Black metal masters Behemoth are leveraging the attention garnered from their recent cover of The Cure to share their most exciting music to date.
Behemoth is a band that needs no introduction. For the better part of thirty years, the Polish metal titans have been blazing a trail entirely their own through the world of music. They are partially responsible for making black metal something people around the globe recognize as art, and they spare no expense in seeing just how far they can push themselves as both musicians and creatives. No two Behemoth offerings are the same, but the group’s latest, A Forest, is in a league all its own.
A four-track release arriving just coronavirus cabin fever is setting in, A Forest speaks to Behemoth’s relentless pursuit of musical mastery. Highlighted by a cover of The Cure’s 1980 track “A Forest,” which appears twice (once as a studio cut and once as a live cut), the record showcases the group’s innate ability to make any idea their own. Behemoth builds on the already dark themes and energy of the original track to produce an expansive black metal offering that lures you into a brooding state of madness from where there is no escape. It’s a song you want to live inside, and the video plays like the arthouse horror film:
At the risk of overstating its brilliance, A Forest is Behemoth at their very best. Their cover of The Cure transforms a classic rock song into something far more sinister without sacrificing the core elements that make the track great, which is enough to warrant a purchase, but the EP also features two new songs that fans won’t soon forget. “Shadows ov Ea Cast Upon Golgotha” finds the group delivering a driving anthem with ferocious riffs and thundering drums, while the closer, “Evoe,” feels like a call to arms for the devil’s army. It’s the kind of heavy songwriter that inspires uprisings and leads to chaos in the streets. In other words, it’s precisely what we need.
If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.
Nothing you have ever read or been told about life in the music business can prepare for the day when you realize it is possible for you to make a career in this business. Maybe that is due to the fact that so few ever find themselves in a place where they truly feel as if they belong in the world of music, or maybe it’s because the individual journeys we all take to become the people we are meant to be are so different that know two paths to success are the same. Instinct tells us it’s probably the latter, but emotions leads to believe the former. Wherever you stand, don’t worry. You are not alone.
The longer you live and work in the world of music the stranger a place the industry becomes, and that is largely through no fault of your own. We each decide to chase the dream of a life dedicated to music for our reasons, but somewhere along the way we come in contact with other dreamers whose success we wish to see just as much as our own. We believe, on some level, that if one of us succeeds then there is a chance we all can do the same, but time has proven again and again that is rarely the truth. What usually happens, as hard as it may be to admit, is that a select few achieve lasting success while everyone else, including those who earn fleeting notoriety with a hit song or album, find an alternative path or career. This is neither good or bad, but rather the way things are. It’s life, plain and simple.
What separates those who work on the business side of the industry from those one the artistic side during this time is what motivates you to continue fighting for your place in music with each passing year. Where artists typically attempt a career in hopes of sharing their ideas and creations with the world, those working behind the scenes often enter the industry to help others succeed. The publicists, managers, bloggers, journalists, podcasters, lighting techs, guitar techs, and even label owners in this business usually got their start in music because of their love for a specific band or genre of music. They didn’t attempt to spend their lives behind keyboards or sitting backstage to work with just anyone, but rather with someone or some group they believed could change the world with their music. Those professionals dedicate their lives, especially early on in their careers, to making the talent that lead them into music as widely recognized as possible. It’s how they cut their teeth, so to say, and it’s how they began networking toward the jobs they will have in the future.
The things is, not every artist that every professional believes in will become a talent whose career spans several decades and numerous albums. A few will succeed, but the vast majority will not, and as time passes those individuals who started toward a life in music because of a specific band or sound begin question why they remain. If the world has moved on from the music that gave them a door into the music business, why should the business keep a place for them? Professionals, whether intentionally or subconsciously, often tie their success to the success of those they aim to help the most. Be it PR clients, a band signed to a new indie label, or even the seven bands a blogger covers on their site each and every week, the success or failure of those artists reflects on the individuals who dedicate their lives to making them a household name.
When the artists you loved one day one begin to fade away, the key to keeping your passion alive lies in the world of new music discovery. Regardless of the genre you claim to love or work in, allow yourself to entertain the notion that something completely different may take you by surprise. Scour the net, listen to every promo you can, and do you best to take in the ever-evolving world of popular music. You probably won’t love most of what you hear, but somewhere along the line you will hear an album, artist, or sound that fills you with the same passion for music that first lead you into this industry. Who knows? Maybe the artist you discover has been around for a decade, but their music is knew to you. Use that renewed faith in the arts to fuel your work, and look for ways to further align yourself with whatever it is you’ve begun to adore.
Slingshot Dakota, a two-piece group from Pennsylvania with an indie rock sound that isn’t afraid of sonic exploration, recently saved my professional life. As the new year began I felt an overwhelming sense of loss in regards to the bands who had inspired me to pursue a life in music. Pop-punk was the place I had called home for over a decade, but after seeing even the biggest acts from my early days begin to hang it up I thought that perhaps I too needed to reevaluate my life’s work. If bands with fans around the world were capable of reaching a point where they could no longer support themselves then how was I, a blogger who had made his mark on the industry by promoting those same bands, going to stay afloat? My current job isn’t connected to pop punk per se, but my passion to music is, and I worried that aspect of myself would begin to fade as I found myself working with more and more artists that were unlike anything I had gotten in this business to help succeed.
