After being familiar with The Word Alive for so long, it’s feels strange to say that they have finally come out with a debut album.  Empire EP was anything but lacking, and the band made a point that there were great things in the works as they easily found themselves touring alongside well-known bands on big festivals.  Deceiver shows some improvement and maturity, as one should expect.  There are well written slow parts that many probably didn’t expect to hear much of, and “Battle Royal” still packs its punch, though it has been tweaked to perfection through minor changes.  It’s hard to find parts of this album where harmonies and layered screams aren’t present, and I think it goes to show that there was a lot of time, thought, and effort put into the writing of the album. Read More »

A third album from jonnycraig4L in 12 months?  Surely our ears have never been so blessed.  Let’s take a look at the second full-length from the man’s resident band, Emarosa. Read More »

Pierce the Veil‘s highly anticipated album Selfish Machines has been on everyone’s mind since word got out via Twitter that they were in the recording studio. Excitement grew as fans everywhere glued their ears to PTV’s Myspace page for song sneak-previews. Now, it is finally here. Selfish Machines is out and it is ‘every man for himself’ to get a copy. Read More »

A little over a year ago In Fear And Faith released their debut album, Your World On Fire, a generic post-hardcore, dual-vocal, piano-laced album, which was nothing we hadn’t heard before. Since the release, the band has been consistently writing, and touring. After going through a year of constant shows, endless traveling and non-stop experiences, they returned to the studio to record another album. That album is Imperial, and I’m sad to say…absolutely nothing has changed. Read More »

We here at Mind Equals Blown have teamed up with Epitaph to bring you another contest! In support of the release of Our Last Night‘s new album We Will All Evolve, you have a chance to win one of 3 CD packs and an mp3 download of the album. Read More »

2010 may mark the last socially acceptable year of the clean singer/screamer tandem. By the end of this decade, most listeners have grown to appreciate music with more complex structures and dynamics than the typical post-hardcore offers.  Though they employ most of the techniques ridiculed in the genre, Our Last Night has created another enjoyable record that deserves a few spins. Read More »

After the release of blessthefall’s 2007 debut, His Last Walk, lead vocalist Craig Mabbit decided to call it quits to get away from the music industry. They finished their tour and found their new guiding light in the form of ex-Take The Crown vocalist Beau Bokan. With their line-up back up to full staff, the gentlement set out to create their sophomore release, aptly titled, Witness. Never have we seen these 5 musicians so on top of their game brining some of the strongest musicianship for the post-hardcore scene through 12 gruelingly delicious tracks.

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Michigan’s We Came As Romans have set a November 3rd release date for their highly anticipated debut full-length, To Plant A Seed.  Recorded with up-and-coming producer Joey Sturgis (The Devil Wears Prada, Emarosa, Attack Attack) at his Foundation Recording Studio, the 10-song follow-up to their breakout EP, Dreams, finds the band expanding their blend of pop-infused metal.

Although recorded with the same producer, there is still an intentional difference between the two albums. We Came As Romans didn’t let the fact that they are only a six-piece hold them back from achieving a more symphonic sound on To Plant A Seed.  “I played the trombone from Elementary school until I graduated high school and I always took the sound of a symphonic band or an orchestra with me,” explains Moore of their decision to add orchestral elements to the album such as the violins, brass, and piano interlaced throughout the album’s dynamic layers.

Not unlike the EP, the lyrics on To Plant A Seed reflect We Came As Romans’ goal of spreading a positive message through their music.  The band hopes, “when people hear the album, they might not change the way they think or the way they act right now, but hopefully we’ve planted that ‘seed’, that thought of love, and it can grow.”

The theme of the album is carried through to the artwork.  Painted by acclaimed artist Paul Romano (Mastodon, Chiodos), the album cover depicts a “very innocent looking boy in which the ‘seed’ has been planted in his mind and it grows to his heart, out of his palms and becomes branches,” describes Moore.

