Band: Burden Of A Day
Title: Blessed Be Our Ever After
Label: Rise
Review By: JoshIVM
Tracklisting:
01. Blessed Be Our Ever After
02. Pt. 2 Sometimes They Do
03. Sorry Seacrest It’s Casey’s Countdown
04. The Smile That Kills
05. It’s Lonely At the Top (Or So I’ve Heard)
06. My Shelter
07. Battle For Hoth
08. Umbrellas
09. Monsters Among Us
10. White Coats And Their Medicine
11. I’m Only Laughing on The Outside
Blessed Be Our Ever After is the Sarasota, Florida natives debut release on Rise Records since leaving their former label Blood & Ink Records. The band is now prepared to really make their mark if they can stay on the road. While their debut on B&I had some shortfalls the band seems to have addressed them and have released one of the better discs in this genre in awhile.
“Blessed Be Our Ever After” opens off the album with a melodic gang vocal before a pounding breakdown leads into the first real track “Pt. 2 Sometimes They Do“. The back and forth vocals here work really well. “Sorry Seacrest It’s Casey’s Countdown” vocally sounds similar to Underoath and actually this album will probably be welcomed by fans of that band. This song has a good mix of the upbeat and the laid back parts, while never sounding disjointed. Musically they are different opting out of the post-core and sticking with melodic sounds. The guitars are distorted but not too much to remove the melodious sounds. There was a surprising amount of finger work on the album. I really expected more of a rhythmic sound, but it wasn’t a good move! “It’s Lonely At the Top (Or So I’ve Heard)” has some sweet brutal parts around 35 seconds in. “Umbrellas” was a decent album filler but I think I would have put it around the song #6 mark rather than #8. It just seemed odd there. I really like the beginning to “White Coats And Their Medicine”. It’s really calming and doesn’t really prepare you for the speedy onslaught that comes after. “I’m Only Laughing On The Outside” is one of the more poppier songs musically, with it’s upbeat and bouncy sound. While the majority of the album does sound similar and the songs follow a similar approach it really doesn’t take away the enjoyment factor of each song!
Overall Rating: I didn’t care for this release upon my first few listens during which I skipped through tracks quickly. After I sat down and really listened though I became a fan. Sure, it’s similar to a lot of the other screamo-core type bands out there but it is also a highly infectious disc and is better than many of those releases. This is a good addition to the Rise roster and a band that’s deserving of your ears! (8.5/10)
Standout Tracks: “Sorry Seacrest It’s Casey’s Countdown”, “My Shelter”, “Monsters Among Us”
Links:
Website
Myspace
Rise Records
Buy: Best Buy