I Fight Fail: Voyages and Vantage Points

Written by Robin Ervolina
When I was younger (much) Dark Side of The Moon was my lullaby. The somniferous nature of space rock cradled my psyche and allowed my frontal lobe to recede into the nothingness of sleep. As I’ve grown older (not much!) I’ve learned to take my shit to the pit, but this trippy psychedelic sound still holds a special place in my heart, and it’s a room I Fight Fail’s Voyages and Vantage Points seamlessly inhabits.
The one minute and 12 second intro is a nearly monotone monologue of Earth as seen from space. “From this distant vantage point, our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark.” The dialogue continues over a synthesized melody, connecting us to the vast universe where borders are things you reach for and infinity is the gift you're given. This is, by the way, how you should listen to space rock; throw your arms out wide and reach your hands to the edges of forever. That’s the mood and mode I Fight Fail brings forth.
This four-piece outfit from Canton, Ohio is joining the space rock genre in a really interesting way. Vocally, you’re not dealing with the hypnotherapist tone associated with classic space rock bands like Pink Floyd. Lead singer Andy Potter has a pop punk vibe, immediately evident in “Are You Okay.” It imparts some angsty feel to the typical mesmerizing nature of tune-in-and-tune-out tunes. "Anything at All" has a great rock intro and lays those sweet vocals over an extraterrestrial choir. The repetitive choruses through the CD have both a 50s era simplicity and a “focus on the pocket watch” trance-inducing state. By the time I get to “Revive the Expired,” I’m fully checked out. I know because this tune triggered something, emotionally speaking. I had to go back and listen to the lyrics because in the middle of fading into the universe, I found myself choking up. Free therapy, anyone?
I Fight Fail has done something different within their genre; their instrumentation soothes my soul, sings it to sleep, and then the piercing voice of Potter wakes up something buried within … and you can’t wake up until you’ve slept, am I right? It's almost as if I Fight Fail took me on a voyage so I could see clearly from a new vantage point (I see what you did there). So dream, perchance to sleep, and pick up your copy of Voyages and Vantage Points today.

The Soul Shakers: "Here To Have A Good Time"

Written by Robin Ervolina
I'm so grateful I grew up in the 80s. I had the benefit of The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton on the radio, and for a few dollars I could still buy The Doors and Zeppelin on vinyl at The Bargain Basement. These are the bands we played at parties, and the cassette tapes we wound back with pencils in a pinch. This is the music that formed the foundation for my love of punk and metal, in all their variations and expressions. Rock is ever evolving and changing, but God bless The Soul Shakers for remembering my roots. With their debut single, "Here To Have A Good Time," the Nashville based duo brings good goddamn rock and roll front and center once more.
Brett Hellings is an able and versatile vocalist, singing sweet and dirty, with the highs and lows of his register on display. His seductive sound is appealing and infectious in the first verse before breaking into a screaming, turn-it-up-full-blast, call-to-party chorus. Elias Reidy sings harmony and forms the backbone for The Soul Shaker sound with his shreddy guitar riffs and come-hither chords. "Here To Have a Good Time" is not a song heavy in content, and it's not a tune meant to teach us a lesson. No one is trying to get over a breakup and no one is struggling with heavy social or political strife. This isn’t serious; it’s sex, shots, and rock-n-roll, baby. With lines like, "I'm not here to be your rock and roll boyfriend," and "I'm here to make some bad decisions," you have a solid tune with no pretensions. Thank the God, and pass the Jack.
Check out their video for "Here To Have A Good Time," and make sure you get on the pre-order bandwagon. Don't make me say, "I told you so."
https://youtu.be/3KpgMW94ULY

Alter Bridge: Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti Interview at Louder Than Life 2016

Photo Credit / Written by: Robin Ervolina

When it comes to large festivals, Alter Bridge counts themselves down for a great time. Louder Than Life was no exception, and AB arrived in Louisville with an arsenal of new and older songs to wow the gigantic crowd of people. Shockwave had the honor of sitting with Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti for an interview shortly before their set. We got to talk to them about their love for festivals, what goes on behind the scenes of a listening party, and some secrets behind the choosing of “Show Me A Leader” as the first single.

