Review Summary: Possibly the best sophomore release ever.
Some albums just hit you. Think back to the first time you heard Ok Computer, or The Illusion of Safety, or El Cielo. Something about these albums (hopefully one of them at least) struck a particularly tender chord in your heart. You recognized the Genius instantly. There are traces of magic in this Pennsylvania band’s sophomore record.
This Day Forward was part of the metalcore explosion of the early 00s, which also contributed such Genius-bearing bands as Hopesfall, Poison The Well, and skycamefalling. Don’t let the tag “metalcore” throw you off, however. This Day Forward is closer to the likes of the aforementioned, and prodigious bands such as Converge and Botch than they are to the rest of the crap that is a disgrace to metalcore.
So, you still have no idea what This Day Forward sounds like. They sport a guitar tone akin to Hopesfall, but with none of the slower passages Hopesfall is famous for. Many of the riffs sound like they could have been stolen from the riff dictionary of Kurt Ballou himself, and that’s a damn good thing. The rhythm section doesn’t slack either; although the production is somewhat poor, the bass makes frequent appearances and never fails to disappoint. The drums are also fantastic; with spastic bouts of double bass, or simple cymbal hits, Colin Frangicetto brings the Genius to This Day Forward.
And then there is Mr. Michael Shaw, the vocalist. He encompasses more of a hardcore scream than a metalcore one, and that’s something to be thankful for. While the genre of hardcore is over-saturated with vocalists who do nothing to distance themselves from the crowd, Mike Shaw somehow manages to channel Jacob Bannon without sounding like a shoddy ripoff. And his lyrics? Shaw utilizes a form of free verse similar to Hopesfall, but don’t let your hopes fall; His lyrics are on the level of Thrice.
A ghost coexistent to the touch of fingertips.
I have lost the my faith in first impressions.
I’ve lost my faith in you.
Even when a group of incredible musicians is thrown together, they can still sound far too disjointed to actually be enjoyable, or manage to convey little to no emotion (Between the Buried and Me, anyone?). This Day Forward deftly avoids falling into the trap of useless wankery, and similarly, that of sounding robotic and emotionless. Every time Shaw’s rousing screams come blasting through my stereo I want to scream my throat dry. Every double bass assault almost knocks me to the floor. Every breakdown (and there aren’t many, but they are well used) throws me into a frenzy of fists and screaming. Simply put, this record deserves a place right next to The Satellite Years and Jane Doe.
