I must admit I have never listened to Fire Ants From Uranus until this record. These guys are hailing from Lindau area, Germany and are playing their vision of harsher punk rock with melodic punk influences, they reminded me a bit of Off With Their Heads and Menzingers to name a few that come to mind while listening to the music of this band. There are nine songs on this album. Besides midtempo punk anthems there are also faster songs like ‘Act of Sabotage’ for example, being in your face punk rock hymn. Vocals are a bit more harsh voice, but with enough melody to retain excellent vocal lines, topped with superb pop punk backing vocal harmonies. Lyrics are personal, dealing with some engaged themes, but also enough self humor and healthy dose of irony thrown in. Lyrics are great and smartly written and have something to say, something I can relate to, so that is another plus for this band. My personal favorites on this one are ‘Pizza Supernova’, ‘Is It Me’ and ‘When The Skies Fall’. This is great melodic punk rock album coming your way, so check this one out!
Downstater are hailing from Quebec City, Canada and this is their debut full length that came out with People of Punk Rock Records. This one contains ten songs. What do we get here? We get dose of melodic punk/skate punk with nineties influences, like it was played back in the days reminding me of all those bands that I grew up with. This album is emotional, dramatic, intense and melancholic, but also grandiose in richness of melody, backing vocal harmonies and superb songwriting. From the excellent opener ‘Thanks For Nothing’ which grinds everything in its path with contagious melody and superb chorus, this record is a rollercoaster of emotion, goosebumps and above all great excellent punk rock like we are used to from bands in Canadian scene. Musicianship is tight and if I must compare this band to some other bands it would be a mixture of No Use For A Name and Strung Out, being technical yet in your face punk rock at the same time, even with I dare say pop punk sensibility. Vocals are not too mellow or snotty at all, they are strong but fit in like butter on fine bread. It is very hard for me to choose favorites between these ten songs, because they are all excellent, but I will try. They are: ‘Call Me When You’re Dead’, ‘Let You Down’ and ‘Cruelest Defeats’ along with above mentioned song. I love this band and album!
ColourMind’s brand new single “Wish It Was” is consistent with the alternative punk direction the group are headed in, while offering enough deviation to keep things interesting. The thick guitars, pounding drums, rumbling bass and angst-ridden vocal performance hit the listener with a cathartic range of emotions. Here, ColourMind are again inspired by bands such as Blink-182, Green Day, Rise Against and Sum 41, but inject some melodic metal lead and solo work into the established major-key soundscape. Thematically, the song deals with the need to gain a sense of belonging. Wanting to leave your hometown is an age-old tale in the pop punk genre, but here the metaphors and imagery flesh out the co-dependency that prompts you to stay. In summary, “Wish It Was” is a pop punk song with metal elements, searing with emotion that hits you right in the feels. The band’s successful blend of punk influences and metal lead work is poised to please those who are fans of both styles.
ColourMind’s line-up consists of: Jimmy Watson – lead vox/guitar Jonny Essiech – backing vox/guitar Reg King – backing vox/bass Matt Wenke – backing vox/drums
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 