Returning with their first new material in three years, Seether delivers one of the year’s most exciting rock albums with Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum.
The history of rock music is littered with bands that exploded onto the music scene with one or two incredible albums before burning out creatively. Those same artists, many of which are active right now, then focus on touring as long as humanly possible with the hopes people never get tired of the songs they wrote years — or even decades — prior. It’s a sad fact of life that is as common as fist pumps at concerts, but thankfully, Seether is not falling victim to that way of life.
Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum, the band’s first album in three years, reminds the world that Seether is a powerful force. Translated to “If you want peace, prepare for war,” the album delivers songs to inspire hope in hard times. Seether has experienced rock bottom first hand, which is a topic they’ve written about at length, and they’re making it clear with this record that they never want anyone else to know those heartbreaking emotional depths. They want to save you or at least encourage you to save yourself.
“Bruised and Bloodied,” an early cut, perfectly exemplifies the sound and message of Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum. Driving, aggressive production provides a riveting backdrop for Shaun Morgan to sing about the realization that the responsibility of happiness and personal development rests on the should of the beholder. People will come and go in this life, some making more significant impacts on you than others, but they cannot do anything to save you from yourself. The world will eat you up and spit you out without a second thought. The universe does not care whether you thrive or drown in a well of sorrow. Life is what you make it, and Seether urge you to recognize that time is running out.
Haulix Recommends is a recurring feature where the Haulix staff chooses one or more recent releases from their clients. Click here to discover more great music being promoted through Haulix.
Finding hope in the struggle of life, “Little Miss America” gives Australia’s Josh Orange a well-deserved moment in the spotlight.
Josh Orange is a group and not a person. More importantly, Josh Orange is a testament to the power of great songwriting. The band’s catalog speaks to the universal truth that strong storytelling and memorable melodies will always do more for a track than any amount of studio wizardry. As much as people may like disposable pop songs that pass like ghosts in the night, audiences want to hear something relatable, and that’s what the Australian gentlemen in Josh Orange deliver.
With their latest single, “Little Miss America,” Josh Orange paint a melodic sonic tapestry for those caught in the struggle of existence. For all the technology and on-demand pleasures that the modern world may offer, the fact remains that life is hard more often than not. Most of us have unrealized dreams and aspirations to be anywhere other than where we are at this moment. We have visions for our lives that we cling to despite knowing such outcomes are unlikely. We are doomed to work and die and the best anyone can do is find a small reason to smile in each day we’re given to exist.
“Little Miss America” taps into the same vein of therapeutic honesty in songwriting that Tom Petty used to make his name. With visions of cigarettes and rust belt struggles wound around a midtempo production that effortlessly syncs with the intangible feeling of loneliness we all recognize, the song finds hope in the little moments. It’s not about changing or saving the world, nor should it be. Most of us never the opportunity to impact the masses the way we see in high-budget movies, but we can do our part to make the misery of existence a little bit better for everyone. We can be kind to strangers, and we can never take more than we need. We can recognize we are all in this together, even if we’re alone, and there is power in that understanding that most never realize.
Josh Orange spent the better part of the last half-decade releasing music and entertaining audiences, but “Little Miss America” feels like the start of a new chapter. The group has honed its sound to the point of perfection. Each element of the track comes together to a soundtrack for making the most of a hard life. The band understands that it’s not the small decisions that not only make us who we are but that shape the world around us. If we can just learn to recognize the opportunities we are given to help one another; then maybe we’ll all be better off.
Haulix Recommends is a recurring feature where the Haulix staff chooses one or more recent releases from their clients. Click here to discover more great music being promoted through Haulix.
Twenty-one years into a career built by defying expectations, Trivium delivers their hardest-hitting release to date on What The Dead Men Say.
Like Dante in Kevin Smith’s 1994 feature film Clerks, Trivium was not supposed to be here today. The Florida-born metal act rose through the hard rock ranks during a period when their peers seemed to disappear almost as fast as they hit it big. The world of heavy metal was (and in many ways still is) a fickle place where musicians are often forced to choose between creative fulfillment and appealing to the lowest common denominator. It takes a specific type of musician to endure the storms of criticism in pursuit of their artistic vision, and lucky for all of us, Trivium is that kind of band.
