Burden of A DayFrom the retirement capitol of the United States comes Sarasota, Florida's Burden Of A Day, who play a screamo/post-hardcore mix. They have been around since Jan. 2004, and have been known for their energy packed live shows. Speaking of which, I always found it funny that emo bands like Story of the Year, Taking Back Sunday, etc, always do the crazy guitar flipping shit, well here's another emo-driven band that can you throw in the mix. This album packs in 12 tracks that clock out at 44:28, and the songs usually stick to the 3:30-4 minute mark. In the music department, these guys really aren't breaking any new ground, rather going down the path already traveled by bands like Thursday and Thrice. But God knows they are trying like hell though. The breakdowns sound like every other band doing this style, the choruses don't do much for me in the energy department, I don't know, this thing just doesn't captivate me. There isn't any of those riffs or moments that give you the chills. I will say, however, that the strongest thing this band has going for them is the vocalist, who to my ears, sounds like he's going for the Taking Back Sunday, which he actually does quite well. I will say, these guys aren't nearly as bad, lyrically, as I would've thought. Obviously, they're on Blood and Ink, so you know they're Christian but you wouldn't be able to tell just by the lyrics. So I like that, because when it comes down to it, that shit just doesn't appeal to me in the least. If I want Christian rhetoric, I'll read the bible, you know what I'm saying? But regardless, the lyrics are pretty good stuff, even though they are pretty standard fair for this type of music. But they do throw you some curve-balls, like the song, "Anatomy of a Scene," for instance. Just check out these lyrics: "We walk with the world underneath our feet, inside these cocoons made of band aid's and foam to stop the noises from bleeding in. We like out music loud and different to alienate the masses..." Pretty good stuff. The production on this sounds good, but they are some things that could help this sound fuller. The guitars have nice clarity for the heavy melodic stuff, and have a good thick crunch for the breakdowns. But the drums could've been put up a little in the mix, and the bass is too low for my liking, especially considering the genre they're playing. The vocals sound great though. The layout is certainly one of the albums strengths. It jumps out at you with the nice choice of bright colors. And it also gives you a good idea of what the band would sound like without listening to the album. The bulk of the layout is based around a human body with it's muscles and bones exposed, with the appropriate labels for each individual part with lots of high contrast stuff going on.
Rating: 1.5/5
Songs worthy of replay: Anatomy of a Scene
Thesis: If I want to listen to this kind of stuff, which isn't to often, I'd rather listen to Thursday. But if you're myspace band list consists of Thursday, The Bled, Thrice, Underoath, Taking Back Sunday, etc., than this might just be the new album you've been searching for.