Review: Rock Kills Kid - Self-Titled EP

artist: rock kills kid album: self-titled (ep) label: fearless records released: 1/28/03 by: rob tatum My first impression of Rock Kills Kid was not a good one. I thought to myself, “Great. Another poppy, generic band.” Well, I’ll admit that I jumped to conclusions. Now that I have listened to this CD a couple more times, it has really grown on me. Don’t get me wrong, Rock Kills Kid isn’t revolutionizing music or anything, but with catchy, heartfelt lyrics, and good melody, they have managed to wedge into my normal rotation for the last couple of weeks. I would probably compare this band to a little mellower Finch, or less poppy Jimmy Eat World. The music lies somewhere between emo and pop-punk, but it’s well arranged (which is a key). The lyrics are typical of this genre, “’Cause you’re everything to me, and I want you to know, you’re everything to me, and I want it to show.” I really like Jeff’s vocals. His voice fits the music well and gives a huge lift to the melody of the songs. There are only a couple of qualms that I had with the EP. First off, half the songs were recorded at one place, and the other half somewhere else. Ordinarily that wouldn’t matter, but you can notice the difference when listening to the CD. Secondly, I really, really don’t like the 5th song, “Immanuel.” It just doesn’t flow with the album, and to be perfectly honest, it’s irritating. Aside from those things, I really have grown to enjoy listening to this. I am actually anxious to hear a full length from this band. It’s usually not my thing, but 5 out of the 6 songs on this EP are definitely worth checking out if you are into emo or pop-punk. favorite song: “everything to me” rating: 75%/100% listen to rock kills kid

Review: Radiant Republic of Texas - Air Show EP

artist: radiant republic of texas album: air show (ep) label: none/demo released: by: rob tatum Well, for those of you who know Brian (Shogun, Dartanian, Sincere Distrust) this EP shouldn’t surprise you at all. However, if you are expecting anything close to Shogun, then you will probably hate this. As for me, I had to listen to this EP a couple times before it really started to grow on me, but the more that I listen, the more I enjoy it. It’s hard to describe the sound that this EP encompasses because it has a little bit of everything, but props to Brian for making something interesting. The first song, "Transient Head," reminds me of Sunny Day Real Estate (pink album or diary era). It’s mellow, but not boring. It opens the EP well. Next up is the instrumental "121123112341" which has kind of a “dancy” feel to it at first, then jumps to a little bit more energetic rhythm to it and then some good melody. I really like listening to this song, even though it’s just an instrumental. The third song, "Crack Steppin’," is kind of poppy compared to the first part of the EP. My favorite part of this song is its flow. The vocals are a little different from the first song, but give the song a little more energy. Fourth on the EP is "Pathetic Examples." This song feels more like the first song. "Lastly is Propeller." It feels much like the 1st and 4th songs and finishes the album well. My only complaint is that each song is under three minutes and the five songs fly by when you listen to it. For fans of packaging, you might be intrigued by the DVD case and black-bottom CD. It’s a nice little twist, and even if it won’t fit in the CD rack, it’s cool with me. My recommendations for this EP go out to anyone who was a fan of early SDRE or some of the older Revelation Records bands. Oh yeah, if you are wondering about the name, e-mail Brian, he has a full explanation. favorite song: "pathetic examples" rating: 80%/100% listen to radiant republic of texas

Review: Dartanian - Demo

artist: dartanian album: demo label: none/demo released: by: rob tatum First off, if any of you want to check out the three songs on this demo, go to the link at the bottom (they are all online). Alright, well, calling fans of 80’s metal and Iron Maiden… featuring members of Shogun and Contender… Dartanian has arrived. Based on that, if you didn’t like Maiden, or the 80’s, then stop reading, you won’t like this. For those of you, like myself, that own every Def Leppard album and wish that they had enough money to go see the Scorpions and Whitesnake on tour, then you will probably dig this. The first song, "River," reminds me of Maiden all the way. Typical 80’s metal guitar riffs, with some high pitched wailing vocals. Next up, "Infidel," has a little more melody, and more of a modern feel than the first song. The last song, "Stand Off," trails back to the Maiden sound. I’ll be honest, the first time I heard this, I hated it. And many of you might feel the same way, but I encourage you to listen to it anyway. The musicianship is excellent and although it’s not groundbreaking, it’s still something fun to listen to. This band could easily pass for something from 15 years ago if you just listened to this demo. favorite song: "river" rating: 70%/100% listen to dartanian