What The Dead Men Say, Trivium’s ninth studio album reflects on the past in hopes of saving the future. The band – Matt Heafy, Corey Beaulieu, Paolo Gregoletto, and Alex Bent – pull from everything they’ve done to deliver an album that serves as a thesis statement for Trivium’s career. It’s a relentlessly heavy, yet undeniably melodic exploration of existence that pulls from philosophy and mythology in equal measure to paint an elaborately-detailed portrait of what makes us human. Fans will hear hints of the youthful confidence that fueled Ember To Inferno and Ascendency, alongside the grit of In Waves and melancholy of Silence In The Snow. How the group makes this seemingly conflicting set of ideas gel is one of the record’s many wonders, but the real mastery lies in their ability to do so while also making an incredibly accessible record for those unfamiliar with their catalog.
Trivium recorded What The Dead Men Say in sixteen days, an accomplishment that speaks to their unified vision for the album. The ten-song tracklist touches on many topics, perhaps notable being a general unease about the world and our place in it. “Catastrophist,” the album’s lead single, makes this point clear as Heafy sings, “how far along before we fade away?” He uses the track to express his concern for the arch of humanity and our lack of empathy. To him, every step we take forward as a species comes with a cost that is all too often placed upon those least capable of paying, as he expresses with the line, “the arrogant numb to our needs.”
“Amongst the Shadows and the Stones” explores similar themes through the lens of endless war. Heafy sings about a mother reconciling a hellish landscape to feed her child and lessons learned through broken bones and corpses as thunderous production from Josh Wilbur adds extra bite to an already ferocious track. The energy of the song will make people move, but it is the message that lingers the longest. Trivium has seen enough to that know that substantial changes are needed to save humanity from itself. Until such changes are made people will continue to die for no other reason than making money with the blood of the innocent, which is something the band cannot support.
Does that line of thinking make Heafy an anarchist? Far from it. The overwhelming sentiment throughout What The Dead Men Say is Heafy and the rest of Trivium’s concern for others. As the title infers, we must learn from those that came before or we will be doomed to fall victim to similar behaviors. Trivium had no way of knowing their record would arrive amidst a global pandemic where the wealthiest among us are urging the working-class masses to return to normalcy despite scientific evidence that such actions would endanger their lives. Nevertheless, the band has supplied the perfect soundtrack for fighting against such tyranny with a perspective aimed at making the world a better place for everyone. What The Dead Men Say is a heavy record with heart, and it’s the second half of that description that matters most.
Haulix Recommends is a recurring feature where the Haulix staff chooses one or more recent releases from their clients. Click here to discover more great music being promoted through Haulix.
We live in the age of content overload. It is impossible for most people to keep up with a single feed, let alone multiple accounts across numerous platforms. Add to this the thousands of websites publishing tens of thousands of articles, each vying for the almighty click, and it’s no wonder people in 2018 would still believe people might not notice plagiarism. After all, nobody has time for everything.
Professionals never plagiarize. Professionals believe their purpose is to create, so they would never think to copy the work of another because it could never be a fitting representation of their creativity.
The amateur, however, lacks this mindset. The rookie wants to create and impress at the same. They take on more than they can handle and refuse to disappoint. They mean well but cannot follow through on their commitments because they have not yet developed the skills needed to do so. They also haven’t been able to realize and admit this to themselves.
Here’s the reality of plagiarism in music writing in 2018
Every music publicist worth working with has become a master of Google alerts and traditional online research. There is not a single post about their clients they cannot find because proving they got coverage for their client is crucial to their continued success. In short, they see everything.
When a new post appears that resembles or outright steals from another post, that publicist then contacts the author of the original post, as well as their editor. Together, those three decide how they wish to proceed.