Shockwave Magazine: We're sitting here with Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti from Alter Bridge. Are you going to be able to have a chance to stay and watch some bands? If so, who are you looking forward to?
Mark: We're going to be here all day. I wanted to see Crobot today but I think they might have played already.
I think they played this morning.
Mark: Did they? Damn it.
Myles: I still haven't seen Ghost yet, believe it or not. I'm excited to see them.
Well, lets jump right into the heavier questions. You guys have a big weekend coming up. The Last Hero drops on Friday. Tell us about the writing or recording process on that. 
Mark: Well we, Myles and I, got together to start piecing stuff together. Then we met with the guys in pre-production. This time around we jumped right into demo phase with our producer, Elvis. We tried to capture as much lightning in the bottle as we could on this record. That was a little different than what we've done in the past. Usually we live with songs a little longer, but this time we jumped right into it.
Myles: Yeah, I mean we started the whole spontaneous approach on the Fortress record. We tried not to overthink it. We continued with that and, like he said, we were flying by the seat of our pants even more on this record, and somehow we ended up landing on our feet. We're real happy.
It's a highly anticipated release. So there's a lot going on with that. How do you think it compares to the rest of your catalog?
Mark: It's got a little bit of everything in there. I think we just keep trying to push ourselves so stuff doesn't sound so similar to the last record. It's always got to be better than the last record. Elvis did a really good job of pushing the limits for us and making sure that we set a high benchmark for this album. You know, he's very proud to work with us and we're very proud to work with him. Together we try to make the best record we can.
You just dropped "Poison In Your Veins" as your second single. Anymore surprises before Friday?
Mark: Yeah, we just released "The Other Side" on Saturday.
Myles: Yeah yeah, that's right.
Oh! We were here and busy all day and we didn't catch that.
Myles: We're just throwing them out there.
Please tell us about "The Other Side."
Myles: "The Other Side" is kind of the perfect Halloween song, because it's kinda got this doom-y intro and it's really kind of spooky, so it definitely fits the month we're in now.
We can't wait to hear it. Now, you said in an interview that you thought "Poison in Your Veins" would be your first single, but you ended up going with "Show Me A Leader." What did you favor about "Show Me A Leader" over "Poison In Your Veins?" 
Mark: I think the climate right now is perfect for "Show Me A Leader." It just speaks to the world's need of great leaders and people that you can believe in these days. You know, with the circus that you see on TV everyday, it seemed like a fitting single for the climate.
For those that think "Show Me A Leader" is political, what would you have to say about that?
Myles: Well, I mean, I think that what inspired it and the emotions that came from it, it is somewhat political. We don't have an agenda. We aren't saying "Vote right wing, left wing, moderate" or whatever, but it definitely is a reflection of the disillusionment everyone seems to be feeling right now, and the frustration. It's more of an emotional purge than anything. (laughing)
You had a listening party for The Last Hero where people got to rate your songs. What is it about listening parties that you guys like to do? I mean, what do you get from them? I have to tell you, your fans LOVE them. We had someone there and she was there as a fan, she bought a ticket. She asked if she could write about it, and to this day it is still our most read article. They love it, you love it. Not a lot of people do it.
Mark: We have fans from all around the world that come into these listening parties. They are the most die hard of all of our fans. We like to spend time and get to know these people that we get to see all around the globe, all in one place. They get to know one another. One of the best things for us is that we make a checklist of all the songs. We have them rate them "first listen," so when it comes down to choosing singles and how we are going to plot the record out, we see how the fans and the initial reaction is to our songs. It helps us as well.
Do you guys get to review them personally? See what everyone has to say? That seems like a pretty big task.
Myles: Yeah, you know, we basically handed out these sheets with a series of... I don't even know what...
Mark: Like... a smiley face, a frown? (laughing)
It's like a rating system?
Myles: It helps us out, because when you finish a record, a lot of times you lose your perspective. You don't know, you're too close to it and you just don't know what your fan base is going to dig and not dig. So it helps us wade through all that.