The boys have quite a road ahead of them, here are their upcoming tour dates.

w/Blindwitness
09/26 Rochester, NY @ The Jukebox
09/27 Ottawa, ON @ Mavericks
09/28 Kingston, ON @ Bar None
09/29 Toronto, ON @ The Kathedral
09/30 Hamilton, ON @ The Casbah
10/01 Saint Catherines, ON @ Level 3 Night Club
10/03 Windsor, ON @ Chubby Pickle
10/09 Rochester, PA @ The Blue Violet
10/10 Philadelphia, PA @ Broad Street Ministry

w/The Chariot
10/12 Crofton, MD @ The Macc
10/13 Altoona, PA @ The Eldolyn Terrace
10/15 Raleigh, NC @ The Brewery
10/16 Montgomery, AL @ The Furnished
10/17 East Ridge, TN @ The Warehouse
10/20 Louisville, KY @ Headliners
10/21 Evansville, IN @ Boney June’s
10/22 Toledo, OH @ Frankies
10/23 Mt. Clemens, MI @ Hayloft
10/24 Indianapolis, IN @ Emerson Theatre
10/25 Orland Park, IL @ Mojoes
10/26 Herrin, IL @ Hitts
10/29 St. Louis, MO @ Pops
10/30 Little Rock, AR @ The Village
10/31 Claremore, OK @ The Tree
11/01 Oklahoma City, OK @ Bricktown Ballroom

Headlining
11/02 Wichita, KS @ The Oz Café
11/03 Cape Girardeau, MO @ 4H
11/05 Metairie, LA @ The High Ground
11/06 Macon, GA @ Central City Skate Park
11/07 Douglasville, GA @ The 7 Venue
11/08 Dayton, OH @ The Attic Club
11/09 Cleveland, OH @ Peabody’s
11/10 Pittsburgh, PA @ Diesel
11/11 Erie, PA @ Forward Hall
11/12 Vineland, NJ @ Hangar 84
11/13 Lemoyne, PA @ Champion Ship
11/14 S. Hackensack, NJ @ School Of Rock
11/15 Manchester, NH @ Rocko’s
11/17 Toronto, ON @ The Reverb
11/18 London, ON @ London Music Hall

w/I See Stars
11/25 Mt. Clemens, MI @ Hayloft
11/27 Orland Park, IL @ Mojoe’s
11/28 Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theatre
11/29 Omaha, NE @ Sokol Underground
11/30 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre
12/01 Salt Lake City, UT @ Avalon Theatre
12/02 Pocatello, ID @ Icon
12/03 Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
12/04 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
12/05 Orangevale, CA @ Club Retro
12/07 Stockton, CA @ Stockton Empire Theatre
12/08 W. Hollywood, CA @ The Troubadour
12/09 Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction
12/10 San Diego, CA @ Epicentre
12/11 Phoenix, AZ @ Modified Arts
12/12 Albuquerque, NM @ Launch Pad
12/13 Lubbock, TX @ Jake’s
12/14 San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit
12/15 Dallas, TX @ The Door
12/17 St. Louis, MO @ Fubar
12/18 Indianapolis, IN @ Emerson Theatre
12/19 Grand Rapids, MI @ The MixTape

The Word Alive has probably been my favorite up-and-coming band I’ve ever come across. I’ve always enjoyed discovering bands when they are young and watching as they progress, put out new songs, get signed, put out an album/ep and eventually go on tour. Its like watching something grow.  Sometimes they exceed your expectations and sometimes they fail to reach them. After Craig Mabbitt left blessthefall he joined The Word Alive, while, simultaneously, filling in for Ronnie Radke in Escape the Fate. He and TWA wrote and recorded 5 songs (although I think they only released 3 of them), which were some of the best songs I’ve heard in a while. Craig then made the unfortunate choice of joining Escape the Fate full time (in which he helped put out a terrible album This War Is Ours). This really bummed me out because I wanted more music from these guys. They had created some amazing music in their short time together and I desperately didn’t wanted them to follow in the footsteps of Comerica (A local band that was excellent, check out their myspace and listen to Breather…fantastic).  I wasn’t to thrilled when they filled the vocalist spot with Tyler ‘Telle’ Smith. I didn’t think he could live up to what Craig had created…. and to be quite honest, he didn’t live up to what Craig had done.

He blew it out of the water.

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Gaining ground on the ever so over populated post-hardcore scene rises Florida’s own Broadway presenting you with their debut full length, Kingdoms. As you place the headphones upon your ears please keep your hands inside the ride at all times and prepare for the following: infectious melodies, deep growls, technical guitar work, a cohesive rhythm section, and guest vocals from Jonny Craig and Craig Owens. If any of the preceding frighten you, please remove your ear phones and listen to The Fray.

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