Hey Everyone,
Things have been kind of hectic around here of late, but as you can see, we have completed the new format. Both Eddy and I are adjusting to the new format, but we believe that we have created a more streamlined approach to bringing you new content. Obviously our site has been dedicated to the music community for the past 6 years (Can you believe it's been 6 years!), but we've also touched on many other subjects as well. Our new format will allow for us to provide insight on everything from music, movies, politics, or anything else that might be on our mind.
Keep checking back for new content in the next couple of days.
Thanks!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The End of an Era
It's quite ironic that I'm writing about the downfall of one of my favorite bands during the renaissance of this site, but I thought this was an appropriate way to start a new era by talking about the end of another.
Hopesfall, one of my favorite bands of all time, recently broke up. To many of you, this is old news. But I just found out about this within the last few weeks, and I think it's worth taking a little time to reminisce about the band.
The first time I heard Hopesfall, I was still getting into the whole underground rock scene. I had never heard such an amazing combination of ferocious hardcore and gentle melody before, and I was hooked from the beginning. For a good year, I listened to the No Wings to Speak Of EP on a daily basis. I couldn't get enough of it, and I salivated for the band's upcoming full-length release that I had been hearing about. That release turned out to be The Satellite Years, an instant classic that combined the passionate sound from the EP with a suave space rock touch.
To me, the band could do no wrong. Hopesfall was at the top of its game. It didn't matter that the band was going through lineup changes. The sound was still there, and it was evolving into something truly special. When I got word of a new release, entitled A Types, I was awaiting a genre-redefining effort. This was sure to be an album that would obliterate my playlist and earn a permanent place in my everyday catalog.
In reality, A Types turned out to be a colossal disappointment, a blatant attempt to penetrate the mainstream. The hardcore. The organic song structures. The soul of the music. All gone. In their place, a tried-and-true amalgamation of tired melodies and hard rock inspired vocals. Hopesfall's last release, 2007's Magnetic North, attempted to bring the sound back to a more aggressive place. But it too was uninspired and simply, not Hopesfall.
In the end, Hopesfall wasn't Hopesfall. The band had gone through myriad member changes. The last lineup did not include one single member that was involved in No Wings to Speak Of. A pseudo-reunion was attempted last year, when Adam Morgan returned to the band. But the reunion was short-lived. Once 2008 hit, the band imploded.
While this may read like a tragic obituary, I do want to celebrate the achievements that the band accomplished. Hopesfall will always be remembered for the sound it created in its melodic hardcore heyday, which inspired a new generation of bands. The chorus effect-driven guitars will live on in mp3 players around the world and in the hearts of those who will never forget what truly made this band special.
I only have one thing to say to Hopesfall: thank you.
Hopesfall, one of my favorite bands of all time, recently broke up. To many of you, this is old news. But I just found out about this within the last few weeks, and I think it's worth taking a little time to reminisce about the band.
The first time I heard Hopesfall, I was still getting into the whole underground rock scene. I had never heard such an amazing combination of ferocious hardcore and gentle melody before, and I was hooked from the beginning. For a good year, I listened to the No Wings to Speak Of EP on a daily basis. I couldn't get enough of it, and I salivated for the band's upcoming full-length release that I had been hearing about. That release turned out to be The Satellite Years, an instant classic that combined the passionate sound from the EP with a suave space rock touch.
To me, the band could do no wrong. Hopesfall was at the top of its game. It didn't matter that the band was going through lineup changes. The sound was still there, and it was evolving into something truly special. When I got word of a new release, entitled A Types, I was awaiting a genre-redefining effort. This was sure to be an album that would obliterate my playlist and earn a permanent place in my everyday catalog.
In reality, A Types turned out to be a colossal disappointment, a blatant attempt to penetrate the mainstream. The hardcore. The organic song structures. The soul of the music. All gone. In their place, a tried-and-true amalgamation of tired melodies and hard rock inspired vocals. Hopesfall's last release, 2007's Magnetic North, attempted to bring the sound back to a more aggressive place. But it too was uninspired and simply, not Hopesfall.
In the end, Hopesfall wasn't Hopesfall. The band had gone through myriad member changes. The last lineup did not include one single member that was involved in No Wings to Speak Of. A pseudo-reunion was attempted last year, when Adam Morgan returned to the band. But the reunion was short-lived. Once 2008 hit, the band imploded.
While this may read like a tragic obituary, I do want to celebrate the achievements that the band accomplished. Hopesfall will always be remembered for the sound it created in its melodic hardcore heyday, which inspired a new generation of bands. The chorus effect-driven guitars will live on in mp3 players around the world and in the hearts of those who will never forget what truly made this band special.
I only have one thing to say to Hopesfall: thank you.
The New blood.sweat.tears
Welcome everyone.
You've happened to stumble upon the brand spanking new BST. The BST I've been talking about in my last couple of posts at the previous site. The one that's been over a year in the making.
Yep, it's finally finished.
As you can see, the site has been completely revamped. Out of all the versions we've been through, this is definitely the most dramatically different. You may also be noticing the blog format. We believe it will streamline the content creation process on our end, while providing a more dynamic viewing experience on your end. The days of writing an article and meticulously having to format the HTML are gone. This will save us an extraordinary amount of time, which means Rob and I will finally be able to post on a regular basis.
However, all the conveniences of our old site are still here, along with new ones. All our content will be filtered into topics, which you can access on the right. Also, you'll be able to make comments after each post. Remember the old BST Community? Well, we now have the opportunity to resurrect that dialog. Instead of news feeds, we'll post our articles right here, so you can immediately see what's fresh. And if you want to check out our previous site, just click on the link, also to your right.
Be sure to come back on a regular basis, as the content will definitely be flowing more frequently. I know that on my end alone, I have a ton of stuff I want to talk about.
And a big THANK YOU goes out to my good friend Mike Hardy for drawing the amazing sketch featured in our banner, which is also brand spanking new.
Thanks for visiting.
You've happened to stumble upon the brand spanking new BST. The BST I've been talking about in my last couple of posts at the previous site. The one that's been over a year in the making.
Yep, it's finally finished.
As you can see, the site has been completely revamped. Out of all the versions we've been through, this is definitely the most dramatically different. You may also be noticing the blog format. We believe it will streamline the content creation process on our end, while providing a more dynamic viewing experience on your end. The days of writing an article and meticulously having to format the HTML are gone. This will save us an extraordinary amount of time, which means Rob and I will finally be able to post on a regular basis.
However, all the conveniences of our old site are still here, along with new ones. All our content will be filtered into topics, which you can access on the right. Also, you'll be able to make comments after each post. Remember the old BST Community? Well, we now have the opportunity to resurrect that dialog. Instead of news feeds, we'll post our articles right here, so you can immediately see what's fresh. And if you want to check out our previous site, just click on the link, also to your right.
Be sure to come back on a regular basis, as the content will definitely be flowing more frequently. I know that on my end alone, I have a ton of stuff I want to talk about.
And a big THANK YOU goes out to my good friend Mike Hardy for drawing the amazing sketch featured in our banner, which is also brand spanking new.
Thanks for visiting.