ROCK OUT LOUD
MUSIC MAGAZINE
LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES REVIEW LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES IS A BAND THAT'S been around and growing for years now. They came into the scene in 2010 and signed to Rise Records on the same year, releasing their first EP. They've played Warped Tour, as well as many other large music festivals and have been on countless tours. Since being signed, they've released two other CD's with catchy lyrics and sound. I've seen the band many times, and it's always a pleasure to see them perform live. They sound amazing live, as if I'm listening to the CD itself. The band puts on a heavy and entertaining performance, enticing the crowd as they play. The crowd always goes hard for them with bouncing, moshing, and screaming along. Their lyrics are easy to relate to for fans, and speak the truth. During their sets, you can see fans screaming along to the lyrics and getting very into the songs. While the band hasn't had a release of an album since mid-2013, they hinted on facebook that they're currently working on new material. You can catch them on tour from April to May with I See Stars and more bands.
ICE NINE KILLS REVIEW WITH THEIR SIGNING TO FEARLESS RECORDS, Ice Nine Kills has recently started blowing up even more than before. Fans were excited for the news, happy to see the band signed to a good label, like they deserved. The band has worked hard to get where they are, personally talking to fans to promote their material and get the word out there. I saw the band three years ago for the first time, in a crowd of ten people. They put on a performance like they would in front of a larger crowd. Since seeing them years ago, they've improved even more to see live. Spencer is very active in the crowd, always making his way from the crowd to the stage. At South By So What, he even crowd surfed through the crowd. Their music has severely grown and matured over the years, becoming a new sound and trying out new things. No matter who disagrees with it, it's a great sound for the band and they've released amazing music that gets more popular with each release.
ALESANA
Interview and Review
Q: What new music are you working on? A: The conclusion of our Annabel trilogy. Our goal with this new album is that people question if it's really us, because it's not going to be like anything we've released before. Q: What's the difference between touring now, and touring as a new band? A: We know what we're doing now. Like anything, after you do something for so long, it develops a rhythym. Q: How did you get involved in this genre? A: I don't mean this to offend anyone, but I personally don't listen to this type of music, just write it. I listen to more heavy music, or really soft music. Our band has a diverse taste in music and we all just bring it together. Q: What has been your favorite memory as a band? A: Touring with the guys, we've had pretty much the same line-up for the past ten years now. Q: What's your favorite place to visit on tour? A: Southern California or Chicago, we have family out there. Q: How long were you a band before getting signed? A: Not very long. It happened pretty quick, but in all fairness, someone started the label to sign us, and they're still a label to this day - Tragic Hero Records. Q: If you could be successful in any other career, what would it be? A: Baseball player. I always enjoyed baseball. Q: What's your favorite tour you've played? A: From Autumn To Ashes. It was our first big tour and I really looked up to the band.
ALESANA REVIEW ALESANA IS A BAND THAT'S BEEN AROUND for ten years, and celebrating currently by being on the Decade Tour with Get Scared, and Farewell, My Love, and more. The tour package made a stop at Grand Prairie, Texas, for the well known South By So What?! Music Festival. Watching Alesana play was not at all what I expected. Their music has improved a lot since the last time I saw them, and their sound live was a new experience. They sounded like a band I didn't know anymore, but it was amazing. All of the band put a lot of passion into their performance, performing in front of a large crowd all pushing each other just to get closer and singing along. There was never a dull moment when watching them play. They entertained with their musical sound as well as their wild jumps and turns, and entertaining faces and moves. The looks on their faces just showed how passionate they felt about their music. As previously stated in the interview, the band is currently working on the final release for the Annabel Trilogy, to be recorded this summer. The band's goal of sounding completely different has already been reached as they progress the longer they work on music. Definitely see them live if they tour comes near you.
