Submission Hold-What Holds Back the Elephant
(G7 Welcoming Committee, 2004)

Submission Hold are one of the few bands that make you realize that punk music doesn’t really need to follow a certain formula or really have a certain sound. Submission Hold is undeniably punk oriented, but the approach is much more experimental, and just down right weird at times. Possibly a less bass heavy No Means No with a female singer would be a good start for a comparison, but this is an extremely original record that really doesn’t deserve any comparisons.

The odd thing about this record is that it manages to be urgent yet somehow relaxed at the same time. They aren’t play fast, but there are quirky riffs from time to time that bring a certain about of technicality into the mix. For the most part the songwriting revolves around repetition. Certain parts are repeated to great lengths and it’s extremely effective. Which actually brings up the point that the songwriting is very far from being verse/chorus/verse. There is almost something Crass like in how the songs are put together. There is definitely catchy elements to latch onto but this isn’t what you’d put on to listen to and relax. It requires a few listens to fully digest everything and that is much more rewarding then instant gratification.

Like all bands on G7 Submission Hold definitely have something to say with their music. Certain songs seem to revolve around political issues while others seem to be much more personal. One thing I found interesting was that the lyrics were included in English, French, and Spanish.

This definitely isn’t a band that will appeal to everyone, because well they are a bit out there at times. It’s almost like avant-garde punk jazz? I really have no idea how to put it into words really, but it’ll only take you one listen to know if you want to dive into this album further and fully appreciate what it has to offer.

Before Today-A Celebration of an Ending
(Equal Vision Records, 2004)

Bridging a gap between melodic hardcore and screamo, Before Today’s a Celebration of an Ended is an album so good that it’ll make your jaw drop. Fast and furious combines with melody, further combined with a sense of experimentalism and even hints of jazz from time to time. Trust me, a few aspects of the band may sound familiar but this is a diverse, well written album that definitely challenges what people expect from a band of this nature.

One of the most common place aspects of the bands sound is the use of clean and screaming vocals. But the band manages to use tempo changes to great effect. Certain songs are incredibly fast, while others are laid back and feature clean vocals almost exclusively. There are no set patterns for any of these songs. If they feel like throwing in a lengthy clean passage that almost borders on jazz they will. They don’t follow any rules, and while this is definitely catchy at times, it isn’t a predictable album by any stretch of the imagination.

Sometimes a vocalist can make all of the difference in the world, and this band is amazing musically and has a vocalist who could peel paint from walls with his screaming and sooth even the most savage beast with his clean vocals. The amazing thing is that there is actually a really sense of hurt and anguish to be heard during the screaming. There is no question that he is singing ever last word right from his heart. There is no posturing here, this is an emotional album that strikes home with an incredible amount of intensity.

This is by far one of the best debut cds to cross my ears in quite sometime. Essentially they aren’t rewriting the rules of melodic hardcore, but this is such a well written and ambitious album that it is hard to not be completely blown away by this album.

The Big Screen-Yours Today Mine Tomorrow
(Undecided Records, 2004)

I’m sure that this band is going to get a lot of press due to the fact that the singer is brothers with the New Found Glory singer, but in the long run that’s basically pointless information. This is a 5 track EP of solid melodic punk that while fairly similar in style to many bands, shows a band with a lot of promise.

You definitely can tell at times that this is a young band. The performance isn’t completely without flaws and the vocals are just a bit pitchy from time to time. But the potential is very easy to see, and some of the problem could be caused by a fairly rough sounding production. There really isn’t much bottom end to the recording and with a stronger production the vocals might seem a bit less pitchy. This is definitely an amazing start and with a more suiting production these guys could really have something.

Lyrically there are 5 very interesting songs. The lyrics are personal but manage to rise above the typical nonsense that seems to come along with pop punk. Silly Me is a bit typical in that it seems to be about relationships, but the rest of the songs are a bit more cryptic in their meanings. It’s not rambling poetry by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s definitely a nice change from the love struck norm.

