Band: Burden Of A Day
Title: Pilots & Paper Planes
Label: Blood & Ink
Release Date: May 9, 2006
Review By: Josh IndieVision
Tracklisting:
01. For Tomorrow We Die
02. High Noon
03. Escapism Is An Art Form
04. No Blood No Foul
05. “Oh The Humanity” (A Prologue To Tragedy)
06. Ashes To Ashes
07. Hello My Name Is Euphoria
08. Cupid Missed His Mark
09. Anatomy Of A Scene
10. Bite The Bullet
11. Sound Of Solace
12. Lost In The Shuffle
Members/Duties:
Bryan Honhart: Guitar
Kendall Knepp: Vocals
Terry Clark: Bass
Josh Sommers: Guitar
Jesse Hostetler: Drums
Burden Of A Day coming from the ever blossoming band haven of Florida bring a melodic hardcore sound that we’ve seen so many times before. As “For Tomorrow We Die” started up I got quite excited because I enjoyed how the song started off. High end guitar with Kendall’s raspy vocals. The band then heads right into their first breakdown and then it hits… The overused singing in metalcore. Not that the singing is bad or anything but it’s just become the thing to do and its getting really old. Thankfully in this track it isn’t overused. The rest of the track features some above average music and is pretty enjoyable!
“High Noon” follows right into pounding you right away with an intense breakdown, filled in with harmonizing guitar riffs. The singing in this song does fit a little better and I definitely am really into this track. In “Escapism As An Art Form” the band tries to get a catchy Underoath type of vibe but fall short. They don’t have the poppiness necessary to pull that off.
“No Blood No Foul” heads back into the harder sound but then falls back into the singing again. The music follows similar patterns to the earlier tracks. Once “Oh The Humanity” I realize that this band certainly has a formula for their songs. Screaming, singing, screaming, breakdown, etc. Unfortunately this will only hurt this bands popularity.
“Ashes To Ashes” has an awesome metal intro with dualing guitars and breakdowns. It then slows down into a melodic breakdown, reminiscent of a Beloved or similar group… Then some singing…and well you get the picture.
Standout Tracks:
“High Noon”, “Ashes To Ashes”
Overall Rating: I tend to go back and forth with this release. At times I’m really into it and at others I don’t enjoy it at all. When I do listen all the way through it tends to do the same. There are parts on “Pilots & Paper Planes” that I think are excellent and some that I really think hurt the release. I personally feel (like it matters, haha) that the band should move closer to it’s metal roots. Combining Kendall’s raspy vocals with a less crossover approach to screamo they’d fair much better. Overall it is a decent debut for BOAD, with some great groundwork to build off of.
Individual Ratings:
Album Art/Design: I enjoyed the booklet and artwork on this disc. A bit chaotic but it flows nicely. All lyrics are included.
Lyrics: The lyrics are poetic in nature and not straightforward like most of hardcore. I prefer more straightforward and understandable lyrics. This falls in the middle of those too. An enjoyable read.
Marketability: An above average release but I am afraid that there is so many other releases like this that it will not be able to stand apart.
Production: The production is decent. Not overproduced with a polished studio vibe but at times I feel the producer could have tweaked things a bit more.
Vocals: Kendall’s raspy vocals are excellent! The singing is average but at many times it would have been better to go without, or stuck with the screaming.
Similar To:The Bled, Beloved, Thursday
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