Tom Good
10/13/06, 06:25 PM
Every New Day- Even In The Darkest Places
Record Label: Hand Of Hope Records
Release Date: August 22nd 2006
Upon reading the press sheet for Every New Day, I immediately thought, “Oh crap, here we go again, another medio-core band.” Comparisons were made to bands that did not seem like they would gel together into anything even slightly cohesive. Boy was I wrong, and I am really glad that I was, because “Even In The Darkest Places”, recorded at High North Studios, is an incredibly solid sophomore effort by Winnipeg’s favorite new metal-core band.
In a scene where it is tough to stand out, Every New Day manages to write some truly catchy songs for a metal band. The opening track “Best Defenses” is an excellent example of just how this band attempts to set themselves apart from the pack. The song grabs the listener immediately and thrusts them right into the blazing, powerful stampede of guitars and drums. This song alone includes a mosh breakdown, an orchestral (yep you heard right) breakdown, and an honest to goodness guitar solo courtesy of guitarist/lead vocalist Murray Campbell. It sounds as if something like an orchestral break would seem out of place but serves as a perfect compliment to the thrashing, rhythmic pulses portrayed by the band. “Colder” wouldn’t sound too strange on an As I Lay Dying album or an early Thrice album, in fact with its it’s circular arpeggios, it seems like something that Thrice’s Teppei Teranishi would love to have written. One listen to how massive “Demons Among Us” is will convert people who are on the fence about the genre. The fact that the Every New Day is a hard band doesn’t stop them from inserting some more classical instrumentation into their music such as the addition of the Van Halen sounding piano intro to “Silent Streets”. Once the guitars kick in, the piano and guitar riff are harmonized and it sounds just fantastic.
It is tough to think that all of the sounds on this album are coming from just three guys, because they sound a lot bigger than their number would have you believe. All 3 members (Murray Campbell is joined by Scott Campbell on bass, and Matt Colonval on Drums) have clearly spent their fair share of time in the woodshed practicing for this album. The guitars are powerful and full of the minor pentatonic richness that any self-respecting metal fan has come to love. There is no shortage of guitar solos, stretching arpeggios or sweep picking goodness on “Even In The Darkest Places”. The rhythm section is extremely tight as well with Scott Campbell often locking into place with Matt Colonval to create one heck of a groove for the guitars to play over. The speed rarely slows down, but for what I was hoping for with this band, I wouldn’t want anything different because Every New Day is best when they are going balls to the wall at full throttle.
The other aspect, which catches the listener a bit off guard, is that Murray Campbell can actually sing. A majority of the album is spent with him singing over the metallic riffing much like Protest The Hero, which is an excellent break from all of the screaming so common on many metal albums. It harkens back to the beginning of the speed and power metal days of old when Iron Maiden and Judas Priest didn’t have to scream to get their message across as long as they sang their asses off. Don’t get me wrong, there is still a significant amount of screams on the album, however, they are used completely tastefully and at times when it is deemed appropriate. Lyrical topics cover pretty much anything that you could want in an album from relationships to regret to more obscure topics such as fear of failure and connections. If I had to find fault with this album it would be in this lyrical category because at sometimes I can’t tell if it is genuine or not, but if it is, then I respect that a lot. Still, they are worlds above many other bands out there making metal in the past 10 years. Scott Wade of Comeback Kid fame even makes an appearance on “Walk Alone” which is a welcome return to form for him and only adds to the experience of the song.
Pick any song off of this album and you will get a pretty good idea of what the Every New Day are going for. They wear their influences on their sleeves, but damned if those ideas aren’t made even better in the hands of this talented up and coming band. This album is a massive leap in production quality and song structure from their first full length and frankly I am excited to hear what they can do when given the opportunity that I’m sure they will get before they head into the studio to record their 3rd album. Check this album out before they get too big to be cool.
