between the buried and me - telos

what a hard decision! all time low, texas in july, the acacia strain, and bowling for soup released albums today!

listen to "telos"

trivium - declaration

trivium used to be my go-to metal band. i still listen to this album when i lift, so here's my favorite song off of my favorite trivium album! it's a long one, and it's got quite a bit going on.

listen to "declaration" on grooveshark

totheark - apotheosis

ever heard of drewsif stalin? check out his band, totheark! if you know where they got their name, you're awesome.

listen to "apotheosis" on bandcamp

between the buried and me - desert of song

my buddy showed me this one. i really wish i listened to between the buried and me more. they're primarily metal, but they don't always stick to one genre as you're about to find out. it actually reminds me of alice in chains a little bit.

listen to "desert of song" on grooveshark

slipknot - before i forget

good slipknot song. i think it's more hooky than some of their other songs (even if i like some of those songs better)

watch the music video for "before i forget"

goldfinger - 99 red balloons

the only reason i thought of goldfinger yesterday was because i had this song stuck in my head.

listen to "99 red balloons" on grooveshark

listen to "99 luftballons" on grooveshark

goldfinger - spokesman

you're going to see a lot of tony hawk soundtrack songs on wednesdays.

listen to "spokesman" on grooveshark

the amity affliction - geof sux 666

although their album was released last month, it hit american shelves today. the album is pretty good, but i picked this song because it reminded me a little (and i mean little) bit of four letter lie whose overdue album is on its way. this song scratched the itch a little bit.

listen to "geof sux 666" on grooveshark

the devil wears prada - reptar, king of the ozone

i now consider this song a classic. it's one of the first screamo songs i got down with.

listen to "reptar, king of the ozone"

fight fair - game one

fight fair has been around for a while, constantly trying new sounds, but i still feel they're pretty undiscovered. unfortunately, i don't really know what's going on with them anymore. they're probably on an unannounced indefinite hiatus or something. well, i'm a big easycore fan, and this is one of fight fair's most "easy" songs. check it out!

listen to "game on"

halcyon - noodle 2

halcyon is a very interesting-sounding djent band. this is an acoustic track by them. it's a really great song.

listen to "noodle 2" on bandcamp

listen to "pastures" on bandcamp in its entirety

the haarp machine - the escapist notion

i've been waiting far too long for the haarp machine to release their album. here's why:

listen to "the escapist notion" on soundcloud

speaking the king's - call me maybe

as i mentioned earlier, i liked a different band's cover of "call me maybe." this is it.

speaking the king's version is very well done. it's so good that carly actually wore their shirt on stage! the vocals are so clear and the song is perfectly balanced between pop and hardcore. if you like the way a day to remember does their covers, you'll love this one.

listen to speak the king's version of "call me maybe"

watch the music video for "call me maybe"

alice in chains - angry chair

just a great alice in chains song. don't you just love the way they harmonize their vocals?

watch the music video for "angry chair"

caspian - waking season

with so many good releases this week (especially in dying arms' debut album and handguns' new album), i had a tough decision to make. in the end, i surprised myself by choosing a track off of caspian's new album, "waking season."

i chose the title and intro track on the album because i was very fascinated with their use of a music box.

listen to "waking season"

listen to "waking season" (the album) in its entirety on spin.com

the acacia strain - the mouth of the river

the acacia strain doesn't get a lot of credit considering that they've been a band since 2001. all of their albums sound different, and "death is only mortal" is probably not going to be an exception. if the rest of the album is going to sound like "the mouth of the river," it's going to be the most djent (let's face it, it's a genre now) acacia strain album to date, almost like a 4:4 meshuggah song would sound. their guitar tone is very saturated and thick. i also noticed that the strain chose to use higher-sounding vocals. i don't think this will disappoint fans of "wormwood," but it's definitely something new.

listen to "the mouth of the river"

a summer better than yours - trainwreck

a summer better than yours really captures a raw pop punk sound that you deserve to hear. their vocals aren't as pretty as the band your girlfriend listens to. enjoy!

listen to "trainwreck"

bon jovi - wanted dead or alive

ever watch deadliest catch and love that theme song? it's a pretty cool acoustic yet heavy rendition of bon jovi's hit.