Around this very same time a friend at Topshelf Records sent me Break, the fourth full-length album from Slingshot Dakota. I had seen the band’s name floating around the alternative music scene for as long as I could remember, but I could not recall if I had ever given them a chance, so on a Monday with temperatures in the low teens I put the album on with not a single expectation on my mind. “You,” the album’s shimmering opener, poured through my headphones with an inherent sense of urgency that was hard to deny. My toes began to tap along with the music, and my head began to bob. By the time the fourth song, “Stay,” began, I discovered I had essentially stopped working altogether. My monitor was open, an email was half-written, and my eyes were glued to the screen, but my mind was a million miles away. For the first time in what felt like years I was completely carried away by the music of a band who I had only just discovered, and as the album carried on I allowed myself to drift further and further out to sea in hopes of being fully engulfed by their sound. If music can cast a spell, then Slingshot Dakota had me in a trance, and though I was aware of what was happening I had no desire to see it end.
By the time I reached “Storytellers,” Break’s killer second to last track, I knew my life would never be the same. Slingshot Dakota had entered my world with the ferocity and catchiness of Miley’s “Wrecking Ball” and left me emotionally devastated, yet begging for more. In one album with just nine tracks the duo of Carly Comando and Tom Patterson had flipped my world upside down in the same manner Blink-182 did when I was just twelve years old. For about an hour I was that same kid who first fell in love with music, and when the album was over I immediately reached for the repeat button while also grabbing my phone to tweet about how great my first impression had been. I was hooked, and I remain that way to this day.
Break finally arrives in stores this Friday, and next week I have my first chance to see Slingshot Dakota live. I imagine myself being calm, cool, and collected while shaking their hands, but in reality I will probably resemble Wayne and Garth falling at the feet of Steven Tyler in Wayne’s World 2. If Break hadn’t entered my life I don’t know that the fire required to make a life in this industry work would still be burning inside my soul. Slingshot Dakota saved my life, and they did so by reminding me why I got in this industry in the first place. They can do the same for you too, if you only give them your time.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.
Whenever I travel somewhere to speak I am often asked about the place I call home. The first response I give is usually that I am from Michigan, which is true, but to be completely honest my journey in this world actually began in the city of Bowling Green, Ohio. My family raise me not far from the hospital for the first nine years of my life, but after the company where my father worked was bought by a bigger company we were forced to relocate in order to maintain our quality of life. It was a tough decision, but ultimately it set into motion numerous events that would lead me to become the person I am today. I have no regrets about this, and from what I understand neither do my parents. Moving on was hard, but sometimes in life the hardest things to do are also the things we need the most.
Before Their Eyes are a hard rock band from the same area of Ohio that I once called home, and the ages of the members are not far off from my own. I wouldn’t go as far as to say we know where one another are coming from, but there is something to the determination and clear dedication to craftsmanship found in the music of Before Their Eyes that I hope is also evident in everything I attempt. When their music plays I know that somewhere in the world there is a group of young men who have poured every ounce of creativity they have between them into the product I am enjoying, and it makes me want to give just as much of myself to the people who consume what I create. They motivate me to be a better version of myself, and while that has always been the case with their music there is something special about their new album, Midwest Modesty, that furthers these efforts in ways I never previously though possible.
While I could pick apart every message and instruction found in Midwest Modesty, which part of me does desire to do, I’ve chosen to use this Monday Motivation to highlight a single song that I believe summarizes what makes the music of Before Their Eyes so great. “How It Feels To Be Defeated” is a song created with the help of Craig Owens, another midwest native, that deals with loss, the feeling of hopelessness, and the realization that time will continue to pass whether or not you take it upon yourself to move forward. It’s a haunting and at times heartbreakingly honest portrayal of grief set to music, and when it plays you cannot help becoming entranced by every note, lyric, and chord Before Their Eyes chooses to share. I’m going to talk about it more, but you should really take time to hear the song now:
The thing no one tells you about dealing with loss and/or grief is that it is largely an adventure that is unique to the person experiencing it. There will be moments that can be likened to the experiences of others, sure, but ultimately the path we take in order to reclaim our lives is one we must carve ourselves. The things lost and found along the way, however numerous they may be, are again unique to each and every individual. “How It Feels To Be Defeated” understands this concept, and in the opening lines they walk through the initial realization that life as we know it has collapsed. Maybe we lost someone we love, or maybe we simply lost our way, but at this point there is no undo button. There is nothing that can be done to change what has happened, so all we are left with is the present and the knowledge that we will continue on while others do not. Even if we do nothing, time will carry us, ever-moving and ever-evolving.
As the song progresses, you hear the desperation that comes from not knowing the answer of what will come next. Any experience with loss, no matter how small, will irrevocably change the world as we know it moving forward. The way our lives flow, the people we talk to, and the things we wish to talk about may all be changed by the loss of just one element of our daily lives. The uncertainty that is created in the presence of unavoidable change is one that lives deep in the soul of everyone in that moment, and it’s on the individual to navigate their way to clearer thoughts. You don’t have to know the next step right away, but you cannot live in fear of making another move. Lack of movement is still a decision, and the damage done from choosing to live with grief can be as painful as the initial loss, if not more so. I know I have tried to live with my grief, and I can tell you firsthand it is not a path you want to follow. The pain never goes numb. It just grows and evolves, coming to light in different and often frightening ways as time goes on.
