Artist Of The Week - Anchor & Braille

It's been about three years since we've gotten an album from Anchor & Braille, the indie side project of Anberlin's Stephen Christian, but this week, on July 31st, the band's sophomore album will be released. The Quiet Life is a collection of haunting melodies and catchy percussion, certainly a maturation of sound since 2009's Felt. The Quiet Life is available now in stores and online through Tooth & Nail Records.

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// By Unknown

Black Thorn

Artist: Flatfoot 56
Album: Black Thorn
Release Date: 3/30/10
Label: Old Shoe Records

Celtic punk rock is an interesting genre. Picture the likes of MxPx accompanied with mandolins and bagpipes and you get Flatfoot 56. They are not everyone's cup of tea, more of a band where you need to like the style specifically to enjoy the full sound. The lyrics and vocals are strong, but the music itself doesn't quite catch me.

Songs like the title track embrace the mandolin as a key part of the album, along with the gang vocals and chugging lyrics, where "Smoke Blower" utilizes the use of bagpipes to bring the strong Celtic sound of the Chicago natives' sound. Among the fast paced tracks come the acoustic ballad "Shiny Eyes" which is one of the strongest and slowest songs on the album.

Rating: 6/10 Something with Black Thorn from Celtic punk rockers Flatfoot 56 just didn't seem to click with me. They certainly have a strong punk sound but just not of my kind. Not the best album, but not the worst either. There are a batch of strong tracks, found in the likes of "Smoke Blower" and "Shiny Eyes."

Tracklisting:
  1. The Escape (Intro)
  2. Black Thorn
  3. Born For This
  4. Courage
  5. Smoke Blower
  6. The Hourglass
  7. Shiny Eyes
  8. We Grow Stronger
  9. Son of Shame
  10. Stampede
  11. You Won Me Over
  12. Way of the Sun
  13. Hot Head
(Buy Here)

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Artist: Sent By Ravens
Album: Our Graceful Words
Release Date: 4/20/10
Label: Tooth & Nail Records

While listening to Sent By Ravens' debut album Our Graceful Words, a few things immediately come to mind. First off, these guys certainly have plenty of melodic riffs that are heard through the whole album. Second, lead vocalist Zach Riner has a voice that could easily be compared to Jon Micah Sumrall from Kutless and at times, Andrew Schwab from Project 86. Now to the band's sound. There is a constant progressive/hard rock flavor on most of the album, along with a few breakdowns thrown in here and there.

The opener of the album, "New Fire," sets the pace for Our Graceful Words, with a lot of similar guitar work ranging throughout. Producer Aaron Sprinkle certainly gives the album a polished sound as well, especially on tracks like "This Awakening" and "Trailers vs. Tornadoes." A nice surprise on the album is a worship tune entitled "Salt and the Light." A song that struck my attention as very Project 86 esque is "Stone Soup," which is easily the heaviest track off the album.

The album's lyrics are very worshipful, and if Sent By Ravens had a bit softer sound, they could pass as a CCM band. That is something I like about that band, that also seems to be missing in many other bands in today's music industry. The dept in the lyrics.

Rating: 8/10 Sent By Ravens offer up a very solid debut with their release Our Graceful Words. From the ranging guitars to the melodic breakdowns spread throughout the album, not to mention Zach Riner's strong voice to top it all off. SBR has hit the mark with their debut and they can only get better.

Tracklisting:
  1. New Fire
  2. An Honest Heart
  3. I Hear Her Breathe
  4. Beautiful List
  5. Trailers vs. Tornadoes
  6. Jill Plays Tricks, Jack Plays God
  7. Philadelphia
  8. Salt and the Light
  9. This Awakening
  10. Stone Soup
  11. True Bride
(Buy Here)

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Haste The Day's fifth studio album will be releasing June 29th titled Attack of the Wolf King. 

