I Breathe the Underground

Viva La Protesta

Ready for some more metal? Protest the Hero may fit a mathcore vibe, but they certainly aren't as rough on the ears as Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza and other mathcore pioneers. If you dug 2008's Fortress, you're in for another roller coaster ride of complex, calculated riffs and beats and emotional, hooky tunes with Scurrilous.

On the surface, Protest the Hero doesn't try to do anything new with Scurrilous. The album is full of the same schizophrenic walking guitar lines, the same unpredictable beat changes, the same piercingly high vocals a la lead singer Rody Walker. The band mostly foregoes the growls and screams of old for a more melodic sound, but unlike other bands that nixed the metal vocals for pop sensibility (lookin' your way, Avenged Sevenfold), PTH easily finds a way to make it stick within their usual style.

I haven't been able to give the disc enough spins to figure out whether it's a concept album or not, but it seems to hold together well lyrically. Production quality is pretty flawless, which isn't a surprise considering PTH's consistent quest for recording perfection. Scurrilous is a mature, aggressive album that represents the next chapter in PTH's book of metal decadency. Check out an entire stream of the new album here. (Scroll through the albums to find it.)

"Stepped off a platform and he briefly made the news." - Protest the Hero, "C'est La Vie"

The Thunder from Down Under

One of my favorite Aussie bands over the years has been the Living End. But this post isn't about them. This post is about my new favorite Aussie band, Parkway Drive. Think of the "that's not a knife" scene of Crocodile Dundee. Parkway Drive is the second knife: shiny, perfectly crafted metal that will provoke "oohs" and "ahhs" from passersby.

If there's such a thing as perfect pop-deathcore, Parkway Drive are it. Melodically heavy, extremely unpredictable, explosively driving, disgustingly tight. The band released Deep Blue last year to rave reviews, following up 2007's Horizons, which also received a positive response from the metal community. Deep Blue is produced with an intensified drive and soul-shaking beat.

I checked these guys out at the House of Blues a few weeks ago (late post, I know), and they blew me away. Lead singer Winston McCall has a killer live voice and an unbelievable stage presence. He tore through every song like a tsunami and had the crowd at his fingertips. The rest of the band gelled perfectly to create one of the most entertaining shows I've attended in a long time.

Was torn between posting the music video or the live video of "Boneyards," but I went with the live so you could get the full experience. Enjoy.

"I would rather see your face in hell than speak another word of this perfect world." - Parkway Drive, "Boneyards"

The Toolbox for Success

Vancouver is the most recent stop on Canada's thriving punk/hardcore scene, the magical place where Smallman's indie-rock/pop-punk act Carpenter hails from. From a mainstream pop perspective, songwriting has taken a backseat to flashy costumes and endless, repetitive onslaughts of mindless hooks.

Carpenter does their best to change all that with well-constructed songs, thought-out and passionate lyrics and fun, hooky riffs. The recipe seems to work; 2010's Sea to Sky is a provocative album that melds the lines between punk, classic rock, indie, country and pop stylings. Hitting home consistently, the album may be a bit less edgy than the group's earlier offering (2008's Law of the Land) but it's production helps make the band more accessible to a mainstream audience while validating its style.

The best tracks on this one include the opening "Mean Things," a song that sets the tone for the album, the ballad "Joan" and "You Might Be Right," a frantic anthem chock-full of oddly-placed but effective gang vocals. Check out "Mean Things" below.

 

01 Mean Things

"And you don't have to say those mean things / when you curse me out on the end of the telephone." - Carpenter, "Mean Things"

All Shall Perish: The Brutal Art of Deathcore

 

*Warning: Some viewers might find the brutal content in this video both disturbing and offensive to their tiny delicate ears.*

Sub-genre distinctions: a lot easier to make when you've immersed yourself in the warming intoxication of the scene. For my part, I've been spinning a lot of deathcore albums after catching Parkway Drive at the House of Blues a couple of weeks ago (review forthcoming).

Bands like Carnifex, Black Dahlia Murder and Born of Osiris are doing much to define the subgenre of deathcore...but one band's distinct melodic brutality is paving the way for the intense breakdowns and death metal inspired beat-blasting that have made the scene infamous. That band is Oakland's All Shall Perish.  

With three releases under their belts, All Shall Perish melds the lines between death metal and hardcore to form a powerful wall of brutal metal sound. These guys don't mess around when it comes to imagery either. Check out the video for "Eradication" above.

"I wish that our lives weren't the facade they seem to be." -- All Shall Perish, "Eradication"

Glassjaw Packs a Knock-Out Punch

Editor's Note: I am not a photographer. Also, this photo was taken on my Motorola Cliq. Also...don't buy a Motorola Cliq. 

When the band drifted into an indefinite hiatus from 2004-08, Glassjaw pretty much fell off my radar. But they've been drumming up some buzz over the past couple of years following the band's resurgence, and the release of Our Color Green proved the band still has the hardcore prowess to turn heads in the scene. 

Last Friday, Glassjaw visited the Metro to launch the band's new release, Coloring Book EP. The show itself was impressive, with plenty of lights and visual cues to accompany the explosive, ear-splitting musical display. Glassjaw played a tight, engaging live show that spanned many of the group's best songs (like "Two Tabs of Mescaline" from 2002's Worship and Tribute) and bared their teeth by playing up the hardcore edge that's built them their scene cred. 

In terms of the new release that accompanied the show (Coloring Book EP), the band came out onstage after their typical live set to perform the album in its entirety. Hearing the EP after seeing the show, it makes a lot more sense; Glassjaw simply compiled some of their more indie-sounding tracks onto one EP. Without hearing the album beforehand, the second set seemed a little difficult for the crowd to grasp, myself included. After a blisteringly heavy and fast first-half, the Coloring Book EP set just didn't translate well.

That said, it's good to know that Glassjaw is alive, well and making kick-ass music again. I highly recommend the live show. 

"It's all calypso, but it's not easy to know." -- Glassjaw