FOUR YEAR STRONG

AFTER 20 YEARS IN THE GAME, FOUR YEAÅR STRONG ARE TAKING A NEW APPROACH TO ALL THAT DEFINED THEM IN THE PAST AND CARVING A NEW PATH TO CREATING MUSIC.

Four Year Strong have py chorus, and then all of a sud- our original music was its authen- been going strong for den go into this heavy breakdown ticity,” he continues. “We wrote mu- damn near 20 years that sounds like this completely sic that we were passionate about, now. Since the early different band. One of the ways and because we kind of started days of the new millennium, the we did that on this new album was this sound, people then expected band have triumphantly blurred like, ‘Let’s make the guitar sound that from us from then on. It be- the line between infectious pop so over-the-top heavy all the time, came less inspiring for us because punk and pummeling hardcore even on the poppier stuff.” we felt like we had to be doing it, and metal. After two decades in not because we wanted to be do- the game, these easycore pioneers Mission accomplished. The gui- ing it. Our goal this time around have successfully led two genera- tar sound on Brain Pain is not only was the authenticity factor.” tions of stage-diving rockers to the massively heavy, but it lays the promised land. foundation for Four Year Strong Indeed, Brain Pain sounds like a 2.0’s new approach to music. Us- group of veteran musicians finally Like most long-running acts, ing a pummeling wall of guitars incorporating everything they’ve however, the fellas in Four Year and mechanized rhythm section learned over their careers—while Strong found themselves at a dire attack as cover, the band have staying true to their roots—and crossroads recently: embrace the broken free from the confines of it’s kind of awesome. Four Year perils associated with exploring their ‘easycore’ identity, incorpo- Strong were eager to explore this new sounds, or play it safe with rating new musical influences and musical and personal progression. their tried-and-true recipe for mature lyrical themes into their It’s something Day and O’ Connor success and risk stagnation. That repertoire. Basically, Brain Pain is felt as individuals, as a band, and brings us to the band’s newest al- the sound of a band reborn. even among their fan base. bum, Brain Pain, out on February 28, 2020 on Pure Noise Records. “We wanted to make sure we took “There’s two sets of fans,” Day This might technically be the sev- as much time as we wanted,” explains. “The new, younger enth full-length of the band’s ca- O’Connor reveals. “We’ve always audience that might just be dis- reer, but, in many ways, Brain Pain had to make some kind of sac- covering us, and the old fans is like a second debut of sorts. rifice or compromise in the cre- that have been around and Ladies and gentlemen, meet the ative process. This time around, supported us through the years. new Four Year Strong. we really wanted to make sure That’s part of the theme of this we gave ourselves enough time record. There’s this split between “You spend the first part of your to do exactly what we wanted, who we were and who we are. I career trying to define yourself,” with no compromise. Because live on a farm with my wife, so singer and guitarist Dan O’ Connor we had so much time to write, we I’m at home doing that kind of explains. “And then you spend the really dove into these songs in thing, but out on the road, it’s second half of your career trying the demo process, more than we completely different. It’s kind of to break out of what you defined ever have before.” about finding who you’re sup- yourself as.” posed to be. What people expect Freedom from the shackles of a of you versus what you want.” Fellow singer and guitarist Alan ticking clock led Four Year Strong Day echoes this sentiment. “We to step outside their musical com- “There’s me at home,” O’Connor took steps outside of the box we’re fort zone as well. shares. “Putting my kids to bed, used to being in and what people taking the trash out, and being are used to hearing from us,” he “It was a challenge, but it actually ‘at home guy.’ Then there’s me on says. “The biggest challenge of all ended up being a lot of fun,” Day tour, screaming ‘fuck’ as loud was trying to do that in a way that elaborates. “And the outcome as I can into a microphone, at a our fans would get behind.” ended up being our favorite piece room full of kids who are jumping of work to date. As much as peo- off things. There’s a large spec- Brain Pain is a booming rock re- ple probably think we want to be trum in-between those two book- cord featuring the most intricately the pop punk band we were in ends, and I feel like this record written songs and dynamic-sound- 2007, when people first started to is trying to figure out ‘where on ing tracks of the band’s career. The discover us, we’re entirely differ- that spectrum do I land’? I think heavy and poppy elements of the ent people at this point in our lives, one of the things that we landed band’s famous, easycore sound with entirely broadened musical on is that everyone goes through are still present; they’ve just been influences.” that multiple times in their life. shaken up and rearranged in bold You’re constantly trying to figure new ways. “I always liked to think that part of out who you are.” �� �� �� why people gravitated towards “Our band has always been this hybrid of poppy, major fun kind of vibe, but in a heavy way,” says Day. “Our goal was to always do YOU SPEND THE FIRST PART OF YOUR CAREER TRYING TO DEFINE YOURSELF… that in the least schizophrenic way. We don’t want it to feel like we’re playing this pop punk, really hap- AND THEN YOU SPEND THE SECOND HALF OF YOUR CAREER TRYING TO BREAK OUT OF WHAT YOU DEFINED YOURSELF AS.