When the song reaches its end, which also coincides with what I would consider the lyrical climax, we’re told of a feeling in the stomach of someone dealing with grief that tells them there is more in this life for them. Maybe it comes in the form of a fleeting notion, or maybe it comes in the form of a new person entering their life, but at some point everyone dealing with grief has to grapple with the idea that they must find a way to keep living. As much as we may feel we want to live with our grief, it’s simply not something humans were ever equipped to do. We were not meant to grieve endlessly for those we have lost or the things we wanted that never came to be. We were meant to grow and learn, evolving as we need to in order to survive. Living with grief is not survival, and to be completely honest once more it’s worse than defeat. To be defeated implies that you tried to move on and failed, and if that happens then you’re absolutely entitled to take more time to grieve if such a thing is needed, but you cannot dwell in heartache forever. No one can.
When I listen to this song, as well as the rest of Midwest Modesty, I am inspired to make the most of the life I have been given. Songs like “How It Feels To Be Defeated” are reminders that life is both precious and short, with no one being promised anything more than the breath currently held within their lungs. People, places, and things will all turn to dust in time, including our own bodies, and there is nothing we can do to stop that from becoming true. The best we can hope for is to live long enough to see ourselves become the people we know we are capable of being. Not everyone will get to that point, and we need to make time to mourn them when they pass, but we cannot let the loss of others prevent us from living. Our time on this planet is short, and the music of Before Their Eyes is a great reminder that we need to make the most of the time we have been given.
Midwest Modesty arrives in stores this Friday, December 18. Do yourself a favor and pre-order a copy today.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder o fAntique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.
Music is a very subjective thing. Every album you love is hated by someone in the world, and every album you hate has throngs of fans in various cities and towns. The song that makes you happy may make others sad, or you may cry while everyone else starts to dance. Subjectivity is part of what makes any form of art great, and in the case of music it also makes most things very personal. The vast majority of musicians tries to connect with listeners by sharing their most emotional moments, and that is how it has been since the dawn of popular music. Far more rare are popular artists whose music exists to promote meaningful change, but if you look hard enough they can be found, and their message needs to be heard.
Enter Shikari are Rage Against The Machine for the kids born during, after, or just before the Zak De La Rocha lead band first burst onto the national music scene in 1992. They’re UK bred world travelers who see the planet as one global community and write songs promoting unity through compassion and hard work. They want to better the world, but understand real change starts within. Through a one of a kind take on punk they convey their battle cries to a fan base of thousands eagerly waiting for the next piece of perfectly balanced, yet undeniably anarchic rock based life advice to be released, all while pushing the genre boundaries to the absolute extreme. The band’s latest release, The Mindsweep: Hospitalised, is actually a remix record, and they’ve brought along some of the most promising names in electronic music to help alter their work.
Now there are two very important things happening here. First, Enter Shikari are furthering the potential reach of their message by attempting to appeal to a new set of music fans while giving current followers something new to enjoy. Second, and perhaps most admirable, they are bringing a number of hardworking musicians into the thriving community of passionate music supporters they have been nurturing since their inception. Enter Shikari are broadening the horizons for both their fans and professional friends, all while potentially furthering their career at the same time, it’s a win-win for everyone involved, and it comes at a time when the world desperately needs a band focused on something more than romance and heartache.
This may be a simple music industry blog, and Haulix may be a small company in the big scheme of things, but are better off than 90%, if not more, of the world’s population. We live in the richest nation, we never worry about having food or water, and we all have access to health care at a moment’s notice. On a more personal level, we know we are loved. We have the confidence to be who we are because we have family and friends who believe in us, and as cheesy as it may sound there is not a lot else you could really demand out of life. We have everything when most have barely anything, so it’s on us to be the force for positive change they need, and the same goes for you. If you’re reading this now you have more power than most of the world’s population and you have a responsibility, perhaps even a moral duty, to use it for good. To help your fellow man, woman, and child to live a life as good, if not better than your own.
Enter Shikari urge listeners to consider all of this, as well as what they want out of life for themselves, and then provide the soundtrack for your efforts to change. They’re there with you, rooting for you and reminding you that this global community is looking out for you as well, and we have to hope we get as good as we give. We have to believe that is we welcome are fellow humans with opens arms and minds that they will treat us the same. If not now, then in time, and while we wait we can strive to further better ourselves. Life is about the constant pursuit of happiness, and that means you are always in motion, always making the most out of life. To do that you have to be honest with yourself about who you are, how you could be better, and what you need to do to get there. Again, Enter Shikari exist to provide the soundtrack.