There are three ways these situations tend to be handled:
1. No one does anything, and the plagiarized post remains up.
2. The editor of the offending site is contacted and made aware of the situation, thus transferring the responsibility of taking action to them and their website.
3. The alleged plagiarizer is contacted directly, often by the publicist who discovered the similarities or the editor of the site whose content was stolen, demanding answers
Of these options, the second method of response tends to be the most beneficial. Once the editor of the offending site is made aware of the problem they typically remove the plagiarized post and confront their writer. More often than not, the offending writer is then removed from the site’s contributor pool.
…But the fallout does not end there.
The music industry is small, and the music journalism community is even smaller. It is not a lie to say everyone knows everyone, even if we do not know one another on a personal level. As soon as plagiarism allegation arise the offender – otherwise known as the plagiarizer – may find it challenging to continue pursuing their work in music writing. After all, what site would want to work with someone who steals other writers’ work? What publicist or label or artist would wish to work with someone incapable of creating original content to cover their latest release?
Many who plagiarize claim they did so not out of a desire to mislead, but rather to make their deadlines and otherwise please those who demand they produce content. While this reasoning is understandable to an extent, it does not make stealing okay or otherwise acceptable. It is far more professional to admit you are incapable of meeting a deadline or otherwise finishing something you were assigned than it is to lie about how you completed the work. Lies will get you nowhere in the business. Just don’t it.
To avoid plagiarizing others works, even when you think your thoughts are original, please try these services:
Grammarly: Used by writing and business professionals worldwide, Grammarly aspires to improve your writing better through in-depth analysis. Not only can the service identify plagiarized works, but it can also help you tell your story more interestingly and originally. There are free and premium versions of the software.
Plagiarism Checker: Provided by SmallSEOTools, this site allows you to paste your written work and have it checked for plagiarism. It’s free. https://smallseotools.com/plagiarism-checker/
BibMe: An emerging service in the grammar world, BibMe offers plagiarism review and grammar checking for writers of all types.
If you would like to learn more about plagiarism, as well as gain insight on how to emphasize the importance of originality in creative effort, we also recommend spending time at plagiarism.org.
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.
Every year we are blessed with one or two records that offer us a sign of where things may be headed in the best possible way. You know the kind of release I’m talking about and the types of bands capable of creating such releases. These are the artists who find a way to make a large number of people feel as if their life was somehow incomplete before their music came into existence, and they often encapsulate very specific periods in our life. They may manage to do it again and again with future releases, but none of that matters because this release is good in that way you wish everything were good, and I have a feeling you’ll be feeling this way about the new record from Waterparks when it arrives this Friday.
If I have learned anything about the difference between artists destined for stardom and those almost certain to fail it’s that those who eventually find success tend to have studied those who came before them. A lot of things change in this industry, but just as many stay the same. The key to making your mark as an artist or professional is to build on what has worked for others while simultaneously giving things your own personal spin. Waterparks borrow ideas and maybe one or two chord progressions from their pop-punk heroes to create an immediately infectious take on hopeless romantic rock songs that simply do not know how to quit. Just give their album opener a spin and see if you don’t understand what I am trying to express:
“I was bitter, but I’m fine now” might as well be the motto of the current generation of teens and twenty-somethings currently searching for their place in the world. We all like to think the world is out to get us, but even when we realize that is not true the path to happiness is one riddled with pitfalls that can catch anyone off guard. The only way to keep sane in this crazy thing called reality is to express yourself and align your journey with others you believe to share a similar perspective on life. Maybe your connection lasts a night or a lifetime, but regardless of its longevity at least you can experience the power of two passionate hearts coming together in hopes of finding a little peace amidst the chaos of day-to-day life. That is the kind of thing the music of Waterparks personifies, and it plays like a jolt of pure energy to your system when their work hits your ears.