So when you went through them, were your surprised?
Mark: Well one song we think the audio got jacked up. Oh, it was "Poison in your Veins." Someone stepped on a cable and people didn't hear half the song. So when the ratings came in, that one ranked not as high as we thought it would. Then somebody informed us that the audio got messed up.
Which one won by the way?
Myles: "Show Me A Leader." Or wait, wait, as far as what the fans liked?
Yes, the fans' choice.
Mark: The highest liked song was "Losing Patience" but as far as single choices, "Show Me A Leader" and "My Champion"  were up there at the top.
Did that affect, ultimately, what you guys were going to release as your first single, since "Show Me A Leader" was picked as one of your fans' favorites?
Myles: I think, ultimately, we played the record for so many different people and a lot of people kept coming back to "Show Me A Leader." Personally, I was kind of surprised. I thought that was going to be more of just an album track. Mark believed in that one all along. You just never know. It was kind of like through the fan listening party and through "tastemakers" listening to the record. Actually, I think the person that ultimately decided what the single was going to be... believe it or not ... we were playing a venue and we were backstage. Mark brought his guitar tech in and we said "Frosty, what do you think our first single should be? Listen to these three songs and tell us." And Frosty halfway into "Show Me A Leader" was like "There's your single!" So, I think Frosty finally tipped the scale.
Mark: The thing about "Show Me A Leader," the intro makes the song. So when it goes to radio, they edited out a minute and a half of that song. Without the intro its a decent song, but it's not a great song. It's a great song with the intro on it, so we kind of shot ourselves in the foot a little bit when it comes to picking a first single that's five minutes long.
Well for the record, I think it's a great song even without the intro. The intro does add kind of like a creepy moodiness to it, so I'm back and forth. I understand why they had to cut it for radio ... but I prefer the five minute cut, personally. Now, Mark, on this album you brought in a guitar you never [recorded with] before.
Mark: I brought in a seven-string guitar and I remember talking to Myles and saying "What are we going to do on this album to make it different." We wanted to use some alternate tuning. I wanted to use a seven-string guitar. Myles stuck to the six-string, but it's just that we want to keep on challenging ourselves and branch out.
For people who say that this is heavier, do you think that this is a heavier sounding album as compared to Fortress and AB 1 & 2?
Myles: I don't know. Personally, to me I think we've always had an element of heavy. It's just a matter of how many up tempo songs. There are quite a few up tempo songs on this record. So maybe that's what people mean by heavy, I'm not really sure.
Yeah, I'm not sure either. I didn't get to go to your party.
(Mark and Myles laughing)
Myles: Awww, I'm sorry.
Next time for sure. (laughing) So the next question we have is aimed at Myles. Between touring for Alter Bridge and touring for Slash, it seems vocally that you never stop. What do you do to protect your voice?
Myles: It's a life of no fun (laughing). Lets just put it this way, drinking is only an occasional thing. It can't be an all the time thing when you're touring as much as we do. I just try and be smart about it, do my warm ups and just be aware that my instrument is always with me.
It seems like you are always doing festivals, but you definitely don't have a problem filling a stadium all on your own. What is it about festivals that you like?
Mark: Getting in front of new fans. There's a lot of people out here today that aren't familiar with us. Hopefully after today there's 15 or 16 that buy a concert ticket down the road.
Oh, only 15 or 16. (laughing) I've seen you [Mark] on Shiprocked twice now. The joke was always that everyone wanted AB but they never thought it would happen. How did he get you to jump on board? Like, literally, get on the boat.
Myles: You know what, I think it was just one of those things where I had to get over my fear of boats.
You have a fear of boats?
Myles: Yeah, ever since I saw Titanic... I'm not a big fan of the idea of sinking.
I promise you, your fans will throw you a life raft. They will not let you go down with the ship. Anything else you wanted to add before we wrap it up?
Myles: You know what, we're just excited to be out playing and hopefully y'all dig The Last Hero, out October 7th.
Mark: And we'll be back in the states on tour in January, so look forward to that.
Thank you guys so much for sitting with us today, we appreciate your time.
If you missed their set at Louder Than Life last weekend, we've got you (visually) covered.