You may not consider yourself a fan of EDM, but that doesn’t mean the latest Enter Shikari release is not for you. On the contrary, I’ve found it’s often the albums that most challenge our comfort zone that most influence change. There is something about the way those records force the listener to engage with the music that helps further reinforce a song’s message, and in the case of Enter Shikari that means learning to see the world around you in a whole new way. As vocalist Rou Reynolds once wrote, “Countries are just lines drawn in the sand with a stick.” You are part of a global community, and whether you choose to believe it or not your well being is connected to every other individual on this rock we call home. You may be a citizen of whatever town you call home, but you are also a citizen of the world, and as such you should take an invested interest in what is happening to our shared home. Be the force for change you want to see in the world and you will influence others to do the same. Then, and only then, can we start to better existence for ourselves and our fellow man. Enter Shikari know this already, and with releases like The Mindsweep: Hospitalised they are trying their hardest to make sure that message is spread far and wide. Don’t miss out.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.
Working in music has provided me with a lot of opportunities to speak with young people about their experiences with music. If you ever get the chance to do this, be it with a sibling or someone else, I highly recommend doing it. Young adults who are still amazed at the fact there is music beyond what their parents enjoy and whatever is currently hot at radio are amongst the most dedicated music fans on the planet. They consume everything, old and new, simply because they want to know what else exists. Some stuff they enjoy, and thanks to the age of streaming they can burn through most artists’ discographies the same day they discover them if they so desire, but the vast majority of material is in one ear and lost in space. It becomes the kind of thing they tell their friends they’ve heard so they don’t risk sounding uncool at the next big party, but in reality they only know that one song someone shared on Twitter that one time. Their video was probably cool.
Anyways, what I love about conversations with young music fans is their willingness to spin practically anything at least once. They don’t put much weight in names or genres, at least not at first, and I believe that allows them to enjoy music in a way far more pure than our consumption as jaded adults. We hear a name, or a genre, or even a track title, and we make judgments. We think, “Oh, this is going to be another one of these artists/bands,” and immediately draw some conclusion. It sucks, and it’s something that is incredibly hard to find a way around. In fact, I don’t have a solution. At 28, my plan is to simply say yes to everything I am able and experience whatever comes my way. Sometimes that results in epic post-rock amateurs doing their best to spin new versions out of ideas everyone who has ever heard Explosions In The Sky could recognize, other times that means experiencing some truly, truly terrible souther hip-hop. It’s a roll of the dice every time, but it’s always an experience that gives me a good story.
A band with a name like Fit For An Autopsy is probably not one you would expect to see accompanying a headline like ‘Monday Motivation,’ but if that is the case then you’ve been several under-appreciating the world of modern metal. For the better part of a decade Fit For An Autopsy have been finding unique ways to express themselves through the heaviest and most aggressive music this side of Sweden’s black metal scene. Critics writing about their music often use descriptive phrases like ’skull-crushingly heavy’ or ‘relentlessly brutal,’ but that doesn’t really do the band and their art justice. That isn’t to say such phrases are untrue, because they often fit the sound of a FFAA release to a ’T,’ but it’s the way the band delivers their take on heavy music that makes their art something everyone should find time to consume.
Without naming any band or artist specifically, there are many in the world of music today who are getting by on having just enough talent to write a good hook or create a catchy riff. Their music is fine, but after one or two releases it becomes clear they are pretty much creating the same sound over and over with only slight variation. It’s as if they believe changing things too much will scare fans and their money away, which is the one thing they fear more than anything else. Creative freedom be damned! As long as people keep asking for the band or artist to be one thing they will never attempt to be anything more because they have no desire to evolve in the first place. The fact they made it big in the first place is a miracle, and they will ride the idea that first made them popular until long after album sales have taken a nosedive.
I don’t hate artists like those described above. In fact, there are many I enjoy precisely because they can be relied upon to create solid albums every time they enter the studio, but I never look to those acts to create records that will forever stand the test of time. In order to create that kind of release an artist or group must challenge themselves, as well as their listeners, by taking bold and unexpected chances with their music. They must throw caution to the wind and see what happens when they attempt to do something other than whatever has been working for them up to that point. It’s the kind of thing that only happens when someone or some group put their careers on the line for the sake of creative expression, and even then there is no guarantee the final results will work in their favor. They rarely do, if we’re being completely honest, but for those who pull it off their is an ever-increasingly window of opportunity for growth and continued success that few ever experience.
Fit For An Autopsy could easily be a band that created the same good, but never truly great album for their entire career and they would have likely found a way to make things work for at least as long as they have now, if not longer. Fortunately for everyone in the world of metal that is not the kind of band they want to be, and with the release of their new album they have final taken the steps and risks necessary to produce something really special. Absolute Hope, Absolute Hell is a thrilling release that captures the brute strength and unabashed sincerity of Fit For An Autopsy’s music in a way no prior creation of theirs has ever been able to covey. It’s proof that being true to yourself and doing what feels right for you is the smart play when forced to choose between creative integrity and financial success. While money may be nice in the short term, there is no feeling worse than knowing you could be doing something better than you are if only you had the gull to make a change. Fit For An Autopsy have no desire to live with regret, so they poured their all into Absolute Hope, Absolute Hell and everyone who hears the album will be better off as a result.
