Funeral For A Friend are back with the third single to be released of their latest album, the brilliant ‘Welcome Home Armageddon’. Broken Foundation is a return to form for the welsh rockers that will keep both new and older fans happy.

Indeed this is a return to the band’s first two albums – heavy and in your face. But it’s built on the wealth of experience accumulated over the years by the post-hardcore veterans on how to create great melodies and memorable choruses. The only problem is that this track typically starts off so fast-paced that it doesn’t get the opportunity to build up into something bigger – instead staying at the same pace throughout.

That being said, the blistering guitar work combined with the blend of singing and screaming makes this a highlight of the band’s career and one of the better songs they have come up with in the recent years and an instant post-hardcore anthem.

Brand New

SUPPORT ACTS: Thrice, Glassjaw

As soon as Brand New announced that they would be headlining Wembley Arena – their biggest UK gig to date, there would have almost certainly been a majority of people who questioned the band’s choice. People who doubted whether or not Brand New could pull it off or even sell enough tickets to make the show worthwhile in the first place. These doubts come naturally when such an un-commercial band decides to take risks. But those people may have underestimated the power of the Brand New’s music and the shear force of their unmatched fan base. Even though the show isn’t completely sold out, the atmosphere in here tonight would wash those doubts away in a second.

Support band Thrice kick the night’s proceedings off in style, bearing a very competent performance. And although a lot of the crowd seem to be lifeless, each band member seems genuinely ecstatic to be playing at such a famous arena. They manage to bring some life to the arena in the end and overall, were very impressive.

Glassjaw swagger on stage with a certain amount of confidence, which is evident throughout their entire performance. Their post-hardcore anthems enticing and exciting their seemingly vast fan following within the crowd, front man Daryl Palumbo oozing stage presence. They finish their set off with fan favourite, ‘Siberian Kiss’, which causes an increase in mosh-pits and sees the band off to a worthy ovation.

But all of this pails in comparison to what comes next.

As the anticipation increases, and with their usual mystique, the lights go down and the band of the night Brand New enter to a rapturous uproar. They start off their biggest ever UK gig with the intro ‘Welcome To Bangkok’, an intro that delves into a very distinctive and epic sound. This leads perfectly onto ‘Sink’, taken from the band’s newest album, they perform it with just as much intensity and twice the noise. ‘Degausser’ and ‘You Won’t Know’ bring the latter too. Every word etched on the band’s faces, they cavort around on stage like they own it, and tonight, they do.

Fan favourites and the still compelling, ‘Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades’ and ‘The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows’, send the arena into a frenzy, while the performance of ‘Okay, I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don’t’, means that you can’t hear yourself or the band over the crowd, singling loudly along to every word.

Front man Jesse Lacey performs a stripped down version of the beautiful ‘Limousine’, by himself, with just a guitar in hand, but has every one hanging on his every note. A man of very few words, Lacey would much rather let the music do the talking for him, which it does in the best way possible.

Newer songs, the violently heavy ‘Gasoline’ and ‘Vices’ are played with the up most power and cause chaos within the mosh infused crowd. The upbeat ‘Archers’ makes its appearance in the set-list with its pop-hooks and infectious exhilaration; it’s a great addition to the night.

‘Jesus’ and ‘You Stole’ bring a chilled out atmosphere with their poetic choruses and soft vocals, played with enough passion to give you chills. Allowing the band to take in the overwhelming feeling in the arena.

Set-list rarities ‘Seventy Times Seven’ and ‘Jude Law and A Semester Abroad’ make appearances that only increase the thrill of the crowd, with their incredibly catchy choruses. A near perfect set-list for a near-perfect gig and when all is said and done, Brand New don’t need a heavy song to finish and end with a bang. Instead they choose to end with the amazing, ‘Play Crack The Sky’ a simplistic yet deep song, haunting and flawlessly performed.

The show may not be a completely sold out show, but from the atmosphere and noise in here tonight, you would never have guessed. The electricity in the arena is unmistakeable. As is the band’s ever-growing fan base. Doubters beware. There is nothing that Brand New can’t do.

5/5

- Amy Parker

Although Brand New aren’t a commercial band, they are still one of the most successful bands in the world. If not for their album sales, then simply for the ever-growing fan base. After the success of their previous three albums, more importantly their second album, ‘Deja Entendu’ and their third album, ‘The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me’, their new album has been hyped about ever since the band announced they had begun recording.

If there’s one thing ‘Daisy’ does perfectly, it’s that it makes you think, probably more than any other album you listen to this year will.