Photo Credit: Robin Ervolina

Alter Bridge rounded off their day in Louisville with a rock show for the ages. They went on stage for a 45 minute set, blowing the proverbial roof off the Champions Park festival.

Catch their new CD “The Last Hero,” out tomorrow. Be sure to pick your copy, and catch them out on tour in January. Click here for all things AB so you're not left out!

Dance Gavin Dance: Mothership

You know how teenagers think they know it all? Well, sometimes they do.
When Dance Gavin Dance’s Mothership hit my inbox I took the opportunity to listen because they’re one of my daughter’s favorite bands going back about a decade. Even though I screamed “Turn that shit down!” through her locked bedroom door more times than either of us had the patience to count, I decided to give Mothership a shot.
And that was it. Really
Okay, it was more like this:
Drum kick
A few bars of guitar feedback
Cue unclean vocalist Jon Mess

Give me that canvas/let me paint some shit

Cue Tilian Pearson’s clean heavenly vocals

Pass me some poison/let me take a hit

Then back and forth they take their turns taking my breath.

I’m just embarrassed and comfortably numb
But failure is painful and lying is fun
Dress coat, cocktails, looking so fancy
We feel like we’re a little bit classy
Cheers to the fact that we’re not dead

I’m sitting back. I’m leaning forward. My jaw is on the ground. One hand draws back my hair, the other presses my earbud in deeper. Then together Mess and Pearson sing:

Swimming with the sharks but we’re still not dead yet

And then the melody changes. Then again. Then again. Then Tilian sings:

Don’t close your eyes tonight/perfect melodies are hard to find

I click the pause button. This is all over the place. It's almost biblical, the way the unclean meets the clean, vocally speaking. Melodies change abruptly, story lines, if they exist at all, are esoteric. I’ve never heard anything quite like Dance Gavin Dance, and I’ve never wanted to write the perfect review so bad in my life. So I click play, take out a pen, and try to capture lightening on paper. I research Dance Gavin Dance and vow to devour their entire catalog so I can write the most informed and on point review of my life.
Two months later I’m still trying to write this review, and Mothership comes out tomorrow. I have memorized every song on this CD. There are no misses. I’ve listened to all Dance Gavin Dance’s CDs, and fallen in love with all their lead vocalists. I’ve decided there is no point in comparing one CD to another any more than I can compare Jonny to Kurt to Tilian. I can draw some parallels; for instance you get another song about the Robot With Human Hair ("Young Robot"). Maybe a few more connections can be made by their oldest diehard fans, but me? I’m a new diehard fan, so I’m writing this review to you, the person who hasn’t heard of Dance Gavin Dance, or hasn't listened to them. I’m going to tell you that this is one of the most amazing productions of the year. I’m going to tell you that Mothership is like nothing you’ve heard from any other band. It’s not a scream rock verse followed by a clean vocal chorus, like many pop punk and alt core bands. There is no formula followed here. Each song is like unwrapping a unique gift from a friend who knows you completely and excels in delighting you with surprises.
I can’t give you a play-by-play because Mothership is a fully immersive experience, but let me give you some highlights. “Young Robot” turns so many hooks it’s dizzying. How a song can be so cohesive yet so scrambled is baffling. “Flossie Dickey Bounce” starts with a screaming intro of "Cocaine cringe fest," and somehow turns into the most lovely and heart aching song of courtship and regret. “Deception” shows off Tilian’s soaring vocals, as he weaves his siren song in and around Mess' throaty roar. "Inspire the Liars”  has Pearson turning his instrument loose, screaming as beautifully as he croons. Every song on Mothership feels like flipping through a bipolar’s diary. There is anger:

I don’t even fucking feel a thing

And then there are vulnerable confessions:

I just crashed my car / and it got me thinking of you / So I just thought I’d call to tell you / I still love you

Each song vacillates within and throughout the whole of the collection. When the final song, “Man of the Year” ends the CD with the lyrics

Don’t be alarmed to discover / siren songs can pull you under

I burst into a tearful smile. It’s not unusual for a song to fit your mood, or even create one. Listening to Mothership is more like having someone read your mind, then giving all your voices, a voice.
It’s been a long time since a band gripped me like this. Maybe this is the magic of Dance Gavin Dance. Maybe it’s just magic. Either way, I recommend you find out for yourself when Mothership goes on sale tomorrow. Also, hug your teenager and tell her to turn that shit up. You just never know.

Louder Than Life Artist Feature: Being As An Ocean

Written by Robin Ervolina
If you're not familiar with Being As An Ocean, let me introduce you to them via their music first. Because honestly, oh my G-d.
Meet singer Joel Quartuccio. I'm obsessed with his vocals. He looks like the guy one expects to handle unclean vocals for hardcore bands. Hang on though, because when he starts singing, *poof* mind blown. One man with many souls inside him (especially evident at 3:37), one for every mood and monster in me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3MBv5-H9oE&index=1&list=PLoNBH0bst4R8a9MF40-eYUWJtCD_i0zJB
Spoken word. Clean vocals. Haunting melody. Also, meet Michael McGough, guitarist and (clean) vocalist. It should be clear that they're not your usual metalcore screamo outfit. There is complexity to their sound and their message. It's poetry and passion, boasting intelligent, insightful, masterfully crafted lyrics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD5IG-X42lQ
Being As An Ocean take their name from a quote by Mahatma Gandhi; "You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty." In regards their faith, they state they are "Christian people who love to write music," but do not claim to be a Christian band.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng2JnoZ7jIo
Being As An Ocean was formed in Alpine, California in 2011. They have three LPs to their credit, Dear G-D, How We Both Wondrously Perish, and the eponymous Being as an Ocean. Catch their Louder Than Life festival appearance Sunday October 1st at 2:10 on the Zorn Stage.