Tracklisting:
  1. Wake Up The Sun
  2. Dogs Like Vultures
  3. The Quiet, Deadly Ticking
  4. Travesty
  5. Merit For Sadness
  6. The Un-Manifest
  7. The Place Where Most Deny
  8. White As Snow
  9. Crush Resistance
  10. Walk With A Crooked Spine
  11. My Name Is Darkness
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    // By Unknown



    Artist: Superchick
    Album: Reinvention
    Release Date: 4/20/10
    Label: Inpop Records

    Sometimes I wonder if remixes are really worth it, let alone a whole remix album. Superchick just happen to prove me wrong with the release of their newest, entitled Reinvention. A fun mix of some of the band's biggest hits are included, along with an additional three new tracks.

    A bit more rock is thrown into the first two songs, "Cross The Line" and "Rock What You Got," changing them into high energy tracks that seem to surpass the originals by a bit. The electronic driven remixes of "Karaoke Superstars" and "Bowling Ball" come off as the most fun of the bunch. Of the three new tracks, "Let It Roll" comes off as the best and is sung completely by bassist Matt Dally. The song "Still Here" seems like just a typical Superchick song, but "With You" surpasses that. A solo venture by Tricia Brock and an acoustic guitar, it comes off as a nice ballad to close off the wide mix of songs.

    Rating: 7/10 Superchick does a good job with their remix album entitled Reinvention. Offering up three new songs, the highlight comes with "Let It Roll," which is easily the best track on the album. Reinvention comes off as an above standard remix album, actually giving a better feel to some of the songs and not destroying the originals.

    Tracklisting:
    1. Cross The Line (Box Office Blockbuster Mix)
    2. Rock What You Got (Fight Underdog Fight! Mix)
    3. Let It Roll (Matt Dally feat. Superchick)
    4. Karaoke Superstars (Shiny Car Advert Mix) (feat. ThumpMonks)
    5. Hey Hey (Vampires Vs. Cheerleaders Mix)
    6. One and Lonely (Chick Flick Mix)
    7. Breathe (Don't You Die On Me Mix)
    8. Bowling Ball (Not That Into You Mix)
    9. Pure (Brand New Day Mix)
    10. Wishes (Teens Falling In/Out of Love Mix)
    11. Still Here
    12. With You (by Tricia Brock)

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      // By Unknown

      Eternal

      Artist: War Of Ages
      Album: Eternal
      Release Date: 4/13/10
      Label: Facedown Records

      I am a fan of War of Ages. I loved their last album, Arise and Conquer, as it was a big improvement over their previous work. With that said, I believe Eternal is even a step up from Arise and Conquer. The album is everything War of Ages does well, but taken to the next level. The guitar work is fantastic and shredding is definitely their strong suit. Thankfully, chugging is kept to a minimum.

      The album starts off with the melodic "Collapse," complete with one of the many great solos found through the album. Following up is "Desire," which features guest vocals from Tim Lambesis of As I Lay Dying. It is a pretty average song, but a filler track by no means. The following track "Failure" comes as an improvement over "Desire." It has nice, simple guitar work throughout. It's nice to hear this over the usual chugg-fest on most albums of the genre.

      The song "My Resting Place" serves of one of the heaviest songs War of Ages has ever written. After this comes "Eternal," which starts off amazing. Described as P.O.D. influenced metalcore, it sounds awkward, but rest assured, is not. A nice combination of Sonny Sandoval (of P.O.D.) and Leroy's growls sound great. Leroy's vocals, once the weakness of the band, have become a strength.

      "The Fallen" starts off with a heavy drum blast and is heavy and fast. Out of nowhere comes a heavy breakdown. "Your Betrayal" comes out as nothing special and is the last vocal track, but thankfully the album doesn't end there. The last song is a instrumental track. I am not the biggest fan of instrumentals, but this one however is gold. It consists of a beautiful acoustic guitar, that sounds like it could have been written by Living Sacrifice or Becoming The Archetype, and a very soothing electric guitar. It comes out very nice throughout and I love the solo midway through the song. This was a great way to end the album.

      Rating: 9/10 Overall, Eternal is a must own for both fans of War of Ages and of the genre itself. As mentioned, there is nothing groundbreaking here, but melodic metalcore done very well. A possible contender for album of the year, not only for the genre, but overall.