This is a band that shows a lot of promise. For a debut EP this is excellent, yet a bit rough around the edges. They have room improvement, but I’m sure being on the road and finding a studio that can due them justice will have them tighter and sounding right on the money in no time.

Every Time I Die-The Burial Plot Bidding War
(Undecided Records, 2004)

Every Time I Die have definitely come a long way over the years, and this re-release of the bands debut EP will give everyone a chance to hear their beginnings. You might ask is there a big difference between this EP and Last Night in Town? Actually, this is noisier and the Glassjaw influence is definitely not as obvious. This is chock full of noisy guitars, breakdowns, and caustic vocals. It’s definitely a bit primitive compared to their latest album, but for first time listeners these songs will still rip you a new one.

The production is actually a lot better then I was expecting. It’s definitely not as tight as their two full length albums, but the heavier moments and fast moments are all incredibly effective and this features some of the most unique ideas the band has ever written. Your Touch Versus Death starts out very quiet before exploding into the metalcore mayhem that you have come to expect from ETID. The songwriting has definitely brought in a lot of different elements since this EP, but this is still a very solid album from a songwriting perspective. The songs have many tempo changes, but the riffs definitely have common threads that connect them and make this more then just a collection of noisy riffs.

For those of you who enjoyed Last Night in Town and Hot Damn, it would be a shame to not pick up this re-released EP. The songs are definitely on par with both of the full lengths and are only somewhat lacking in the production department.

Every Time I Die is easily one of the most original bands playing metalcore right now, and this shows that even during their infancy they had a firm grasp on what they wanted to do musically and weren’t out to just mimic other bands. Fans of metalcore owe it to themselves to pick this up.

Anthrax-The Greater of Two Evils
(Sanctuary Records, 2004)

While the track listing on the back will probably have you thinking that this is a greatest hits package, in reality it is a collection of early Anthrax songs re-recorded by the current line-up. Let me tell you, these songs have never sounded better. From early favorites Deathrider and Metal Thrashing Mad, to classics like Belly of the Beast, everything is heavier, sometimes faster, and much more angry. The band has put in the same vigor they put into these songs during their live performances.

The fact that the song selection was chosen by Anthrax fans makes this an even more special disc. There are a few songs that I would have liked to hear updated, like Got the Time for instance, but the song selection in excellent none the less. Here’s a run down of the complete list: Deathrider, Metal Thrashing Mad, Caught in a Mosh, A.I.R., Among the Living, Keep It in the Family, Indians, Madhouse, Panic, I am the Law, Belly of the Beast, N.F.L., Be All End All, and Gung-Ho. It’s pretty much the cream of the crop from the early years, and a song you didn’t like the first time around might rub you the right way this time around and these are faithful to the originals, but just, well better.

Anthrax seem to be one of the few bands that really care about their fans. It would have been easy enough to just use the original recordings, but they took the time to rework and re-record these classics and have come out with something so much more then a greatest hits package.

I Can Make a Mess like Nobody’s Business-s/t
(Drive-Tru Records, 2004)

Acoustic records are becoming very common within the pop punk world it seems. Members of bands are taking the Dashboard Confessional route dropping their bands and trying to make heartfelt stripped down albums. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. This oddly titled band is basically the singer from The Early Novembers giving a go at the whole acoustic thing and for the most part it works. The moments that are most effective are when the band loses it’s Dashboard influence and basically just plays acoustic music with drums, strings, and all of the trimmings. The sections with just acoustic guitar and singing are possibly a bit too Dashboard like. I think as a whole a bit more dynamics would have been nice throughout. The songs are fairly quiet and there are louder choruses, but a break in the pattern would have been nice. The opening track actually has some electric guitars, and is a tad bit noisier. It would have been nice to see that explored a bit further in the other songs. So in the end I’d say that these are well written songs, but it doesn’t quite rise above the Dashboard Confessional comparison. Sure, it’s the easiest comparison for an acoustic album, but this isn’t just the same style it does really sound like Dashboard.