He was great in Nations Afire. They were (idk if they broke up) such a good substitute for Ignite then they changed their singer and became more similar to Rise Against's rock side.
15-second clip. Silly to make any sort of judgment. But it sure would be nice if they put out a killer record. Kinda tired of cherry-picking songs.
...sigh. The Sufferer and the Witness is a top 10 album of all time for me. It's like Fury Road - no filler, fast paced, overflowing with purpose and it never lets up, even when it slows down. I also like Appeal To Reason because there are some amazingly catchy songs on there (The Dirt Whispered could have been huge) and Endgame had its moments. But The Black Market felt lazy to me, and this feels like more of the same. I just want a 2 minute, raging song like Drones, Bricks or anything off RPM. Even a return to the Siren Song sound would be amazing. And maybe that's never coming. But we could sure use it.
If you haven't picked up Long Forgotten Songs I highly recommend you do. Most of the B-sides from the Appeal to Reason era are exactly what you're looking for.
Believe me, I listen to it regularly. Death Blossoms and Historia Calamitatum are exactly what I think they could still write, and they could still put asses in the seats. Someone earlier mentioned they went to a buttrock sound, and I wouldn't go that far...but the edges have been sanded almost all the way off. I want some fucking splinters back.
I love Long Forgotten Songs. Why can they be so passionate in B sides and covers, but limp on their actual LPs?
I wonder about this. I was initially disappointed by Sufferer because he'd lost a lot of grit but I came around on it. Seemed like a conscious choice to sing rather than yell. But since then his vocals have lacked the urgency they used to carry. I wondered whether he was still capable of shredding his cords but songs like Eco Terrorist (and half of Long Forgotten Songs) show he can still let rip. I'd love to hear that again.
Yeah there's been a ton of instances of people hurting their voice (Bert McCracken, Chris Conley, Skiba in the Good Mourning days) so I don't push on things like that but I've wondered if it was a choice or it was necessary. I have to listen to these B-sides apparently.
They are full of energy. But just kind of make me sad cos I wonder why their LPs can't be the same way anymore. PS Schwarzenbach is a great example of someone actually wrecking their vocal cords.