If you’re reading this today thinking there is no way in (absolute) hell you could find inspiration in metal, let me be the first to tell you that you are wrong. Like any style music performed well, great metal has an ability to instill a sense of confidence in its consumer that is possessed by no other medium. It’s as if knowing that the music you’re hearing is what the artist wanted to convey somehow makes it okay for us to do whatever it is we believe is needed in our own lives. I don’t know why life works that way, but it does and I am forever thankful. I am also thankful for Fit For An Autopsy, because it is their latest album that has given me the strength to do what is needed in my own life as of late. I can be a better me because they are working to be a better them, and I think anyone who experiences their new album will feel the same.
This week – be bold. Take risks you have been avoiding for days, weeks, or months and do that thing you know you should. Also, buy the new Fit For An Autopsy album. It’s really good.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.
There is a moment in the film Straight Outta Compton when a young Ice Cube comments on a group of people protesting his music with, “Speak a little truth and people lose their minds.” It’s a line of dialogue more than likely made up by a team of writers hoping to drive home the impact of the group’s radical take on gangster rap, not to mention the way said material irrevocably changed hip-hop culture. While that is a fine sentiment, not to mention better than average script work, I think it’s a comment that can be applied to success in music in a far more general sense. A good hook and catchy melody will get you far, but if you can forge a personal connection with the listener then you have established a bond far stronger than the strength of any single.
New Jersey folk-rock heroes The Front Bottoms are perhaps the best modern example of how adding a little truth to alternative music can cause people to lose their minds. The group has been carving their own niche in the world since 2007, and along they way they have hooked fans who would otherwise claim to only enjoy punk rock, folk, americana, indie, shoe gaze, or some seemingly random combination of any two of the previously named genres. The Front Bottoms were never the type to fit easily into a single genre classification, and part of what has made their continued rise through the underground ranks so impressive is their persistence at defying any simple explanation. They are a rare gem in a world filled with knockoffs, and their ability to retain such a high standing amongst music fans for the better part of the last decade is owed largely to their unabashed lyricism.
Take “Laugh Til I Cry” one of many promotional singles released to promote the group’s upcoming album, Back On Top, for example. The music hooks you from the beginning, and like most songs in the band’s catalog there is an inherent danceability to the way everything falls together despite what is being said. Vocalist Brian Sella sings of a relationship gone awry, but not before both people involved fell into a slump where neither is willing to admit defeat. Brian realizes he lied to himself about what makes him happy in order to make his relationship work, and now he feels trapped by his own life. He’s a weak person, or at least he sees himself as such, and there is a true fear that his life will remain unsatisfying until his death simply because he doesn’t typically believe himself capable of such disruption.
Again, all this transpires while the band plays music that could easily fit onto a radio or house party rotation, and that is kind of the point. Brian is lying to himself about the person he is and the things he wants. He’s been doing so for so long he eventually started to believe his own bullshit, but that delusion was only temporary. He knows now something must be done, and over the course of the song we listen as he battles with his own self doubt to find the strength to move on. What he eventually finds, and what more than often turns out to be the case in real life, is that his partner feels the same. She is just as trapped as him, and together they perpetuate the lie they are pleased with one another. It’s toxic, and the panic of realizing what his life has become eventually leads Brian to feel sick.
I could pick any song from The Front Bottoms three full length albums, as well as their EPs, and find equally complex, yet inherently catchy material divulging the most intimate moments from Sella’s unique human experience. Back On Top, which releases on September 18, is just the latest in a long line of noteworthy material that deserve recognition, but still there is something about it that feels special. Maybe it’s due to the fact the album is the band’s first with Fueled By Ramen Records, the same label that helped launch Paramore into the music stratosphere, or maybe it’s because the singles released so far showcase what is easily the group’s most musically diverse effort to date. Every song, be it “Cough It Out” or “Help,” plays with an undeniable uniqueness that neither the band or any of their peers has been able to touch on before. It’s as if the music on this record could only result from a group of talented people following the same course of self-guided evolution through music as The Front Bottoms, and I wouldn’t rush to say that isn’t the case. The music previewed so far is so entirely the product of the men in this band there is absolutely no way it would have existed unless they chose to stick to the path they started following nearly ten years ago.
We only get so many chances in life to follow our hearts, and I wanted to highlight The Front Bottoms’ music ahead of their new album dropping this week because they represent everything we look for in a Monday Motivation artist. They are unique, driven to succeed, and they rarely, if ever, fall in line with what is considered ‘the norm’ in music today. Everything The Front Bottoms have been able to accomplish, and everything they will accomplish from this moment forward, can only be credited to their fierce determination to stay true to themselves. With each release the band has had an opportunity to take a turn for a more mainstream sound, and I have no doubt Brian Sella could write songs radio listeners want to hear, but that does not seem to be what the band is hoping to accomplish with their career. The music of The Front Bottoms is something created for far more personal reasons, and the group’s continued willingness to share their innermost private thoughts with the world at large is a gift all of us should be grateful we can enjoy. They are following their hearts, and as a result we are able to bare witness to true musical talent at work.