Positive progression for a genre or business is rarely the work of one person. Progress is something that happens very slowly at first and then all at once, switching just as the numerous contributions from all the creative people working to better their own corner of the music go from being unique ideas to industry standards. I don’t know when the culture will shift so that the ideas and themes of Waterparks’ music become something every band in their genre attempts to emulate, but when you listen to the band’s new album you get the feeling that change is not far away. With a little luck and a lot of support from their dedicated followers, Waterparks could easily be the next big thing by the time next year, if not sooner.
With this in mind, I want to urge you to head into this week looking for an opportunity to make your mark on whatever it is you do to keep a roof over your head and food in your stomach. Even if your current career or job is not something you want for the rest of your life, find a way to change the day-to-day workflow for the better and set to sharing your solution with those around you. Some may think your crazy at first, and you may even feel a little push back from peers who are set in their ways, but if you can find a way to make people feel their lives are somehow better or easier because of your creativity you will see your professional life boom in the months ahead. All it takes is one idea. One simple, perhaps already obvious change could be your ticket to the career and success you know you were meant to achieve, and the only thing preventing you from getting their is yourself. Shake off your fears and try something new. If you fail, oh well, but if you succeed life may never be the same.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine and 10-year music writing veteran. You should follow him on Twitter.
How do you recover from a PR stumble when your brand is built on living a life where you do not give a damn what others think? This questions has been pondered by many notable artists over the last century, and there have been dozens of paths taken in response. Some worked better than others, but only one tried and true method has worked for everyone who has dared to attempt it: Continue not giving a damn.
Upon A Burning Body is a party-friendly metalcore group from deep in the heart of Texas who have built a career on living life however they choose with complete disregard for authority and anyone who tries to tell you that you need to be anyone other than yourself. It’s the kind of message that hooks young people before they’re even old enough to consume alcohol and carries into adulthood, especially if those young people end up working jobs where they feel suppressed or otherwise unable to be themselves because of those above them. Upon A Burning Body create music that is, for lack of a better word, rebellious. It follows a very particular path that has been traveled by countless musicians before them, but they travel it well with hooks that won’t quit and a bone-crushingly heavy take on metal. If you are unfamiliar with the sound I am describing, give this a spin:
A year ago, Upon A Burning Body were preparing to release an album called The World Is My Enemy Now. Ahead of the lead single the group posted a message online claiming their vocalist had gone missing in the greater San Antonio area. Blogs and legitimate news outlets alike ran the story as fact, urging fans to try and help the group find their missing member, but an investigation from Alternative Press soon proved the story to be a false alarm. The band’s label claimed to have no knowledge of the event, and future promotion for the record was kept at an absolutely minimum. It’s a shame, too, because the album was actually pretty great.
When faced with such a devastating blow to one’s promotional plans, not to mention upsetting countless fans, many artists would rush to apologize and/or promise to be smarter with all future promotions. Some may even choose to grovel. Upon A Burning Body however, chose to remain silent. They stuck to what had always worked, the music, and they shied away from the spotlight while the remaining outrage dissipated into the forgotten archives of internet forums and Twitter feeds. It was a bold play, but one that ultimately allowed the band to continue living life by their own set of rules, which only further fueled their creativity.
This week, Upon A Burning Body return with Straight From The Barrio, their fourth studio album in six years. The release leans heavily on what has worked for the group in the past (songs about fighting the man, partying as hard as you can, and generally doing whatever you feel compelled to do while thanking God for the great state of Texas) to help introduce several new ideas that find them exploring hard rock outside the world of metalcore. There is even some material that might as well be considered a ballad for a band such as them, but it’s all channeled through the same ‘we do what we want when we want’ lens, and that is what makes it work.
I think most of us spend our days living life in a way that leaves us feeling slightly restrained. Most don’t do what they wish they did for work, and even those who do often end the business day feeling as they have fallen short of their goals. Others may be in relationships where they feel they must be a specific way in order to keep their partner happy, or maybe that is the case between you and your friends. Whatever it may be that causes you to be anything other than yourself is keeping you becoming the best possible version of the person you were meant to become.