Review: Various Artists - Radio Dick: The 3 Sided LP Volume 1

artist: the american plague, windfall, vanguard album: radio dick - the 3-sided lp: volume 1 label: pal-tone records released: 1/28/03 by: rob tatum The first thing I want to say is that I like the idea of a three way full length. Rather than releasing three separate EP’s, why not combine them into one? It gives people an opportunity to check out more than one band at a time, and even if they don’t like all the bands, it still makes it worth paying money for. Since this is a three way split, I’ll break it into three short reviews: The American Plague – Tracks 1-4 Fans of older punk will really like this band. When I was reading the press info about this band, I was worried that I would hate them, but being that they sound similar to Social Distortion, this band was easily tolerated. The music isn’t anything special, but for being a trio, there’s good melody and flow. If you like straight forward punk with a little melody, check this band out. favorite song: "9 times out of 10" rating: 70%100% listen to the american plague Windfall – Tracks 5-8 Musically, this band has some talent, but it’s really not my thing. I like the fact that they have a female vocalist because it makes for an interesting change of pace to this CD, but it really didn’t grab me. The music is melodic punk/rock with vocals similar to older No Doubt. The lyrics are decent, but like I said, it just didn’t grab me. favorite song: "Growing Alive" rating: 68%/100% listen to windfall Vanguard – Tracks 9-12 Well, this is the best part of this CD, but it’s still nothing amazing or anything. Poppy, energetic punk with some melody from time to time. This is the band on this CD that I see with potential. As of now, the music is a little dull, but with time, I could see myself enjoying future releases from this band. The thing that bothered me is that the four songs all change pace from each other… and I am a big fan of flow. There is one song that is melodic, then the next is angry, and then there’s one that sounds like Bad Religion… it’s kind of annoying, but I do see some potential. favorite song: "Weight" rating: 72%/100% listen to vanguard Well, basically, if you like punk, you will probably enjoy this album. Each band brings something different to the table for a little variety. I didn’t really like it much, but that doesn’t mean it was awful or anything. overall rating: 70%/100%

Interview: Hopesfall

bst interviews hopesfall. by eduardo moutinho and rob tatum Recently, bst had the chance to interview Jay Forrest, the vocalist of hopesfall, during the band's recent show in Boulder as part of a tour with Coheed and Cambria. Along with asking him questions about touring itself, and recording the band's latest album, The Satellite Years, we made sure to touch on a number of other topics such as the band's recent member changes and their relationship with Trustkill Records. The following is a recap of the interview. If you are interested in learning more about and hearing hopesfall, visit the band's official website, their mp3.com site, and Trustkill Records. This interview took place on February 7th, 2003 at Tulagi's in Boulder, CO. bst: How has touring life been? Is that tour bus outside for you guys? Jay: (Laughs) Dude, that tour bus is for Reverend Horton Heat. Those guys are playing next door. I dunno, they play that kind of rock... Rockabilly. That's it. Yeah, that bus is definitely not for us. Touring is awesome. It’s great to be out with Coheed and Cambria, as well as onelinedrawing. It seems like every tour gets better and better. So far it’s been a lot of fun. bst: How did it feel like replacing Doug (former hopesfall vocalist) as the new singer? How did the other members deal with the changes the band has gone through recently? Jay: The band is better than ever. We all get along really well. I couldn’t have asked to take over for a better person than Doug, and we still keep in touch. I mean, he lives across the street from me. I see him all the time. Even though we've gone through all these changes, the band hasn't missed a beat. In the last six months, we have toured more than the band did altogether in its existence. bst: You guys have been referred to as a Christian band, how do you react to that? Do you want to be known as a Christian band? Jay: We are not a Christian band. Bottom line. We don’t want any labels at all. I just hope that people can take whatever they can from our music. We are here to write creative and inspiring music, and if people find something spiritual about it, then great. But it’s not our goal. Labels like that are forms of segregation. bst: Any tour horror stories? Jay: Not from this tour. However, on our last tour with Atreyu, we were outside of Portland, and we had changed hitch balls earlier in the day. We were going up a hill, and the trailer came off, luckily the chains held it on long enough to get to the top of the hill before it went off the road. Our equipment survived. bst: What are your initial impressions of the Colorado scene and of the state itself in general? Jay: The first thing we said today was that we want to live here and that we should move here. This place is beautiful. It’s really impressive. There is a good cultural feel. It’s really good to see this many kids at a show in a town we have never been in that know our music and can sing along. It’s the most incredible feeling. I mean, sometimes we play much bigger cities, and not as many people show up. There seems to be a really solid scene around here. bst: What have you guys been listening to lately? Jay: Uh... On, Failure, Year of the Rabbit, Coalesce, Minus the Bear. We always listen to Hum, The Smashing Pumpkins… Chad rocks Tom Petty. We give him a lot of crap for that. bst: Going along with the topic, what are the band’s main inspirations? Jay: Space rock… The Smashing Pumpkins and Hum. bst: So you guys don't really have any hardcore bands that inspire you? Jay: Well, of course we do. It's really hard to pinpoint our exact inspirations. We're out here to do our own thing. bst: When do you guys plan on hitting the studio next? Jay: Nothing is planned for now, we have a lot of touring ahead of us. The song-writing process never stops, so we have a few new ideas here and there. We may hit the studio in the late summer or the fall. Maybe we'll have something to release in December. bst: What was it like recording The Satellite Years with Matt Talbot from Hum? Jay: It was really awesome. Amazing... Matt is really down to earth and one of the nicest people I have ever met. It was a really cool experience for all of us. And I want to make sure to mention this, Matt coaches little league football during his spare time. How cool is that? bst: What are you tour plans after this tour? Jay: Well, first off, we are going to head to the northwest and Canada with Snapcase and the Juliana Theory. After that we have two major tours planned. The first of which is a headlining tour with The Beautiful Mistake, Brazil, and Celebrity (Ryan, the old guitar player's new band). Then we're doing a co-headlining tour with Every Time I Die. After all of that, we are heading to Europe with a band called Sikth, from England. That's gonna be sweet. bst: What is like being on a record label like Trustkill? Jay: It’s awesome. We can actually see the work that is done. They push our record, and we see the results. We find our record in stores, and when we come to places we have never been to, we know that kids have access to our music. We really like Trustkill. We couldn’t have asked for a better fit. bst: How has touring affected your personal lives? Jay: Obviously we get homesick, but there are positives and negatives. We are all away from our loved ones, so we have all had to adjust and so have they, but at the same time, I am 22 years old and I have toured the US three times. It’s good to go places and see familiar faces in other towns. Also, our families, girlfriends, and other friends all support us. It makes things a lot easier when you have that support with you. bst: What are you thoughts about the internet and mp3’s? Jay: I think it’s great, honestly. I think it helps bands more than it hurts them. It’s a great source of exposure. Smaller bands can only benefit from it. I’m sure it helped us, and I know it has helped some of the other bands from our hometown (Between the Buried and Me, Codeseven, Beloved). I mean, some people don't want to go out and look for our stuff. But with the Internet, we can put our music out there and people listen. We come here, and there are people who know the lyrics to our songs, some of those people had to have gone to our mp3.com site. note: Someone walks up and asks Jay to autograph his CD booklet. bst: How does that make you feel when people ask for autographs? Jay: It’s really weird, but it’s humbling. It’s great to see people love our music that much. bst: So, what is the real story behind the cancellation of the show you guys were supposed to play here in September? Jay: A couple of shows got cancelled on the West Coast, and we essentially got stuck out there. Bands pulled out. Without playing shows, we were losing money fast. We didn’t play any shows for five days straight, and we decided that we would have to drive straight home or else we wouldn’t have the money to get back. We felt bad about it, but we are trying to make up for it with this tour. bst: Thanks a lot for taking your time to speak with us. note: Jay made sure to mention that hopesfall should be back around April, as part of the tour with Every Time I Die. listen to .hopesfall. .hopesfall. official site