As you’re heading into the week ahead, try and remember that following your dreams is something that gets easier in time. I’m not going to lie and say things will ever be simple, but if you continue to put yourself out there and stay true to who you are then success will come. You might not be a Billboard cover star, and you might night headline Coachella, but those things rarely matter to those who are able to do and create as they please. Those individuals have already won the game of life, and when I hear the music of The Front Bottoms I’m reminded that each of us can reach that kind of success if we’re only willing to work at it. The challenge is great, but our drive to succeed is greater. I believe in you if you believe in me, and even if you don’t believe in yourself I believe you can move mountains. This is your week.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.
I started college in the fall of 2006, which was less than a year after the world experienced the boom of Social Media and we began to recognize the interconnectivity of our lives with technology. Things seemed slower then. Maybe they were, in fact. There was no Twitter, the popularity of texting was still in its infancy, and the careers of young entertainers were still largely developed from gig to gig on the open road. There were one or two Myspace success stories, of course, but most artists were still trying their best to build a fervent following from their hometown out.
Sometimes I think I liked those days more, if only because it allowed artists a little more time to develop their sound and presence before being thrust upon the world at large. Before the age of social media, a bad show was just a bad show. You did your best, and if people weren’t into it everyone would shake their heads and go home wishing things had gone better. It was tough, but it a lot was better than having someone tape that show and post video of it, in full 1080p HD, to YouTube before you even pull out of the venue parking lot. That kind of thing can tarnish an artist’s reputation before they should even be at a point where live show reputation matters a great deal. Not everyone is an arena ready headliner from the moment they pick up a guitar, but for whatever reason the age of immediacy that followed the rise of social media has created a culture that demands perfection from day one, despite several hundred years of human experience and history that tell us most of the greatest creative minds of all time were also, on occasion, absolute disasters.
What I’m trying to say with all of this is that I’m still very much a fan of the long game. I love an overnight success story as much as the next person, but my personal experiences in music have shown me that those who last the longest in this business often did not find success until they had dedicated many years to refining their talent. Flash in the pan success is great, but ultimately fleeting. The people who make a real difference in music as those who toil in the middle, caught between stardom and being unknown, for as long as it takes to get the recognition or opportunity they have worked their entire lives to attain. There is no plateau they seek, only continued progression over time. It’s not about the money or the fame or the success, but rather doing the thing they love to do as well as they can for as long as people will pay them to do so. That’s where the real rewards lie, and that is what I myself hope to find as my career in music (hopefully) continues to develop in the years to come.
It’s with all this in mind that I decided to make today’s Motivation Monday post about eOne’s immensely successful rock group, Pop Evil. Many of you probably know their work, but some of you may not. It doesn’t matter either way, really. You can learn from Pop Evil whether or not you even like the style of radio friendly rock and roll they perform. Their success is not as much about the sound of the music they create as it is their determination to make what they believe is great music regardless of what the outside world told them would sell.
Labels these days don’t always promote the length of time a group has been together, and I have to believe that is due to our obsession with youth and the idea only the young can change the world, but I’ll be the first to tell you Pop Evil spent nearly a decade together before the vast majority of radio rock listeners knew they even existed. The band formed in 2001, but they didn’t receive their first national #1 until nearly the end of 2013. Before then, Pop Evil were just another low level rock band scraping together whatever money they could to get from show to show for many, MANY, years before money and attention came their way. That was okay though, because to them the money and success was always something that would come in time. It wasn’t about being successful tomorrow, it was about working as hard as they could to be they best they could up to, and after, the point when someone other than themselves would give a shit.
When I hear Pop Evil’s music I know the men performing it not only believe in the music, but they believe in themselves. Pop Evil have built a career on doing exactly what they believed was right for them, and through doing so they have developed a dedicated international following that welcomes them with open arms wherever they go. It took a long time to reach this point, but the band never let the length of their journey derail their dreams of staying true to that voice inside their hearts and minds that told them music was their way of life. I’m sure they appreciate the success, but even if it were to go away tomorrow I am confident the band would still be on the road 100-plus days a year, playing for whoever cared enough to see them.
Pop Evil’s new album, Up, hits stores this Friday. The album is filled with potential radio rock hits that I imagine will be very popular with fans young and old, as well as any newcomers who just so happen to discover the band in the months or years ahead. I know you may not be a Pop Evil fan right now, but I challenge you to give the band some time in the days to come. If you look beyond the genre being performed you will see this group, like any real artist or group, are creative people doing their best to express themselves through the medium that they feel best represents them. To hear the music of Pop Evil is to know the members of Pop Evil, and it’s hard to imagine anyone knowing of them and not feeling inspired by their hustle. For over a decade this band has given everything to be themselves, and as long as their is breath in their lungs I believe they will continue to do exactly that, regardless of whatever fanfare may follow. I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine a better way to live life than that.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
We know it would take far too long to highlight every client’s new release each week, so we’re going to choose a few select titles each week that we feel everyone should support. These are albums we will be buying ourselves, and we hope at the very least you give them a proper spin before deciding to purchase something else. James may write the column, but everyone at Haulix will have a say in who gets chosen.
When I first discovered punk music I thought I had finally found my true home. The house I shared with my parents and our pets was nice, and I knew I would always be welcomed there, but the punk community allowed me the opportunity to fully express myself in a place where I felt free from criticism and backlash. I could be anyone I wanted to be as long as whoever I became was not an asshole or someone who made it their mission to tear others down, and in my opinion those rules were easy to follow.