What separates people like you and me from the members of Upon A Burning Body is that we lack the gull to force the world to recognize us for the people we choose to be. We try and figure out who the world feels we should be and fit that mold, but the members of Upon A Burning Body walked away from that trap years ago and never looked back. They may trip and fall from time to time, but at the end of the day they can say they did things their way and that is something we all seek in our lives.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine and a 10-year music writing veteran. You should follow him on Twitter.
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.
Steinbeck’s The Catcher in the Rye is a timeless piece of American literature that has no doubt influenced generations of people. To this day there are schools all over the country assigning students to read the story of Holden Caufield, and in places where it is not considered required reading it is still being discovered by people searching for something that understands feelings of teenage angst and alienation. It would be easy for most to spend hours debating the best passages from the book, but as I was listening to Tidal Wave, the latest album from Long Island based rock band Taking Back Sunday, one quote in particular came to mind:
“The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.”
Thinking back to the band’s landmark debut album, Tell All Your Friends, it’s hard to believe how far Taking Back Sunday have come. That record, which was lyrically born from heartache, angst, alienation, and the feeling of never being quite good enough, introduced Taking Back Sunday to the world as a group of passionate young men unsure of their place in the world. The use of violent imagery and brash honesty helped to emphasize their willingness to do anything in their power to find somewhere they could call home, despite the fact they seemingly had no idea what such a place would look like.
I was fourteen when Tell All Your Friends was released, and like countless youth across the globe I found myself feeling a connection to the band’s longing for peace and stability in this often turbulent world. I did not completely grasp all the stories of heartache or how they had unfolded, but I (thought I) knew the feeling of being brokenhearted enough to appreciate the sentiment of their lyricism. So much so, in fact, that I could often by found scribbling my favorite over-emotional lyrics onto notebook covers during class or referencing various song titles with a customized screen name on the once popular social networking site known as MySpace. For myself and others like me there had never been enough band that had so completely and uniquely captured the feeling of youthful discomfort as Taking Back Sunday, and as a result we became devoted followers of their message who would flock to shows far and wide to sing-a-long with our newfound heroes.
Time passed, and with each new album Taking Back Sunday continued to evolve without fully abandoning the concepts and sound that initially launched their career. The band documented new struggles with the same one of a kind perspective that had helped set their adolescent problems apart, but the wildfire of hype for each new creation was nothing like the first wave of praise the band had received. Some would claim Taking Back Sunday had a problem developing their sound in a way that was continually interesting, while others felt the decision to focus on problems beyond angst and bad relationships caused the band to lose some intangible edge. I never agreed with these critiques myself, but I did feel the band struggled to maintain the forward momentum of their first two records as the third, fourth, and fifth were shared with the world.
Then came Tidal Wave, which I was fortunate enough to hear for the first time about a month ago. It only took about three songs off the new record for me to realize that Taking Back Sunday had finally reached whatever creative pinnacle they had been striving towards since the release of ‘Tell All Your Friends.’ The boys who were willing to die as long as they could first prove themselves as gentleman have grown into the men who have willingly sacrificed their freedom for a life spent connecting with people all over the globe through their art. What they were once willing to die for has become the reason they continue living, and everyone – from the band to their fans – is better off as a result.
The thing no one ever tells you about growing up is how the loss of naivety through experience will impact the way you view every aspect of your life. The big things that once felt so important often take a backseat to simpler concepts like family and self-acceptance when one finally has a clear grasp of the finality of death. Whether realized through your own skirmishes or the struggles of those around you, most people do not fully appreciate the futility of life until they’ve felt the loss of one. Even then, finding how to push forward when you know full well you too will one day expire takes an immeasurable amount of strength that billions around the globe struggle to find on a daily basis. It’s a tough truth, but one that must be accepted in order to move forward, and you must move forward. If not, you are as good as dead.