Review: The Kindercide - This isn't Just for Rich People

artist: (the) kindercide album: this isn't just for rich people label: ash from sweat records released: by: eduardo moutinho I have a lot of sentimental value when it comes to (the) kindercide. There isn’t a band in our local scene that exhibits more raw passion and emotion when playing live. Therefore, it’s really hard to review this CD without thinking of the amazing performances I have witnessed from this band. For those who don’t know (the) kindercide, they are an interesting grindcore outfit based out of Lakewood, Colorado. Members include the Brothers Phelps, who founded Ash From Sweat Records. If you want a little more background on the record label, check out the interview that we conducted with them by clicking here. Anyway, the band also features Ian Dukes from The Gromos/The Green Fuse and a good friend to most of us in the Lakewood/Golden/Wheat Ridge/Northglenn/etc. hardcore circle, Ray (I don’t know his last name). The ensuing combination generates some of the most interesting music I’ve heard. The packaging for this CD is surprisingly minimal for an Ash From Sweat Release, but it gets the job done. The CD itself is wrapped in a handmade thin paper sleeve. The front of the sleeve has a stenciled logo, and the CD itself is spray painted black with “(t)” and “k” written in gold pen. The insert is an amalgam of different random quotes that I assume the band pulled out of various publications. It all adds to the minimalist presentation. Still, it’s an interesting package, as always. I’m not a big fan of grindcore. I don’t enjoy The Locust, Reversal of Man, and the whole lot too much. But I do enjoy the kind of grindcore that (the) kindercide plays. The music is really technical, and the vocals quite distinctive. The two vocalists add a lot to the music, as Dan provides his discernable howls and Ray screams at high pitches. Both styles feed off of each other in a positive symbiotic relationship. Dennis’ riffs are proficient; he experiments with a lot of different little string parts and harmonies. Ian’s drumming is solid, as always. Anyway, unlike a lot of grindcore that I’ve heard, there are many discernable parts here. In fact, there are moments of heavy driving segments. Dan’s lyrics are distinguishable, which is a big plus. The lyrics to the songs are really entertaining. Yet, for those who like straight-up grindcore, this is a worthy listen. Hell, there are twelve tracks totaling just a little over thirteen minutes. So in the end, I can actually find enjoyment listening to this band. Like I said in the introduction, it’s really hard not to think back to the live shows that these guys play. They’re really fun and entertaining. This adds a whole new element to the music, and makes it even better. favorite song: “being dumb is cool man” overall rating: 80%/100% listen to (the) kindercide