As my involvement in my local music scene began to develop, I found myself believing more and more that it was my responsibility to ensure the punk community that first embraced me continued to thrive so future generations could find a similar safe place for self-expression. The older I get the more I realize it was around that same time I dedicated my life to music. I don’t know that I ever felt like my own person until I was a part of the music community, but I knew as soon as I felt like I could be anyone or anything I wanted that I needed to share that sense of freedom with everyone I was able. This was the motivation behind my desire to start promoting shows while still in high school, which lead to promoting record labels and hosting a radio show in college. From there, I launched a music blog and eventually a record label of my own, all because I wanted to ensure there was some semblance of the music community I loved still around when my kids were old enough to discover alternative music.
Then something started to change within me, and it continues to evolve to this day. Around the time I hit 26 I began to realize I had spent a decade in a scene built on the false promise of eternal youth. While I toiled away trying to make the artists I cared about into major stars my peers began settling into reliable careers, getting married, having kids, and generally going through the motions of become ‘normal adults.’ I felt as young as ever, but the face staring back at me in the mirror spoke of many miles journeyed and many late nights without sleep. While others had sacrificed whatever selfish desires they had in lieu of more common lifestyles, I had forged ahead with a passion for cultivating a friendly community of creative minds, and I believed it was my mission to do so as long as I was able.
What I didn’t admit to myself at that time, but now know all too well, is that no one man is an army. I wanted to be a savior for a scene that didn’t need saving, or at least not saving in the way I thought was necessary. I thought if I stopped caring about punk or the punk community that it would somehow disappear. As if the decades of community and culture that existed before I discovered punk was somehow not enough to sustain if I were not also active in the scene. The truth is, and forever shall continue to be, that I am just one cog in very large machine. I have a role to play in the continued celebration of punk culture, just like you, but there is no need for me to feel as if it will live or die by my actions alone. There are literally thousands of people carrying the torch for the punk community, including one young band who are so good I no longer worry about whether or not young people will find a community of acceptance like the one I once knew. They’re called Neck Deep, and today their new album Life’s Not Out To Get You arrives in stores.
I won’t go into all the reasons Life’s Not Out To Get You is a special release because there are countless reviews circulating online that will provide you with that information. What I will say, and this is not something I often express, is that Neck Deep are the latest torch carrying heroes of pop punk. Like The Wonder Years or Blink-182 before them, Neck Deep have found a way to connect with an entire new generation of music fans around the globe through honest and direct lyricism that cuts through the bullshit of everyday life and examines the true human experience. They write about life, love, loss, and their hometown, which like every hometown is a place beginning to be left, and people hang on every line as if its red-lettered text from the Bible. To some, maybe it is.
When I first heard of Neck Deep I expected them to be like every other pop punk band that has risen to prominence in recent years, which is to say I thought they would be good, but not necessarily all the memorable. Life’s Not Out To Get You proves they are more than that however, and in fact the album makes a strong argument for the group to be claimed the young kinds of the modern pop punk scene. I don’t necessarily relate to every line they utter, but I don’t know that I’m supposed to at this point in my life. There is an aesthetic to the punk community I will always connect with, but that doesn’t mean I will forever relate to talk of break ups and wanting to find something more than whatever you’ve known in life. I’ve been places, seen things, and lived through experiences I will probably never hear mirrored in song, but that doesn’t mean I won’t connect with music ever again. Whenever I hear someone being truly themselves I feel inspired to do the same, and as far as I am concerned there are few, if any, bands in pop punk right now as authentic or infectious as Neck Deep.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him onTwitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.
There is a quote from H.L. Mencken that I have kept on the wall in my office for the better part of the last half decade. It reads:
“Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.”
I could spend several minutes and paragraphs exploring the history of the black flag and its use in counter-culture proclamations against perceived acts of tyranny throughout time, but suffice to say it’s a symbol intended to send a message that a person, group, or community are no longer willing to sit idly by while corruption and wrongdoing continue to thrive. If there is anything we in the alternative music community have learned in 2015 it’s that no one has the right to say they have no place in the battle for a safe, welcoming scene. Between the rampant accusations of sexual misconduct, the low payout artists receive from streaming services, the rise of crimes against bands on the road, and the ever-present, albeit rarely discussed division that exists between various sub-groups of kids who claim to belong in this scene, there has never been a more urgent time for people to speak up, be active, and in other words fight for the community they claim to love.
This isn’t just a message to you, the reader, but also one to myself. I think it’s entirely possible for anyone to get caught in a routine of subpar living because we think we lack the power to drive substantial change,and it often isn’t until an outside forces tells us otherwise that we begin to believe in ourselves. If you feel the same, don’t worry. It’s normal. Too normal, in fact, and that is why it’s important to remain aware of your surroundings at all times. It doesn’t take long to find some corner of alternative music where controversy or problems exist, but it’s almost impossible to find anyone taking it upon themselves to inspire meaning change. It seems everyone wants to be the person who yells “Fire,” but no one wants to grab an extinguisher, and if that trend continues it won’t be long before we no longer have a scene at all.