listen to "wanted dead or alive" on grooveshark

upon this dawning - of human action

like i said before, upon this dawning's original music is better. i think this song will appeal most to old attack attack! they even do crabcore in this music video. fans. i love this song. it's just a great screamo song. nothing too special except maybe the break after the first chorus; it's just the genre done right.

watch the music video for "of human action"

aggressive piano chord ftw!

upon this dawning - call me maybe

people better put their covers of this song out their as soon as possible while it's still relevant and popular. i actually like a different band's cover better than this one, so i'll put theirs up next thursday.

upon this dawning, an italian screamo band who recently signed to fearless records, does a solid job with their heavy cover of "call me maybe." honestly, i won't be surprised if every heavy song on the next punk goes pop sounds just like this. not a big deal though; it's what people buy it for. i like the electronic aspects of this cover, but the transitions from heavy to poppy parts are kind of rough. also, i think the heavy part of the chorus is kinda bad. still, i enjoy this song as a whole. it's a fun jam.

you should check out their original songs though. they're better than this.

watch the lyric video for upon this dawning's cover of "call me maybe"

watch the music video for "call me maybe"

blessis union of souls - hey leonardo

i feel sorry for you if you never heard this song before.

listen to "hey leonardo" on grooveshark

set it off - dream catcher

this week's album was a really tough decision because a lot of bands i like are releasing their albums this week. after a lot of thinking, i picked set it off's "dream catcher" off of their new album, "cinematics."

first of all, go pick up a copy of "cinematics." the band and their label (equal vision) are donating money from this week's sales of the album to vh1's save the music foundation. if the album debuts at #1 on billboard's heatseekers, they'll donate $5000 more.

anyways, the song is really good. it's an emotional and uplifting pop punk song. they build up for all of the parts really well. the song just rises and falls so beautifully. also, i love songs that are about pursuing your dreams despite what others tell you.

listen to "dream catcher" on absolute punk

listen to "dream catcher" here if you can't get it to work

necropia - the wrath and rapture

necropia recently released their debut ep. i'm not going to lie, i didn't think most of it was special. however, i really got down to "the wrath and rapture" in particular. it changes tempo and time signature a lot. it's pretty bipolar. you can be headbanging to a fast 4:4 part, then immediately be confused by a cut time breakdown. it's like a sonic roller coaster of death metal.

listen to "the wrath and rapture" by necropia

go like necropia's facebook page to listen to their ep for free

real friends - floorboards

real friends have working very hard to get their name out. i love their music because it sounds so emotional and makes you homesick. yeah, people would just call this pop punk, easycore, or whatever, but i think bands like them need their own subgenre like "hometown pop punk" or something.

"floorboards" is my favorite song by them. it's the first track on their ep. it starts off right away with your average punk drum beat and some cool guitar licks and sustained chords to sound a little thick so they can kill it all for a measure-long instrumental rest and some aggressive but in-tune vocals. friends, this is when you know the pop punk song your listening to is about to blow your mind.

the verse has the same aggressive punk sound as the intro except with vocals. the prechorus incorporates more heavy and rhythmic guitar rhythms with a slower drum beat to get you in the groove for, honestly, one of the catchiest choruses i've heard this year.

the chorus doesn't feature any dramatic change in vocal range or melody, it's just catchy and the instruments go together so perfectly. it just makes want to get up and enter an imaginary circle pit. anyways, the rest of the song is good, i just wanted to write until the chorus because i like the chorus so much. enjoy!

listen to "floorboards" on bandcamp

listen to "everyone that dragged you here" in its entirety on bandcamp

these hearts - his angel back

i love these heart's new ep! it has 2 heavy tracks including a brand new song, and 3 acoustic tracks (also including a brand new song). this new song, his angel back, has lovely lyrics. i don't feel like talking about the lyrics because they sound a little too personal for me to comment on, so all i'll tell you is that they're lovely. the song also has a kind of folky feel to it. it's something new from the band, but it still sounds like these hearts. prepare to be moved!

listen to "his angel back"

if you have rdio, listen to the whole "elephant in the room" ep

our last night - liberate me

our last night is a pretty underrated screamo band. they have some of the catchiest choruses in the scene, and there's no shortage of heaviness either. this song is off of their recent album that came out less than a month ago. it has semi-djenty rhythm guitar parts, but a constant, melodic lead like you hear from christian death metal bands. the best is about 28 seconds in when the chord progression and guitar leads take an unexpected turn. thank goodness it's the verse riff; you get to hear it again later.