CHIODOS
Interview and Review
Q: What first influenced you to get into music? P: Friends growing up. B: My parents put me in piano lessons when I was 7. Q: How were you introduced to this genre of music? B: Pat got us into it in High School. He always brought us CD's of new music. Q: Who are you current musical influences? B: We don't really listen to music of this genre because we want to sound original and not accidently sound like anyone else. Q: How has your music progressed over the years? P: When we released All's Well, we didn't really focus on writing songs, and now we know more of what we're doing and focusing more. Q:What's the worst thing that's ever happened on tour? Both: We've been arrested a few times. I think that's a collective response to that question. Q: What was the worst part of touring as a band for the first year? B: Breaking down and having to convince your parents to support a wild dream and convincing them it's going to pay off in the end. Q: What's your favorite part of being in Chiodos? P: Playing shows with your best friends and seeing the world. B: Hanging out with your best friends after the show. Q: Where's your favorite place to tour? Both: Japan.
CHIODOS REVIEW IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD OF CHIODOS, THEN YOU seriously missed out since 2005. They released All's Well in 2005 (yes, it's been THAT long.) Bone Palace Ballet followed after that. Both releases were amazing, and brought a new style to the genre. They had a unique sound that wasn't heard much before – a sound that they still carry, with songs that they still play. To see Chiodos with Craig, and see Chiodos with their former replacement vocalist, Brandon, is to see a completely different band. Their vocal styles were incredibly different. Craig's higherpitched voice is amazing, and matured and developed since their first release. They perform their old music and their new music live, and even songs from Craig's formed band when he left Chiodos. With the release of their new album coming up, Devil, I imagine that the setlist will change to feature new music. When Chiodos started playing is when the fog started to be used. It was horrible to try to photograph in, but combined with the lights it made an intense performance. The whole band had amazing stage presence and kept very active during the set. Craig's vocals sound just as amazing live as they always have in the albums, and the whole band sounds incredible playing the songs live.
HONOUR CREST Interview
Q: How did you guys become a band? A: We started with a laptop, vocalist, and guitarist and slowly founded members and found Cory from youtube. Q: How have things changed since signing to Rise Records? A: Everything feels more professional for us, and we have had a lot more exposure. More people are hearing about our music. Q: Where would you like to tour the most? A: Australia. Europe is a close second. Q: How would you describe your music to someone that hasn't heard of it before? A: Depends on who we're asking. To someone that doesn't listen to this type of music, we would say metal. For someone that is in the scene, you have to describe it by sub-genres. Q: What's your biggest goal as a band? A: All of us want to see as much of the world as we can and tour as much as possible and get our music out as many as we can. Q: What influenced you to get into music? J: Seeing Blink-182 inspired me to pick up a guitar. L:I think I was bored in High School. I wanted to try an activity other than normal after school activities. Z: I started playing guitar because one the schools I went to had a music program and I learned that way. Q: Who are your current musical influences? Z: Every Time I Die, Northlane, and The Devil Wears Prada. J:August Burns Red, Northlane, and Periphery. L:Most of my influences coem from other Rise bands.
ISSUES REVIEW ISSUES HAS ONLY BEEN AROUND FOR A FEW YEARS, but has already made their mark in the music scene. Vocalists' Tyler Carter and Michael Bohn were previously of Woe, Is Me, and formed Issues in 2012. In 2012 came the release of their EP, Black Diamonds, and release of their first single and lyric video, “King Of Amarillo” which was a song about their previous band – Woe, Is Me. Their music is unique to the scene, with hardcore and R&B influences. While some argue that they're generic, most agree that the band is unique, set apart by the R&B in their music. Besides their EP, Issues covered the song “Boyfriend” by Justin Bieber on Punk Goes Pop 5. They recently released their debut album in February which is selftitled. Their lyrics, both on the EP and debut fulllength, are emotional, and intense. They're been on huge tours such as Warped Tour, Pierce The Veil, South By So What, and many more since they started as a band. They'll be playing their second Warped Tour this year. They always put on an entertaining live performance full of passion and entertainment. They start out with Michael, and sometimes Tyler, jumping off the stage and screaming to the crowd. The band is easy to talk to and get along with, always making time for their fans and showing how much they care for their fans. Don't miss their performance at Warped Tour 2014, you won't regret it.