For Fans Of: Killswitch Engage, Old Thrice, As I Lay Dying, Evergreen Terrace, Comeback Kid, Atreyu
Tracklisting
1.Best Defenses
2.Transparency
3.Rise Up
4. Colder
5. Silent Streets
6. See You Again
7.Eye To Eye
8. Mark This Day
9. Tommorow
10. Demons Among Us
11. Walk Alone
Purevolume: http://www.purevolume.com/everynewday
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/everynewday
Official Site: http://www.everynewday.org/
Record Label: Hand Of Hope Records
Release Date: August 22nd 2006
Upon reading the press sheet for Every New Day, I immediately thought, “Oh crap, here we go again, another medio-core band.” Comparisons were made to bands that did not seem like they would gel together into anything even slightly cohesive. Boy was I wrong, and I am really glad that I was, because “Even In The Darkest Places”, recorded at High North Studios, is an incredibly solid sophomore effort by Winnipeg’s favorite new metal-core band.
In a scene where it is tough to stand out, Every New Day manages to write some truly catchy songs for a metal band. The opening track “Best Defenses” is an excellent example of just how this band attempts to set themselves apart from the pack. The song grabs the listener immediately and thrusts them right into the blazing, powerful stampede of guitars and drums. This song alone includes a mosh breakdown, an orchestral (yep you heard right) breakdown, and an honest to goodness guitar solo courtesy of guitarist/lead vocalist Murray Campbell. It sounds as if something like an orchestral break would seem out of place but serves as a perfect compliment to the thrashing, rhythmic pulses portrayed by the band. “Colder” wouldn’t sound too strange on an As I Lay Dying album or an early Thrice album, in fact with its it’s circular arpeggios, it seems like something that Thrice’s Teppei Teranishi would love to have written. One listen to how massive “Demons Among Us” is will convert people who are on the fence about the genre. The fact that the Every New Day is a hard band doesn’t stop them from inserting some more classical instrumentation into their music such as the addition of the Van Halen sounding piano intro to “Silent Streets”. Once the guitars kick in, the piano and guitar riff are harmonized and it sounds just fantastic.
It is tough to think that all of the sounds on this album are coming from just three guys, because they sound a lot bigger than their number would have you believe. All 3 members (Murray Campbell is joined by Scott Campbell on bass, and Matt Colonval on Drums) have clearly spent their fair share of time in the woodshed practicing for this album. The guitars are powerful and full of the minor pentatonic richness that any self-respecting metal fan has come to love. There is no shortage of guitar solos, stretching arpeggios or sweep picking goodness on “Even In The Darkest Places”. The rhythm section is extremely tight as well with Scott Campbell often locking into place with Matt Colonval to create one heck of a groove for the guitars to play over. The speed rarely slows down, but for what I was hoping for with this band, I wouldn’t want anything different because Every New Day is best when they are going balls to the wall at full throttle.
The other aspect, which catches the listener a bit off guard, is that Murray Campbell can actually sing. A majority of the album is spent with him singing over the metallic riffing much like Protest The Hero, which is an excellent break from all of the screaming so common on many metal albums. It harkens back to the beginning of the speed and power metal days of old when Iron Maiden and Judas Priest didn’t have to scream to get their message across as long as they sang their asses off. Don’t get me wrong, there is still a significant amount of screams on the album, however, they are used completely tastefully and at times when it is deemed appropriate. Lyrical topics cover pretty much anything that you could want in an album from relationships to regret to more obscure topics such as fear of failure and connections. If I had to find fault with this album it would be in this lyrical category because at sometimes I can’t tell if it is genuine or not, but if it is, then I respect that a lot. Still, they are worlds above many other bands out there making metal in the past 10 years. Scott Wade of Comeback Kid fame even makes an appearance on “Walk Alone” which is a welcome return to form for him and only adds to the experience of the song.
Pick any song off of this album and you will get a pretty good idea of what the Every New Day are going for. They wear their influences on their sleeves, but damned if those ideas aren’t made even better in the hands of this talented up and coming band. This album is a massive leap in production quality and song structure from their first full length and frankly I am excited to hear what they can do when given the opportunity that I’m sure they will get before they head into the studio to record their 3rd album. Check this album out before they get too big to be cool.
For Fans Of: Killswitch Engage, Old Thrice, As I Lay Dying, Evergreen Terrace, Comeback Kid, Atreyu
Tracklisting
1.Best Defenses
2.Transparency
3.Rise Up
4. Colder
5. Silent Streets
6. See You Again
7.Eye To Eye
8. Mark This Day
9. Tommorow
10. Demons Among Us
11. Walk Alone
Purevolume: http://www.purevolume.com/everynewday
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/everynewday
Official Site: http://www.everynewday.org/