Band: Four Year Strong
Album: Rise or Die Trying
Genre: Pop Punk/Hardcore
Label: Isurrender/Decaydance
Tracks:
1. The Take Over
2. Prepare To Be Digitally Manipulatd
3. Abandon Ship or Abandon All Hope
4. Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die
5. Wrecked Em? Damn Near Killed Em
6. Catastrophe
7. Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Hell
8. Bada Bing! Wit A Pipe!
9. Beatdown In The Key Of Happy
10. If He's Here, Who's Running Hell?
11. Maniac [R.O.D.]
Once in a great while, you find a truly amazing album, especially in the pop punk genre. There are many good albums, some even pass for great, but it's quite rare that you find one that instantly syncs with you to your core. "Take This To Your Grave," "Tell All Your Friends," "Your Favorite Weapon," and, "Enema Of The State," are all great examples of this phenomenon, but now we can add one more to the list and it comes from Isurrender Records artist, Four Year Strong. Released in fall 2007,"Rise or Die Trying," which is being released on Vinyl on April 1st, not only has staying power, but propels the band to the height of the pop punk/hardcore genre and sets the bar for any album that may come in the future.
From the first time I heard, "The Take Over," the battle cry/intro to Rise, I knew I was listening to something special. Church bells and the sounds of birds lead to emergency sirens that are over come by pulsating drums right before the band comes in to chant, "Start the take over/this is your last warning/we're going straight on til morning/just turn up a soundtrack and we'll keep singing [out loud]/we're going straight on til morning [start the takeover!]." It serves as a launching pad not only for you the listener, but for the band as they then bring in the full band for the instantly catchy, "Prepare to be Digitally Manipulated." Dan O'Connor and Alan Day share both guitar and vocal duties as they we've overlap one another in a fury of catchy guitar work and hook laden lines. The next track, "Abandon Ship or Abandon All Hope," keeps up the pace set by the previous number and adds heavier synth work just to take the sound one step farther. As is apparent on a lot of the album, the band's sound, which mixes hardcore style guitar work with pop punk lyrics and drum beats reminds one of New Found Glory or Set Your Goals, but with the dueling vocals, you rarely think of any other act. "Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die," the single from the album showcases everything great about FYS. The song begins quick and furious with heavy double bass pedal work and chugging guitar as O'Connor comes in with lyrics that demand you to sing along. The song speaks of teamwork and everlasting friendship, which is refreshing as most music in the "scene" these days seems to be about the antithesis of this. As the album moves along, Four Your Strong rarely slow form fast paced, motion inducing sounds laced with gang vocals and breakdowns. "Bada Bing, Wit A Pipe," the 8th track is my pick for the second single as it quick, attention grabbing intro leads to a simple yet catchy chorus that could easily be found in any Hot Topic sound system or Warped Tour stage. The third absolute gem is found in the closing track, "Maniac R.O.D." A quick drum intro leads to fast verses accompanied by furious drum and guitar work. The song is like a motto for the band and their determination to make it big, complete with the album ending gang vocals, "Rise or Die/Here at The Top of The World."
"Rise Or Die Trying," the debut release from Four Year Strong, is the perfect pop punk album. It's catchy vocals and well crafted instrumentation set a new standard in a genre that has become watered down through the rise of the Myspace music generation and if this album is any indication of what FYS is capable of, they have no reason to think they'll ever have to settle with dying trying to make it, because they are already here.
GRADE: 9/10
MYSPACE
*ON MARCH 20th, We met up with Four Year Strong in Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew's Hall and discussed their deal with Decaydance, their new tour, future plans, why Dan is not on tour right now, and much more!!
-> Listen to the Interview HERE
->Download the Interview HERE
-> can't do audio? HERE'S A TEXT VERSION
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