Delain: Moonbathers

Written by Robin Ervolina
Dutch symphonic metal band Delain released their fifth CD, Moonbathers, last month. It's nothing unexpected; driving melodies, lavish orchestration, and the angelic voice of Charlotte Wessels. In other words, the same old, exceptional Delain. The anticipated follow-up to February's Lunar Prelude speaks to familiar archetypes. There are 11 theatrical songs on love and loss, good and evil, and of course, perseverance. Guest vocalist Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy, ex-The Agonist) returns to kick off the first track,"Hands of Gold." Power riffs and strings forge an aggressive melody, perhaps Delain's heaviest offering to date. The contrast between Wessels' airiness and White-Gluz' eerie gutteral death growls is sublime. It's the perfect song to set the mood and tone of a CD that feels more like a performance than a recording.
Beyond that, there aren't many highlights to note. Each song is as exquisite as the one before. Every musician in Delain is a master of their craft, so perfection is a given. Wessels may, if it's possible, be even better than in previous recordings. In "Chrysalis - The Last Breath," her familiar falsetto is on display, but she belts out some hair-raising notes from her chest. If there are any other surprises, it's the Queen cover "Scandal" with its Abba-On-Metal feel.
Moonbathers is a gorgeous combination of assailing metal tunes and etherial ballads, delivering an elegant and majestic escape. In other words, it's exactly what Delain lovers have come to expect.

Louder Than Life Artist Feature: Motionless in White

"Sit down and shut up so I can sing you your fucking love song." - Eighteen Visions

Written by Robin Ervolina
That saying, "Write about what you know" is absolutely worthless when writing about something I love, and I love Motionless in White. I get bogged down in the details of why and how as I am mesmerized by the pull of the music and the pain in the lyrics. I try to shoo my emotions away long enough to tell you about their history, their growth, their catalog, but it's pointless. Motionless isn't emotionless; you feel their music all the way deep down in the murky basement of your soul where it dredges up memories and comforts your demons. I'm going to try to give you a 101 on Motionless in White to get you ready for their set at Louder Than Life, but if I go down the rabbit hole, don't say I didn't warn you.
Motionless in White is straight outta Scranton, formed by Chris "Motionless" Cerulli in 2005 (other founding members have since left the band). Chris handles the intense vocals, a mix of clean and scream, and is joined by Ricky "Horror" Olson (rhythm guitar), Devin "Ghost" Sosa (bass), Ryan Sitkowski (lead guitar), Josh Balz (keyboards), and when touring, Vinny Mauro (drums). Their debut EP, The Whorror (2007) was eventually released as a full-length album When Love Met Destruction (2009). They've produced another three killer albums, Creatures (2011), Infamous (2012) and my favorite, Reincarnate (2014). On June 23, 2016 they put out a single "570" from their forthcoming studio album expected to drop in 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Na3sECLYI8
I love it when people ask me to describe Motionless in White (cue the rabbit hole). Chris can growl and scream with the best of them, but when he indulges in clean vocals, it's a sweet break from the scream cave. Expect blast beats and breakdowns and metal riffs galore. Depending on the song, the mood, your baggage, you can take what you want from them. If you're a horror fan, they've got you covered. Love metalcore? Check. Industrial your cup of tea? Done. In the past they've been compared to Marilyn Manson, but I gotta disagree, mostly because I love Motionless and I loathe Manson (it's a deep rabbit hole, Guys). What's interesting about Motionless in White is they seem comfortable exploring a variety of genres to create an experience for their fans that is wholly unique. They are exquisite to listen to, and with a macabre appearance and an uneasy vibe, Motionless in White live engages all the senses, inviting audience interaction and participation.
MiW derive their name from the song "Motionless and White" by Eighteen Visions, a song I quoted in the beginning of this rabbit hole doxology. It perfectly sums up how I feel when I listen to Motionless in White, minus the sitting down part, and I devour every fucking song as if it truly were written to shut me up.
When a band body slams your shit away through your earbuds, you'd do well to wear pads and a helmet if you're going to actually get in their pit. Whether you're dwelling in the beautiful chaos or jamming from the sidelines, I'll be looking for you at the Monster Stage at 3:45 for Motionless in White.