Victory Records. The mere utterance of those two words in conjunction around AP.net-land is likely to generate responses of disdain and derision. Regardless of the label's treatment of beloved fan-favorites and its recent penchant for signing generic flavors-of-the-week, it has also undeniably pushed out some truly classic albums, not the least of which came from today's spotlight band, Grade. Their first album for the label, 1999's Under the Radar was the sound of a band coming into their own. When listening to it side-by-side with their earlier Second Nature recordings, it's easy to wonder how they even got from the proverbial Point A to Point B. Its landmark combination of melodic punk riffs and Kyle Bishop's sing-and-scream vocals is a style still (for better or worse) being copped by hordes of bands more than a decade later, but a scant few have been able to bottle the same magic and energy and the perfect mix of crunch and catchiness. Hell, even they couldn't really do it. Their follow-up record Headfirst Straight to Hell played with essentially the same formula but lacked that all-important factor: really great songs that make you want to play them over and over again. Let's give credit where it's due, though; on any given day, you won't have to look past AP's front page to find bands ripping off Grade at least a little bit.
They did a 2x7" with bane and two other bands. Two new songs which were righteous.
Personally aside from the shit recording I thought "headfirst" was fantastic. The songs were great live and the video for "termites hollow" was really creepy.
One of my all time favs. Hoping for another US tour. Last time I saw them was with catch 22 , reach the sky, and student rick at chain on some victory records tour.
They did a 2x7" with bane and two other bands. Two new songs which were righteous.
Personally aside from the shit recording I thought "headfirst" was fantastic. The songs were great live and the video for "termites hollow" was really creepy.
One of my all time favs. Hoping for another US tour. Last time I saw them was with catch 22 , reach the sky, and student rick at chain on some victory records tour.
oh they released them already? geez i'm missing important news lately.
They did a 2x7" with bane and two other bands. Two new songs which were righteous.
Personally aside from the shit recording I thought "headfirst" was fantastic. The songs were great live and the video for "termites hollow" was really creepy.
One of my all time favs. Hoping for another US tour. Last time I saw them was with catch 22 , reach the sky, and student rick at chain on some victory records tour.
Hmm...I thought I read last year they were in the middle of recording a full length. Guess it fell through.
looooove Under The Radar. the first time i heard Grade was on a Victory Records summer sampler i got at warped tour. it had "triumph and tragedy" acoustic. that was also the first time i ever heard Thursday and Student Rick, as well. whom i became big fans of after that.
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