watch the lyric video for "liberate me"

blink-182 - another girl, another planet

last week was a cover of a blink-182 song. this week, blink-182 does the cover with a fresh take on an old song. i promise you, if you haven't heard this song, you're going to wish you have before. it's way too catchy for a b-side in my opinion.

listen to blink-182's cover of "another girl, another planet" on grooveshark

listen to the original version of "another girl, another planet" on grooveshark

ozzy osbourne - crazy train

this was my favorite song for a long time...

listen to "crazy train" on grooveshark

nofx - this machine is 4

this week's most anticipated album by me easily goes to nofx's 12th studio album, "self entitled." today, they're streaming it on spotify for free. if you don't have spotify, you can still listen to "this machine is 4" if you click on the link below.

so here's the good news: nofx sounds like nofx. if you haven't heard of nofx before, go ahead and take a listen. in my mind, nofx exhibits punk music the best, so it's about time you've heard their stuff.

nothing much to say about this song; it's what you expect.

listen to "this machine is 4" on rollingstone

catch the sun - confession

catch the sun is a wonderful new progressive metal (and not djent) band from russia. they're great shredders, but they still bring down the house with some heavy breakdowns. of course, they don't just stick to 4:4 time with the same tempo and key do all that stuff you'd expect from a progressive metal band. what's great is that they're not weird where they're not to foreign to last decade's metalcore fans for listening. i love their whole album. i even like their instrumental tracks (be sure to check out the intro, "onset," the interlude, "to the sky," and the outro and title track, "aspiration"). i like "confession" the most because i think it offers a little bit of everything from the band's sound (although none of the songs are THAT different from each other to be honest), but you should definitely listen to the whole album if you like metal and have the time.

listen to "confession" on bandcamp

listen to "aspiration" in it's entirety on bandcamp

hank - 200f8

last year was my freshman year at the university of illinois, and i was going to a lot of local music shows to check out the stuff. i've heard some great acts and some terrible acts. if i had to pick my favorite band i've seen in champaign, i'd easily pick hank. i guess hank is a math rock band, but i'm not too familiar with the genre. if you're lucky enough to be in champaign, il on september 27th this year, make your way to the red herring at 8:15 that night to see their performance for pygmalion fest.

listen to 200f8 on bandcamp

the maine - whoever she is

the maine makes some beautiful acoustic music. i actually believe that their christmas ep was their best release because it was chalk-full of raw, acoustic wonder. but, i think i'll save the christmas songs for december.

listen to "whoever she is" on grooveshark

assemble the skyline - we're not going down without a war

i love this song, and i really love this music video. assemble the skyline was a catchy yet aggressive pop punk band featuring slightly low-tuned guitars and 2 vocalists. i think this song best represents their sound.

i also think the music video is a beautiful work of art. it's not just because the style is a ripoff of memento, i just really love the story.

watch the music video for "we're not going down without a war"

four year strong - dumpweed

four year strong and blink-182 are both pretty big right now. i really like the older four year strong stuff, and this cover is pretty damn old. like, this blink-182 tribute compilation came out like a week and a half before rise or die trying. four year strong did a great deal of amazing covers, and i'm sure i'll put some more up later, but this one's my favorite because of the overly sweet keyboard parts (r.i.p.), the pre-gritty vocals that are an octave above the original's, and the stomping breakdown at the end. yeah, the track could've been mastered better; all i really hear are the drums in some parts, but it's still a great cover.

listen to four year strong's cover of "dumpweed" on grooveshark

listen to the original "dumpweed" on grooveshark

bachman-turner overdrive - takin care of business

you've heard this song before. it's the middle of the week, school started/is starting/about to start, and you've got some business to take care of. let this song be an inspiration

listen to "takin care of business"

matchbox twenty - she's so mean

honorable mention goes out to propagandhi.

