Review: Hopesfall - The Satellite Years

artist: .hopesfall. album: the satellite years label: trustkill records released: 10/15/2002 by: eduardo moutinho Alright, I’ll be honest with you. If you don’t know me, then let me dispel a fact about myself that will affect this review. I am a big fan of hopesfall. You could say I’m an enormous fan of this band. I believe they’re the best melodic hardcore band out there. Their incorporation and manipulation of the “melodic breakdown” is quite simply stunning. I believe they’re one of the few “core” bands that play beautiful hardcore. What I mean is that I believe if you pull an average Joe/Jane off the street that has never listened to hardcore and expose them to hopesfall, there is a good chance that they’ll acknowledge this band’s musicality. Anyway, hopesfall’s highly anticipated second full-length album, and Trustkill debut, The Satellite Years, is out. Here’s my take on it. I received this album in the mail straight from Trustkill, since I was one of the people who pre-ordered it. My first impression was of disappointment with the limited edition package that I received. I won’t go into details, but if you want to know what I’m talking about, visit thecommunity. A nice little thread about this has been generated for your reading pleasure. Nevertheless, the artwork for the album is quite beautiful. The choice of colors is very nice, with blues and whites dominating the insert. The motif of the artwork is a surreal sci-fi one. Eventually, I stuck the CD into my computer, and I started to listen. Unfortunately, the CD is only ten songs in length. Two of these songs are moody, yet simplistic instrumental pieces (“Andromeda” and “Redshift”). So in essence, the album is only eight songs, which is a bit short. The good news is that these eight songs are quite strong, with some definitely leading the way. Fans of hopesfall are aware about this band’s ability to grow and mature, from their experiences of listening to the band’s first album, The Frailty of Words, and the band’s popular EP, No Wings to Speak Of. Between those two efforts, hopesfall really grew musically, by beginning to incorporate more singing and instrumental parts into their music. This maturation process is evident in The Satellite Years. There are more singing and melodic instrumental portions than ever. This may scare off some of the more straight-up hardcore fans, but in my opinion, this is definitely a good thing. After the aforementioned instrumental piece “Andromeda,” the CD begins with a barrage of great songs. The first five songs following the introduction are absolutely amazing. From “Waitress” to “Dana Walker,” each song is filled with differing tempos, complex interludes, and a mish-mash of singing and screaming. Every facet of the music is wonderful. The guitars are fantastic, the drumming is on time and aggressive, and the vocals help tie it all together. This band is incredibly talented. They have an ear for melody. Like I mentioned before, there is a lot of singing on this record. The vocals are well-orchestrated; on many occasions, they overlap, with screaming and singing going on at the same time. This is conducted with great proficiency. After the other instrumental track, “Redshift,” the album heads into the straightaway, approaching the finish line. This latter portion of the album contains a sandwich of two traditional hopesfall-sounding songs, “Only the Clouds” and “The Bending,” and another, less traditional track (“Escape Pod for Intangibles”). “Escape Pod for Intangibles” contains no screaming, and features Matt Talbot from Hum (who also produced this album) aiding in the vocals. This track goes nowhere, and it almost manages to put the listener in a trance. In fact, it is very Hum-like, which is what I believe hopesfall was aiming for. In my opinion, this is the only track on the album that I don’t care much for. It’s not bad by any means, it’s just boring. The album ends with its strongest song, “The Bending.” This song is pure hopesfall. It begins with a fast-paced and lively tempo and ends with a poignant instrumental breakdown. It’s incredibly well-executed. In simple terms, this song personifies the band. In conclusion, this album passes my test. I expected a wonderful effort, and that’s what I received. This record is not a complete masterpiece like No Wings to Speak Of. That was an EP though, and this is a full-length. It is a bit too short, but I can’t do anything about that. Hopefully, they’ll throw an EP together in a year, I don’t know. The song with Talbot and the instrumental pieces are forgettable, but the rest isn’t. The remaining songs are beautiful in their musicality, vocals, and structure. If you look at it realistically, seven great songs out of eight is a grand achievement; hopesfall has managed to show that they are serious musicians with an endless amount of talent. In addition, they have managed to improve upon their sound. The new vocalist, Jay Forrest, proved to be a worthy replacement as well. As a whole, this album is incredible. favorite song: “the bending” rating: 95%/100% listen to .hopesfall.