This, and other ideas related to the constant passing of time and our inability to stop or slow it are what makes Tidal Wave something truly spectacular. Taking Back Sunday has created an album that can and will stand alongside Tom Petty’s Wildflowers and Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA as albums that perfectly capture the relentless enthusiasm of the human spirit. It’s the realization of what the group has been working toward for the better part of two decades, and it marks an ever-so-slight pivot in sound that should help the band to engage a larger share of the modern rock audience than their previous albums.
I believe Tidal Wave is the album Taking Back Sunday was put on this Earth to make, and hearing it gives me the strength to keep working towards my own goals. I might not know where I am headed, but I know I am doing what my soul tells me I need to be doing, and that’s good enough for now.
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 (RIP). 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.
Being predictable doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Take for example, Bayside. The New York based rock band has been creating a unique take on modern punk rock for the better part of two decades at this point, and in that time they have carved a niche for themselves within the industry. Fans flock to Bayside’s every album and tour not because they continually reinvent the wheel, but rather because they tend to do the same thing the always have as well as they ever have with each new move. What people expect from Bayside, and what they have come to be known for within the entertainment industry, is quality. You know what you’re getting quality wise with Bayside, and that belief in their ability to always be good allows the band to do whatever they please because they already have your trust. They know being themselves is exactly what you expect, and they do their best to continue giving a piece of themselves to listening – through thick and thin – as honestly as possible.
On ‘Vacancy,’ the band’s sixth studio album, Bayside further their self-expression with a collection of stories and reflections built in the wake of vocalist Anthony Raneri’s marriage falling apart. Raneri gave up his lifelong home of New York to move to Tennessee with his wife and newborn daughter with plans of building a new reality for his family. Life had other plans however, and some time later Raneri found himself living out of an empty apartment surrounded by boxes filled with possessions he couldn’t bring himself to unpack. After all, he didn’t consider this new setting a home, nor did he have any desire to be there any longer than was necessary. To deal with the chaos of his life, Raneri began pouring himself into his art, and the result of those efforts is what you hear on this new record. It’s a perspective on life torn asunder and the search for new beginnings that few have ever dared to share, and it just might be the most personal album in the band’s notoriously honest catalog.
While the often heartbreaking honesty of Bayside’s latest release is sure to be a selling point for many, what sets the band apart – and what has always served as something of a signature silver lining for the group – is their ability to find a way through their darkest personal moments and through doing so inspire others to do the same. Some will learn the story behind ‘Vacancy’ and believe it to be a meditation in love gone awry, but in reality it’s a far more introspective recording. This is an album not about the faults of others, but the role we each play in what goes right or wrong in our individual lives. It’s about not allowing yourself to think bad and good things simply happen, but understanding that you have power over your fate. Don’t fool yourself into believing some things just don’t work out because that is rarely true. There is a reason for everything, and you might need to take responsibility for the part you play in the events of your life in order to truly appreciate that.
When you find time to listen to ‘Vacancy,’ which I hope is sooner rather than later, try to think of your initial encounter as an opportunity for personal growth. Raneri never predicted his life would play out the way it has, and chance are you never knew you would be wherever it is that you find yourself in life right now either. Let ‘Vacancy’ inspire you to reflect on the path that brought you here, as well as inspire you to seek out the future you want for yourself and those around you. This album can and should empower you to work towards making the world reflect the desire of your heart. Not everything will go the way you want, but every turn in the road is an opportunity for growth that will help you make better and smarter decisions down the line. Life is not about destinations, but rather the path taken to get to them, and ‘Vacancy’ is the perfect companion to the journey through existence for those over twenty-five.
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 (RIP). 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 know Drake and Future spent the majority of the last year exclaiming, “what a time to be alive,” but the more I read into the problems plaguing our world today the more I am unsure what such a statement means. Is it a good thing to be alive right now, or is it a bad thing? If you’re Drake or Future it’s probably pretty great. Those guys are making tens of thousands, if not more, each passing week off the strength of their creativity. The vast majority of the rest of the Earth’s population is nowhere near that lucky however, and we are all struggling in our own ways as we fight to survive. I know I am nowhere near earning the title of being the worst off, but I do have concerns for what lies on the horizon. Between the impending election in the US, which seems to have provided no truly great candidate, and the various acts of terror taking place on a near-weekly basis all over the globe, 2016 seems pretty awful. It is unclear when or how things will get better, but something tells me no improvements will happen without hardships or tragedy coming first. In fact, I would argue some people have lost their faith in a better tomorrow altogether because every day the news and social media shines a lot on the numerous complicated problems plaguing us not just here at home, but all over the world.
