|
RockinTrivia Test your knowledge |
RockinForum Add your comments |
|
|||||||||||
| |
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
A Day To Remember
A Day To Remember's third studio album, "Homesick," just missed making its debut in the Top 20 on the Billboard 200 chart. The '09 set sold over 20,000 copies in its first week. Albums at the top of the chart sell seven or eight times that in a week but it was still an impressive showing for the Ocala, FL, band.
A Day To Remember launched in '03. Back then, their drummer was Bobby Scruggs (later replaced by Alex Shellnut). Constant touring, playing small venues, paid off when the group signed with Indianola Records for their debut album, "And Their Name Was Treason." It sold more than 8,000 copies without much promotion.
A friend of bassist Joshua Woodward put A Day To Remember in touch with Victory Records. The group did a showcase performance for the label in Chicago and inked a deal. '07's "For Those Who Have Heart" raised the group's profile leading to more touring including a U.K. jaunt. They were nominated for "Best International Newcomer" in Kerrang! magazine's '08 survey - but they didn't get it (Black Tide did). Back in the States A Day To Remember hit the '08 Vans Warped Tour. Also, a remixed/remastered version of "And Their Name Was Treason" was reissued as "Old Record."
Coincidentally, A Day To Remember's contribution to the compilation "Pop Goes Punk 2" was a cover of The Fray's "Over My Head (Cable Car)." The Fray's self-titled sophomore album sat at #1 when "Homesick" hit the chart.
Vocalists in '90's Metal bands would regularly sing the verse then go all rant and rage in the chorus. The impact was immediate and powerful - until the device was drilled into the ground. What also contributed to the burn-out was that Metal bands came from the same place. That's where A Day To Remember has an edge.
A Day To Remember is a pretty good power-pop/Punk outfit but they ratchet it up significantly with the shift to Metal. This could sound schizophrenic but they are surprisingly able to work the two styles seamlessly. The group goes the acoustic ballad route about as often as they go totally Metal - most of the time they play to their strengths. From "Homesick," "The Downfall Of Us All" and the title track score. "Faith In Me" and "Another Song About The Weekend" are as accessible as they get but it's not the best they do.
The Metal/power pop mix was there from the beginning. "And Their Name Was Treason" starts strong with "Heartless" and "A Second Glance." But as the album progresses it gets heavier. From the sounds of it, "1958" was a rough year and "Sound The Alarm" closes things out on a Metalcore note. But A Day To Remember are better served balancing Metal and power pop, rather than playing up one at the expense of the other.