      Reviewed by Matthew Alexander

      Tracklisting: 
      1. Collapse
      2. Desire
      3. Failure
      4. My Resting Place
      5. Eternal
      6. Indecision
      7. Lack of Clarity
      8. The Fallen
      9. Your Betrayal
      10. Instrumental
      (Buy Here)

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      Haste The Day Announce Summer U.S. Headlining Tour
      Tour In Support Of Hotly Anticipated New Album, Attack Of The Wolf King, Out June 29th
      Support From Mychildren Mybride and Upon A Burning Body

      April 29, 2010 - Metalcore mainstays HASTE THE DAY are excited to announce a summer U.S. headlining tour from June 4 to July 2 in support of their towering new album, Attack of the Wolf King, out June 29 on Solid State Records.
      Joining the band on the month-long run are MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE and UPON A BURNING BODY. Dates and venues listed below.
      Bassist Michael Murphy offers up this impassioned and convincing argument for why fans should get excited about the upcoming tour: "Come out to a show in your area and you are guaranteed a couple of things.  One- You will have a fantastic time watching me headbang.  This tour is the 9 year anniversary of me "going for it" on stage....Lets just say I've gotten pretty good. Two- You will hear all of your favorite old HTD songs. Three- You will hear a brand new HTD song that will blow your mind and make you forget we even have old songs."
      To that end, HASTE THE DAY have been offering a sneak peek of a track from Attack of the Wolf King in their live set – which some savvy fans have already found on YouTube. The band is encouraging fans to join in the Easter Egg hunt and tweet about their findings.
      Adding even more madness to the mix, the band's June 29th album release show in Bloomington, IN will feature all of the former members of HASTE THE DAY coming back to to play the old favorites. In addition to celebrating the release of Wolf King, the band will perform songs from their entire catalog, swapping out old and new members from HASTE THE DAY's different eras.
      With four acclaimed albums under their belts and more than a quarter-million in album sales, HASTE THE DAY are already among the metalcore elite. Cementing their status, the band return in full technicolor with their most dynamic, ferocious and art-minded album to date, Attack Of The Wolf King – an album that stirs up all of HTD's trademark moves into new frenzied heights.
      "I think that Attack Of The Wolf King has taken the musical elements of HASTE THE DAY – the breakdowns, the melodies, and the mood – and turned it up ten notches," says Murphy. "Fans of the old HTD and the new HTD will be both be in love with this album. It has the raw aggression of Burning Bridges, the catchy choruses of When Everything Falls, the energy of Pressure The Hinges, and the mood and feeling of Dreamer. Get ready for your new favorite HASTE THE DAY album!"
      Following the May headlining tour, HASTE THE DAY will join Warped Tour from June 20 through August 15.

      Dates with MYCHILDREN MY BRIDE and UPON A BURNING BODY
      June 4  Allentown, PA @ Crocodile Rock Café
      June 5  Lemoyne, PA @ Championship
      June 6  Philadelphia @ First Unitarian Church
      June 7  Farmingdale,@  NY Crazy Donkey
      June 8  Worcester, MA @ Upstairs at Palladium 
      June 9  Hartford, CT @ Webster Theatre
      June 10  Montreal, QC @ Underworld
      June 11  Toronto, ON @ Annex Wreckroom
      June 12  Syracuse, NY @ Lost Horizon
      June 13  Buffalo, NY @ Xtreme Wheelz
      June 15  Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's
      June 16 Columbus, OH @ Basement
      June 17  Wilmore, KY @ Ichthus Festival
      June 18  St. Louis, MO @ Fubar
      June 19  Cordova, TN @ The Arbor
      June 20  Little Rock, AR @ Village
      June 22  Houston, TX @ Warehouse
      June 23  San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit
      June 24  Corpus Christi, TX @ House of Rock
      June 25  Austin, TX @ Emos
      June 26  Oklahoma City, OK @ Conservatory
      June 28  TBD
      June 29  Bloomington, IN @ Rhinos (Special HASTE THE DAY vs HASTE THE DAY show - featuring the return of all of HTD's past members!)
      June 30  Grand Rapids, MI @ Mixtape
      July 1  Iowa City, IA @ Blue Moose
      July 2  Marietta, IL @ Cornerstone Festival - Encore Tent


                                                                 ###
      For more information, please visit: www.hastetheday.com, www.solidstaterecords.com, or  www.blacklodgepr.com.
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