With all this in mind, I wholeheartedly believe we need proactive music now more than ever in my lifetime. I have been walking this planet for almost twenty-nine years, but I have never witnessed the kind of global disenchantment that we are currently experiencing. People have lost their faith in religion and political leadership. They, or should I saw we are hungry for something more than just the hope things will improve. Time has taught us that simply hoping for things to get better rarely results in any change happening whatsoever. We know that change only comes as a result of action, but when we look to pop culture for leadership and positive influence we generally only find sugar-coated love songs, movies featuring people with superpowers, or EDM-fueled tracks about loving life that completely ignore the problems facing mankind.
Now, to be clear, these things are not bad. I love superhero movies and pop songs as much as the next person, but our world is in such a state of disarray that we need artists who are not afraid to speak out against all they see wrong. We need protest songs, and we need artists who encourage people to read up on what is happening around them. To use a colloquialism that the internet loves we need artist who are “woke AF,” and for my money there are few who seem to understand this quite like Canada’s hard rock kings, Billy Talent.
Yes, you read that right. The band we need now more than ever to urge us to take action is not even from America. Billy Talent have been making music that demands and influences action for over a decade at this point, and their new album Afraid Of Heights is no exception. Every song, from the riveting “Big Red Gun” to the closing reprise of “Afraid Of Heights,” speaks to the state of the world today. The band touches on our current fears, as well as the universal fear of the unknown. If we think things are bad now, then how much worse could they get? Billy Talent does not have the answer, but they do urge people to take action to prevent whatever unknown horrors may lie on the horizon from ever coming to fruition.
When you listen to Afraid Of Heights you cannot help feeling inspired and entertained simultaneously. The genius of Billy Talent’s sound has always been there way to raise awareness while also inducing mosh/circle pits with killer riffs and endlessly catchy hooks. Their latest work is as fun as it is important, and every ounce of me hopes you give it a chance to inspire you to make the world a better place when it arrives in stores this Friday, July 29.
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.
We have been and still very much are so busy with the new version of Haulix that updating our blog has fallen a bit by the wayside. That said, we are still listening to as much new music as possible day to day, and recently we came across a release that immediately became a staple of our office playlist. Not just one song off the record, but all of them. Every single song.
Longtime readers of Haulix Daily already know our love of Boston punk/hardcore kings Vanna. Vocalist Davey Muise was even on our podcast once upon a time (and he’s scheduled to return soon – hint hint). The band’s new album, All Hell, builds on the ferocity and unabashed storytelling of their previous releases while still finding a way to catch listeners completely off guard. We expected the record to be heavy, but we never knew a band that is a staple of the Warped Tour scene could release a record as heavy as All Hell. Many albums have been promoted as bone-crushing or skull-rattling, but this album is on another level altogether. With the right sound system, All Hell could be considered music in weaponized form. If the lyrics don’t move you the music most certainly will, and we mean that in a very literal sense.
We didn’t choose All Hell for this week’s Monday Motivation just because of the way it sounds. This record, like every release in the Vanna catalog, demands something of the listeners that most albums do not. When you play All Hell, even just one song, you are forced to look within and see yourself as honestly as you are able. Muise and his bandmates make it clear that understanding yourself, including your dreams and shortcomings, is the only way to start working towards being the person you want to become. All Hell is a soundtrack to destroying the false narratives of your life so that a real, pure one can be built from their ashes, and having used their records to do that very thing we cannot recommend enough that others heed their advice.
Some bands write life-changing songs. Vanna is a life-changing band.
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.