Starting with the first track, ‘Vices’ which, with a slightly unusual beginning and front man Jesse Lacey tearing vocals out from where they’ve never been torn before, may have long-time fans of the band scratching their heads. Whereas others will be revelling in the fact that once again Brand New prove to be one of the most original and inventive bands on the planet. Their trademark being that they never give you everything straight away, instead making the listener wait and enjoy the ride the music takes them on, all the while building up to their epic-like finishes – something that the New Yorkers do better than any other band.

‘Bed’ along with title track, ‘Daisy’ – which is one of the highlights of the album, provides a signature chilled out moment from the band which reveals the emotional and melodic side of them that fans have come to admire, while ‘At The Bottom’ sounds something like the love-child of the band’s last two albums (2003’s Deja Entendu and 2006’s The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me), with melodies seeping though all the way to the upbeat and screeching ‘Gasoline’, which showcases some of the most haunting bass lines and vocals from start to finish, giving the song an eerie feel (even though the whole album could be thought of as eerie).

‘You Stole’ shows how much the musicianship of the guys has improved over the years, with some of the best guitar lines and riffs ever produced by guitar man Vincent Accardi, which fit brilliantly to help take the song to new heights along with the rest of the album.

With it’s intriguing lyrics, screaming vocals and rapid drumming, ‘Sink’ turns out to be one of the heaviest tracks, this and other songs all add up to create probably the heaviest and most brutal album the band have ever released.

Track by track, ‘Daisy’ seems to be filled with emotion. Just as every other Brand New album in the past does, it oozes passionate and diverse lyrics along with tantalising melodies as well as the ever-present willingness to try new things.

‘Brought A Bride’, is one of the best songs ever shaped by the band, poetic and full of feeling while wrapped in dazzling guitar lines that compliment the song greatly.

The final track ‘Noro’, distinguishes an intriguing atmosphere with Jesse Lacey crying out,’ I’m on my way to hell.’  This is mixed with distorted guitars and an abrupt, yet well-timed finish, which ends the album on a high.

Although Brand New don’t give you everything straight away, when they do give you something, they give you it all 100% and then some, their fourth album exposes everything that they are about and also shows how much Brand New have grown up through their music. From the questioning lyrics to the much improved on use of their instruments, they have crafted yet another stunning and inspiring album to add to their long list of achievements.

‘Daisy’ just might be the defining moment of Brand New’s career. Breaking away slightly from their earlier work, it’s a different step in the band’s evolution that might prove to be the most rewarding one they’ve ever taken.

- Amy Parker

Get it here: http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/11290678/Daisy/Product.html

In the months leading up to the release of their fifth studio album, Every Time I Die had promised their doting fans that ‘New Junk Aesthetic’ would see the band go back to their roots, revaluating and reinventing the heavier sound that saw their first three albums become so successful. Hardcore fans that had hoped this would be true will be excited to know that the band was not over-exaggerating…at all!

Buffalo’s finest are a strange type of band, masters of the controlled chaos which is manifested clearly in this album with songs, ‘The Marvelous Slut’ and ‘For The Record’ providing a frenzy of layered guitar tracks and razor sharp vocals while ‘Wanderlust’ and ‘White Smoke’ are almost certain to become fan-favourites due to the sheer colossal choruses and hooks wrapped in an intensity unmatched by any other bands, with the voice of ETID’s, Keith Buckley screaming the clever and poetic, ‘If life is pointless, then point taken, say amen.’

‘Organ Grinder’ sees the band show off the southern grooves from previous albums while still keeping the in your face ferocity and grinding musicianship very much in tact. Leading the album greatly onto ‘Host Disorder’, which stands out as the song that contains the most actual singing (as all the other songs are pretty much full of throat-aching shouts) all the while still containing a certain amount of violent commotion and vicious drumming to keep it in tune with the rest of the album.

‘The Sweet Life’ is a stand out track with one of the catchiest choruses on the entire album, which helps the song deliver a gargantuan hit through the speakers with perfectly timed arrangement and a creative flow.

The brilliantly named ‘Goddamn Kids These Days’ ends the album off fiercely with a clever swagger with ‘we deserve to be moved by more than force alone’ being one of the best lines on the album, capturing the feelings of the world today.

At times, Every Time I Die tend to sound like the incoherent rant of a mad man on a mission, but they do it so flawlessly and with great control that you can’t help but stop and admire their courage to create such brutal lyrics, a heavy and yet still groove-orientated wave of hooks and a willingness to expose people and parts of the world for what they are. ‘New Junk Aesthetic’ is aggression personified and will surely see them continue on the path of success.

Get it here: http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/11559471/New-Junk-Aesthetic/Product.html