DUNE RATS

TWO MORE BANDS BLURRING THE LINES AND EDGES OF HARDCORE INTERVIEW WITH BASSIST AND SONGWRITER BRETT JANSCH BY J POET D une Rats, from Brisbane, Austraapproach to songwriting and recording. There are four songs on Hurry Up And Wait lia, play hardcore music for peoThey started working on Hurry Up And Wait that are from that trip to the States.” ple intent on living a freewheeling, at a farmhouse in a rural part of Victoria, hedonistic lifestyle. The blistering music Australia. “We took our time getting a big bank of keeps things moving at a frenetic pace, songs down, so we could choose which with the rhythm section, composed of “We made a wall of beer cartons that ones would be sick to follow up Bullshit drummer BC Michaels and bass player was like 5 x 8, some dude in a muscle car Brett Jansch, kicking Danny Beus’ lead rocked up in the driveway and gave us guitar work into overdrive. Lyrically, the free chron, and we were hitting up this songs on their new album, Hurry Up And truck stop joint for these pyscho greasy Wait, out now on Rise Records, present an wing-dings. It was a good month,” says Australian trio of ne’er-do-wells so intent Jansch. on drinking, smoking weed, and partying, that they have little time for much else. They moved on to sessions in L.A. with producer John Feldman (Goldfinger, Blink “Nothing wrong with having a good time,” 182), then back to Melbourne’s Grove says Jansch. “We try to always keep that Studios with their pal James Tidswell going, but inside a lot of our songs, there’s (Violent Soho) and producer Miro Mackie. serious ideas. Stuff that’s super important to us, our friends, and the people around “Tidswell played a great role on this one, us that influence our lives and actions. It’s getting us to come back to an organic all serious, real-world kinda shit, but then kind of production, not leaning too hard I can pysch out on a song about a talking on computers to stylize what we had bong.” created,” says Jansch. “Recording at The Grove was maxed-out. The record was The band’s last album, The Kids Will consistently churning along, even if we Know It’s Bullshit, hit number one on the were all at the barbeque or out in the Australian charts shortly after its release back having a few. Going to L.A. was more in 2017. That made them international of a full mad-out. We got to make some stars, but it didn’t alter their basic tunes we are psyched on with epic people.

ORTHODOX

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST ADAM EASTERLING BY J POET T fierce, Tennessee-based band Orthodox out against an assailant who hurt a loved one. on. Easterling explains that the uniquely sound cathartically direct on their new poignant, shared experiences provided for album Let It Take Its Course, released on “I guess I would want it to catch on that you by the new album add to the community February 7 via Unbeaten Records. The band can’t have love without hatred there to around hardcore music, which the band pack plenty of the ferocious, physically devascompare it to,” he shares. “There are bad have been touring in since 2013. The band tating riff-attacks that those familiar with their things that are done with good intentions. still get a reception from friends in the hardbackground in hardcore may latch onto. But Outside of the overall concept that is core community around the U.S., regardless here, Orthodox also dive into grimly solemn-feelwritten about, there was a lot of the idea of the steps that they’ve taken away from ing dynamic swings like they’ve personalized the of, you don’t realize how dark that you can the musical style’s strictest confines. devastation, and it’s got a sinister face. Vocalist become until something causes it in you. I Adam Easterling’s piercing, nu-metal-esque don’t think it’s ever really a choice. I think range highlights these dynamics perfectly. it’s just something that’s planted and grows.”

“There’s a lot of songs where it’s like, here’s this riff that kicks ass; here’s another one; here’s another one—are you still keeping up?” Easterling explains. “But, we do have songs that have that verse-chorus-verse structure. That was a lot more fun for me to write... when we were able to find a way to use elements of all ends of the heavy music that we are inspired from and make them fit without it sounding forced.”

Easterling names inspirations like nu metal greats like Korn and System of a Down, alongside other bands like Deftones and Lamb of God. The band’s nod to nu metal, via their combination of straightforward intensity with swinging dynamics, provides a perfectly complementary entry point for the poignant emotion at the core of this album. Easterling explains that the lyrical perspective features a struggle with wanting to lash Easterling and Orthodox tied these observations together with the freedom provided by looking for the right emotional tone, no matter the genre conventions.

“One of my main goals vocally with this album was that I didn’t want to yell a part unless there was no other way to deliver it,” he explains. “I would sit and think of as many different types of vocal delivery as I could that would work. And I was like, if there’s nothing that would fit here outside of yelling, then that’s where we’ll yell, right there. But I didn’t want it to be another album that was centered around just aggression. I wanted there to be a genuine build in every aspect of the music.”

That build shines through powerfully, and Orthodox’s dramatically intense music lets listeners confront these dark areas headwith,” he continues. “We’d try and get at least a song a day down, but I reckon the ones we get stoked on are the songs that happen quickly, or stem from something silly we’re riffin’ around on. Every time we record, we all go in the room together and, if something lucky happens, we keep it in there. We also do tracks with everything layered. I think by doing that, it gives you a chance to tweak what you put down, like trying different vocal harmonies, or playing the notes on different guitars, just to try and make it sound the best.” �� �� ��

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KYLE BERGFORS

“They still show up; they still wear the t-shirts; they still support us—and that to me means almost more than them liking the new record and singing along,” Easterling shares.

Ultimately, Orthodox feel committed to the grind and the soul at the core of it. “We never learned lessons from advice,” Easterling jokes. “It was always, 'Let’s fuck this up, and then we’ll figure out what to do next time.’”

“We never learned lessons from advice,” Easterling jokes. “It was always, let’s fuck this up, and then we’ll figure out what to do next time.” �� �� ��

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KYLE BERGFORS