I SEE STARS REVIEW I SEE STARS IS A BAND THAT'S BEEN AROUND SINCE 2006. They grew a larger fan base after signing to Sumerian Records and releasing 3-D, their first full length album. Not only has the band been on multiple Warped Tours and countless, large tours, but they've also performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live, something that's not heard of for bands in this genre. Despite how unheard of it is now, I See Stars has had mostly the same line-up for all the years they've been together. In the beginning, they changed vocalists, but then changed back to the original vocalist, Zach Johnson, who has been in the band since. Zach Johnson has also improved on his vocals since the start of the band, quickly becoming my favorite screamer in the music scene. I saw the band perform every year since 2008, with their previous vocalist and with their vocalist now. Each year it's something new, with new music releases and new improvements. Their recent CD, New Demons, has amazed people from all over that have listened to it, becoming a quick favorite. Their live performance is amazing to watch. They put their hearts into their performances and also use lights to put on a great show. Fans don't stand still during their performance.
WE CAME AS ROMANS REVIEW I'VE SEEN WE CAME AS ROMANS MANY TIMES, AND they always blow me away. I've listened to the band since 2009, with the release of To Plant A Seed. I didn't see the band until many years later. Now, I see them constantly. They always put on an energetic performance full of energy. Kyle gets close to the crowd and Dave pulls some crazy moves. They look happy while they perform, and you can see how much they love what they do. They constantly play music festivals and tour out of country, as well as in the United States. They've grown as a band since their earlier release and have only become better. Their music progresses with each release and becomes something new, but they still play all different material from previous releases. Kyle and Dave both have incredible vocals when performing live, quickly becoming a few of my favorite vocalists. The band sounds amazing and they're great to watch – a performance you don't want to miss out on.
LETLIVE. REVIEW WHILE LETLIVE IS A BAND I'VE NEVER LISTENED to, they are a band I've heard plenty about. I decided to watch their set at South By So What, and I had no idea what I was in for. I was unprepared for what I saw. They were the most insane band I've ever seen live. Jason fell a few times from the water, but it didn't stop him from his crazy movements on stage. He never stood still, making it near impossible to capture pictures of him. You can see their dedication and passion while they play, and feel it with Jason's vocals and stage presence The band as a whole sounded great, and made me regret not listening to them before. They're starting to blow up and get more known, which is what they deserve. I could see it at South By So What, that Jason is very dedicated to the fans. I found him many times, walking around and taking pictures with his fans, as he does at every show. Many of my friends have met him multiple times and always talk about how much of an amazing man he is. Letlive has played Warped Tour and separate, large tours, and are about to embark on a headlining tour with Architects, I, The Mighty, and Glass Cloud. Make sure to catch their performance at a venue for you, but prepared for the intense, amazing performance that you are going to witness.
SOUTH BY SO WHAT!? MUSIC FESTIVAL REVIEW SOUTH BY SO WHAT?! IS A FESITVAL THAT'S BEEN quickly growing. The festival started out in 2008, with 3,000 people attending. Recently, in 2013, they had over 6,000 people attending the Dallas festival. Third String Productions not only has South By So What, but also books the best tours in the area. Many people have traveled out to Texas for this music festival, some from different states, and some from different countries. I, myself, traveled fourteen hours with a car full of people just to see the bands perform. The set up is one of the best parts: three stages, two split in half, and all close enough. You can easily go from one stage, to the other. There's barely any time between the sets, because bands have the opportunity to set up while the other is performing. The festival has had many huge acts, such as: Asking Alexandria, The Used, Taking Back Sunday, Sleeping With Sirens, Memphis May Fire, Bring Me The Horizon and more. The festival has also grown in days. What used to be one day, turned into a two day festival, and recently a three day festival. This allowed for days to represent different genres, ranging from metalcore, to hardcore, and to pop punk. While storms ruined the second, and most looked forward day, it was still great to attend the festival. They offer many different ticket options, including different VIP options to meet bands, or get simple perks, and even a VIP viewing deck. This festival is worth traveling to and attending, and only grows better by the years.