Stray From The Path have long been a band who wore their opinions and hearts on their sleeve(s). They may have started out as any other unknown hardcore band from Long Island does, clawing and fighting for any piece of publicity they received, but over their last two releases it has become increasingly clear this band has undergone a change that made them something akin to a modern day Rage Against The Machine. I’m not saying they have the same sound or technical prowess of that group, but the reason for their existence, as well as the reason they continue to grow from release to release, seems to revolve almost entirely around the fact they say what others are afraid to even acknowledge. In a time where it seems most artists would rather write about the same three or four topics that have always been a selling point for alternative music than risk being seen as controversial, Stray From The Path are breaking down walls and shoving a fat middle finger in the face of anyone who says they are out of line. Their music is about awareness over sales, and it’s because of their diehard dedication to seeing improvement from the community, as well as the individuals who populate it, that I knew they had to be featured in one of our Motivation Monday posts.
The new Stray From The Path Album, Subliminal Criminals, finds the band being outspoken as ever as they tackle everything from the rise of sexual assault within music, to the misguided complaints of those experiencing ‘first world problems.’ It’s a chaotic and heart-pounding listening experience that can and will inspire you to fight for change in your own life. It’s the kind of record that could provide the soundtrack to the day you finally take a gamble on the lifelong dream you’ve kept a secret from your friends and family, or it could be the score to the day you kick the ass of the bully who has been making fun of you or people you know due to sexual preference. Whatever the case, it will motivate you to make a positive change in the world around you, and in my opinion there could be no better sign of a great record. If you agree, click here and pre-order a copy of Subliminal Criminals today!
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.
I’m being entirely honest with you when I say the last year of my life has not gone anything like I had planned. It’s hard to pinpoint when my life went off the rails and my descent into pessimism began, but if I had to pick a single event it would no doubt be the passing of my best friend, Justin, last November. He was just 25 at the time of his death, and though he had long battled the disease that ultimately took him from us, I had convinced myself he would somehow pull through. He had survived longer than any doctor predicted he would, and I guess I found a way to believe that would always be the case. I was wrong, and for the better part of year now I have struggled to come to terms with the fact he is no longer a phone call away.
As a result of this loss, I’ve found it increasingly hard to put the some amount of passion and faith into my various projects, friends, and hobbies as I once did. Maybe I fear they too will die and leave me with an inescapable sense of loneliness, or maybe I’m simply not ready to put my trust into something I know will eventually fade away. Whatever the case, the weight of Justin’s passing has weighed me down in more ways than I can begin to explain, and it was only within the last few weeks that I realized it was because of his death that I felt this way. I knew there was an anger within in my soul. There was turmoil tearing at my heartstrings, and it had become such dominant force in my everyday life that it was beginning to impact the way I interacted with the world around me.
I was actually sitting at dinner with my parents for the first time since Christmas when the walls I built to hold my emotions in finally broke. We were waiting on pizza, talking about the people we knew and where life had taken them, when I realized it was the absence of Justin that had derailed my entire existence. Not having his constant presence in my life, albeit often thousands of miles from my geographical location, had lead me to almost completely close myself off from the outside world. I had lost my passion for music writing, education, film, and for basically anything else you would say I had even a fleeting interest in six months prior. My life revolved around sleep and/or whatever would give me an escape from the reality I faced without Justin. I was a hermit, for lack of a better word, and it was beginning to kill me.
There is an old saying among people battling addictions of any kind that the first step to finding a better way of life is admitting you have a problem in the first place. For the better part of the last year I have been addicted to avoiding the fact my best friend in the world has died and there is nothing I can do to bring him back. He’s gone, and even if people want to try and force the belief upon me that those who die live on in our hearts I know his earthly body has been turned to ash and scattered in various locations across the country. There is no place to go where I can sit with him and talk about life. There is no car ride I can take to find his eternal resting place. He is everywhere and nowhere at the same time, and I need to find a way to live my life once again.
Miss May I is not a band I would typically claim to be a fan of, but over the last couple weeks I have found a strong connection to their music that has aided me in my fight to reclaim my life. Their new album Deathless, which arrives in stores this week, addresses the last two years of the band’s existence and the various struggles they faced in trying to keep their dream of rock and roll glory alive. Like you or me, the guys in this band are people, and on this recording they find a way to channel the stress, ferocity, and unpredictability of everyday existence into hard-hitting rock music that is just as infectious as it is heavy. I have no doubt some will hear the record and feel it’s little more than mosh pit inducing fodder for Warped Tour crowds and those who shop at Hot Topic, but to me it’s the sound of five guys trying their best to make sense out of the randomness of existence, and in they do a damn fine job of conveying that experience to the listener in a way that is incredibly moving.
I’m not better yet. There are still days I have to fight myself to get out of bed because a part of me believes I will spend the rest of my days walking the Earth in search of someone who is half as loving, fun, or kind as my dead best friend. I hope there will come a time when that is no longer the case, but for now I’d be happy if they only occurred once in a great while. Through it all however, music has helped me in ways no conversation with friends or family could match, and Miss May I has played a large role in giving me the confidence to greet each new day with an open mind. Give Deathless a chance. You won’t regret it.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
