nor the jump out of your seat and clap along intro of Right Side of the Bed.

A Death Grip on Yesterday is a more streamlined, focused attack. The subject matter is familiar as Atreyu still deal largely in broken hearts and regrets (for example see Our Sick Story) but they still do it as well as anyone else and with their ability to write a catchy tune you too will find yourself yelling out “does your body still scream my name?”

The Theft slows things down a bit more, and as with the ending of Untitled Finale (fortunately this is a full song and not just a cleverly titled outro as is becoming too common in this genre) adds an epic element to the album’s sound. But the highlight’s are single Ex’s and Oh’s and My Fork in the Road. Ex’s and Oh’s brings a rock feel to the sound, which is reflected in the lyrics. “Suck me down it’s time to Rock ‘n’ Roll / Let’s hit the bar, let’s lose control” goes the chorus, and this new element to the Atreyu style makes you want to dance. My Fork in the Road on the other hand is symptomatic of the focused and aggressive Atreyu. Sure there’s a harmonised guitar beakdown hidden in there, but it leads straight into one of the albums most direct messages to an ex-lover.

The streamlining continues to the length of the album. With only 9 tracks on A Death Grip on Yesterday, it clocks in at just over half an hour. But considering the quality of these songs compared to the left over track Her Portrait in Black which was recently released on the Underworld: Evolution soundtrack, it seems we’ve been given only the quality songs and spared any filler.

(Originally published on FasterLouder)

vonnegut

"all persons, living and dead, are purely coincidental"
-kurt vonnegut.

Sepultura - Live in Sao Paulo

What better way to celebrate 20 years since Sepultura’s first release, than with a concert in São Paulo, Brazil? Not just the country’s biggest metal band, but also one of the most successful Brazillian bands of any genre, the support of their home has always been integral to Sepultura’s identity, and the loyalty of their fans is on display through t-shirts, tattoos and before concert footage of people who have camped for days at the entrance to the venue. Such support allows Sepultura a visually extravagant backdrop for this live showcase of one of the most respected back catalogues of heavy metal.

Unfortunately this doesn’t always seem to translate to the DVD. The intro footage gives you a taste of the lighting setup, the video screen, the giant S logo behind the drums and the silhouettes of band members printed on the floor as well as the size of the crowd that came to see them. From the moment they start, the focus shifts to the band, as it well should, but the choice of camera angles is rather pedestrian and becomes rather repetitive by the end. There are also issues with the sound quality. The stereo mix is quite soft and rather muddy. Fortunately this is fixed in the surround sound channels which come through much clearer, but it could still do with a stronger guitar attack.

But these are technical faults. Much harder to fault is the performance. The setlist draws from every album the band have released during their career and it’s easy to see why they have been such a commanding force throughout that time. Particularly impressive is the tribal influenced drumming of Igor Cavelera which defines so much of the Sepultura sound. He is joined by bassist Paulo Jr. and guitarist Andreas Kisser who moves around stage as a blurring mess of hair while still shifting effortlessly between solos and the heavy riffs that make up the meat of the songs. The only member to come under criticism, perhaps unfairly, is singer Derrick Green. As a singer in his own right, Green is very good and had he rose to fame in another band, he would have been treated as such. But by taking on the role of the “new guy” in Sepultura he has always had to live in the shadow of Max Cavelera, who left the band in 1997 to found Soulfly. When performing songs from any of the three albums since Cavelera’s depature, this is not an issue, and songs such as Sepulnation, Apes of God and Choke hold their own in the setlist, showing that Sepultura was always more than a one man band. But when playing classic songs such as Territory, Refuse/Resist and Troops of Doom, many may find themselves wishing for Max’s distinctive drawl and powerful roar. Both Live in São Paulo and Soulfly’s 2005 DVD The Song Remains Insane feature live versions of the most well known Sepultura song Roots Bloody Roots, and it is Soulfly’s version which comes out on top of the two largely due to the vocal performance (and despite the stage attire of Soulfly guitarist Marc Rizzo earning it the nickname “Backpack Bloody Backpack”).

The connection between the band and their homeland is also highlighted by the number of guest musicians who join them on stage including original guitarist Jairo “Tormentor” Guedes and Alex Kolesne from Krisiun who join the band for Necromancer off the very first Bestial Devestation EP, and hip hop artist Bê Negão who provides some Portuguese verses to a cover of Public Enemy’s Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos.

Special features on the disc are rather varied. The “Making Of” featurette provides a sense of how respected the band are in their homeland, while Disc 2 contains a documentary shot by Derrick Green which provides his viewpoint of joining the band and developing a kinship with the Sepultura tribe. Overall Live in São Paulo is a strong show, which unfortunately hasn’t been captured as well as it could have been. This is further highlighted by the extra live footage and video clips also contained on Disc2. The studio versions of songs such as Bullet The Blue Sky and Choke are much fuller than the live ones, while extra footage from an earlier concert has more interesting edits from what seems to be a fewer number of cameras.

(Originally published on FasterLouder)

Henry Rollins - Talk is Cheap Volume 2

Having just completed another of his frequent visits to our country, now does seem an ideal time to release a new recording of Henry Rollins’ spoken word show, even if this particular show is a little old. Talk is Cheap Volume 2 (as the name suggests), is the second in a series of double CDs released at a reduced price, with part of the proceeds donated to the Hollygrove home for abused and neglected children in Los Angeles, and was recorded live at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney on April 24, 2001.

If you’ve ever seen Rollins in a spoken word show, you know what to expect. If you haven’t, you’ll soon discover that public speaking is certainly one of his fortes. Rollins delivers his monologue at such rapid fire that you suspect he must have much of it planned already, even as he claims to have been inspired by TV he was watching before starting the show. It is a mix of jokes and humorous anecdotes from Rollins own life and observation of the world, but always delivered with an underlying political message of free thought, tolerance and a refusal to be pushed around by close-minded politicians.

Despite the performance being almost five years old, much of what Rollins says is still relevant. Often when visiting musicians start preaching their politics from stage to Australian audiences it can be a little patronising, but at least Henry has done his homework. His opening tirade against Pauline Hanson (who at the time was trying to use the media to reshape herself in a friendly image) is spot on. Other prime targets include reality TV and a brief swipe at John Howard’s inability to say “sorry”.

At the time Rollins had just turned 40, and his increasing age becomes the main focus of the night. An extended story of his initiation to the world of Kiss (after the other band members of The Rollins Band dragged him along to the Kiss farewell tour), provides a lot of laughs as Rollins pokes fun at the pomposity of Kiss and the redneck fans, but ultimately concludes with a lot of respect and inspiration drawn from a band who at 50, still put on a show which rocked out and impressed Rollins more than any of the other bans he played with on the subsequent Rollins Band tour.

The night concludes with a more serious reflection on the responsibilities of growing old and continuing to kick up a fuss at injustice, his decision not to have children, and the lasting impressions of the poverty seen during his visit to India.

It’s difficult to review a spoken word disc without giving away the best parts or jokes of any of the stories, but if you’re a fan of Rollins, all you need to know is this disc is as good as any of his other spoken words, and if you’ve never heard them before, as a discounted double disc, this may be the place to start.

(Originally published on FasterLouder)