I, The Breather (ITB); that band is surpassing almost all the bands on my favorites list, in fact it almost flew past The Word Alive(TWA) and Mute Math(MM) recently. But ITB settled down at number three on my list of favorite bands, with MM still at the top and TWA respectively second. I just wanna write why I like all three of these bands so much. And do that I shall.
Mute Math, I fell in love with this band at first listen. It was the summer of 2009 and I had been listening to Pandora for the longest time. Mostly exploring the Daft Punk station and a Devil Wears Prada station. But by fate, at least I like to think so, I started to listen to a Coldplay station. Lots of bands in this writing, if gets a little confusing just take the time to listen to each one because they're all really good musicians. So anyway, MM's song "Typical" happened to stroll through my ears and plants itself directly in the love side of my brain. And since that day I have found, listened and loved every single song of MM. They changed my musical life and even changed my real life with the power of music.
Now I really like them because of their quirky style, it's smooth and modern but never forgets to recognize the old time jazz that has influenced them so much. The band MM hails from New Orleans, Louisiana and their heritage is never in doubt. Darren King, the bands drummer, has some of the fastest high hat skills I've ever heard, but elegantly weaves through his surprisingly simple drumset with pace and a beat that pleases the senses while never forgetting to make your body move in your own dance. The very funk-jazz and alternative modern style is held together with the keys and vocals of Paul Meany. His voice has the quality you don't here often. His voice is the focal point of the smooth harmonies and powerful bridges that make MM so enjoyable. My unsung hero of each album is the bassit Roy Mitchell Cardenas. His base lines always intrigue me, with that same funky and smooth style. Those baselines have made me grove in times of trouble and made me electric slide in times of joy. Simply, Roy crafts bass for MM the way bass was meant to be crafted, providing a backbone for every over instrument to play to. He just happens to be really good at that. The final member of MM is Greg Hill, the band's guitarist. In one word, creative. Make that two words, inspiring. Now Greg doesn't shred your face off, mine is still there and I've been listening to MM for basically two years straight. He doesn't overcomplicate his guitar play with hammer-on solos, or sweeping riffs; in fact he just plays. He creates mood with his guitar, giving a vibe to each song that is wonderful. He struts and gallops, riffs and picks through each album; but his work for each album leaves me awe inspired to what Greg can do with a guitar. Each song of theirs holds a picture in my head, every track from each album helps paint normally mundane events in this life with the colorful notes of MM.
Now on to The Word Alive, simply good metal in my opinion. Born from new age metalcore with guitar tributes to old shcool metal guitar solos, TWA popped up in my iTunes through mere destiny and have never left the "Top 25 Played" playlist since. This destiny turned out to be an Alt Press magazine I purchased that came with a sampler that featured TWA. So I'll say it, thanks Alt Press for being awesome. I owe ya one.
Back to TWA, their first EP is literal metal/musical magic. Taking their cue from a variety of instruments the sextet from Phoenix, Arizona crafted my favorite EP thus far in my life. The recent full length album probably stands with the record of most songs on repeat because for months I would put on that album and repeat a song for a week. Yeah, I loved it that much. Every track from both albums are hard hitting but never loses a needed alternative influence that makes them so unique. Tyler "Telle" Smith, bassist turned vocalist, is one of my favorite scream vocalists mainly because he seems so passionate when he delivers his lyrics, live or studio. He may not be technical or have amazing range but he's all about his music, and that makes me want to listen over and over and over. Zach Hansen and Tony Pizzuti are really talented guitarists, their rifts alone are head and shoulders above most metalcore/post-hardcore music. Just forget about the solos, they're out of this world. Sadly, the original bassist Nick Urlacher left at the end of 2010. While the metalcore genre is not known for their bassists, I really liked Nick. In all the video updates he was the one cracking jokes and could always be seen thrashing on stage. He'll be missed as TWA continues to grow and create music. Again, the unsung hero for all the albums is Dusty Riach, the bands keyboardist/synth guy. His contributions towards every album make every breakdown that much harder, every bridge that much bendy and awesome (you didn't read wrong, I said bendy) and every chorus dance-inducing. TWA made me love metal music and yes, screaming vocals are awesome. Suck it.
I, The Breather. Whooooooooooooooo, to good. Forgive me but this next sentence must be written this way. ITheBreathermakesmewannapunchstuffandthrowstuffanddancebecausetheirawesomeandbreakdownsarecool,dealwithit. Sorry but I couldn't take a breath there. The main reason I like I, The Breather so much is because their not afraid to commit to a style that may be rejected, and not afraid to be Christian in a metal genre. That's tough and I have a lot respect for those guys. Granted, they may over use the breakdown but I really don't have a problem with it because every time I here an ITB breakdown I just wanna get down and most, Jesus style. Shawn Spann, lead and only vocalist, has this style that I want to emulate so much. He utilizes range and brutality in a way that's very pleasing, committing to hybrid type of screaming for metalcore. He doesn't rely on one pitch to much, but uses lows effectively on breakdowns and highs to blend with bridges that make the songs move. The dual guitarists Jered Youngbar and Justin Huffman are crazy talented, much like TWA they utilize solos to take their type of music to another level. In a metal world filled with breakdowns and lame guitar work (yeah I'm looking at you Asking Alexandria) Jered, Justin, Zach and Tony all get an A+.
Well I've wrote a lot, I'm gonna post this and revisit and revise later.
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