even if you never heard matchbox twenty, you've definitely heard their name being tossed around. matchbox twenty's sound really showcases 90s alternative music (although they were more of a turn of the century band). "she's so mean" is a really good song if you're looking for something fresh to bring you back to that time. at first, you might think it's going to be a lame rip off of that one direction song, but you'll be relieved once the 90s alternative vocals kick in. after that, the prechorus (which is my favorite part) really builds well for that catchy chorus complete with gentle guitar rhythms and great call-and-response vocals. the key change in the bridge is really a beautiful let down since it goes into a minor key. plus, it's surprisingly heavy with a more rock n' roll feel. the lyrics may not be too happy, but the song's overall sound is a great party track with a lower-midtempo 90s alternative feel. enjoy!

watch the music video for "she's so mean"

avenged sevenfold - chapter four

everybody had an avenged sevenfold phase in one point in time, and i'm no exception. my first favorite bands was a7x, but i was so new to rock music, and i hold heard their third album "city of evil." my good friend, however, bought me "waking the fallen" for my birthday, and i loved it. it's heavier than their newer stuff with much more screaming and less cheesy singing. best of all, the rhythm guitar parts are so driving. if you haven't really heard older a7x stuff, you should really give it a shot.

"chapter four" is my favorite a7x song for one reason: the guitar solo. enjoy!

listen to "chapter four"

aspire - we're always home

unlike most of you, i actually like getting spam from small time bands on facebook and getting to check out new stuff. aspire has a pretty great sound, and they seem pretty nice too.

listen to "we're always home"

lights - romance is

there are a lot of people, especially girls on tumblr, see pictures of this girl all the time but don't know who she is. if you fall into that category, you've come to the right place.

lights is one of those artists who truly sound better on acoustic songs, or at least in my opinion. honestly, i don't like too many of her songs, but i can watch her play songs on the guitar forever. this song stuck out to me. it was one of those unreleased songs until she released her acoustic ep. this song is more on the darker side. the lyrics are pretty sad, and lights' emotional, intimate voice really breathes life into the story.

listen to "romance is" on grooveshark

watch the original webcam chat version

taking back sunday - makedamnsure

i barely listened to taking back sunday before this year's warped tour. it's not because i didn't like them, it was just because i never tried really hard to actively listen to them. as a result, i only knew this song and another song by them, and i mistakenly thought that the other song was by jimmy eat world.

"makedamnsure" is a killer song. the mix is so basic and raw that all the different tracks come through. the chorus is so big and driving that you can't help but move. also, when the singer goes up and octave for the prechorus, the transition is really abrupt and hard so it really lifts you when you hear him singing his heart out at the peak of his range. overall, it's a good alternative song to listen to. enjoy!

watch the music video for "makedamnsure"

killswitch engage - holy diver

i feel that killswitch engage is pretty famous for their cover of dio's holy diver. although killswitch engage got jesse leach back after he left, i'm really going to miss howard jones on vocals. his screams weren't bad, but i really loved his singing voice; he sounded like a modern day dio to me. that's part of the reason the cover was so good. of course, the added weight to the song is really nice too. killswitch engage does pinch harmonics the best, and that really helped a lot of the parts. the verses are really awesome because of the palm muted rhythms using combinations sustained and staccato playing styles. to me, the verses are heavier than the breakdown. i don't really feel like my writing is flowing very well, so i'm just going to stop. have a good listen. if you're not a metal fan, i think you'll still like this track.

watch the music video for killswitch engage's cover of "holy diver"

i try to stay away from unofficial youtube videos as much as i can, but you have to see the original music video for "holy diver"

new radicals - you get what you give

one hit wonder songs are always nice to listen to, and this one is no exception. so, here's your daily dose of 90's pop. they made things good back then.

watch the music video for "you get what you give"

stealing axion - 47 days later

it was a tough call, but i think the release i was most looking forward to this week is stealing axion's "moments." honorable mentions go to obey the brave, kamikabe, and as artifacts. yep, they're all heavy bands.

47 days later stays pretty loyal to the band's undeniable influences from meshuggah. it's very bass (as in bass guitar) heavy too. personally, i'm not a big fan of their clean singing parts, but i'm so used to scene bands and their sugary sweet bubble gum pop choruses, so i'm definitely feeling like my opinion doesn't count there. although most of the song is groovy, there are some parts with some straight up in your face metal that you're probably more used to.

listen to "47 days later"

listen to "moments" in it's entirety on no clean singing (even though there is clean singing)