It Prevails - "Stroma" CD Review (Mediaskare) // Show at Party Expo on Aug. 18th

Portland metalcore band It Prevails just released their third full-length, Stroma (Mediaskare Records), which is their strongest to-date. Continuing with the ‘tradition’ of having lineup shakeups with each new release, this disc marks the return of original drummer Aaron Marsh and early-on rhythm guitarist Nic Toten. The band is currently off on “The Beautiful & Spineless Tour” coast-to-coast tour. which stops at Party Expo in Brooklyn on August 18th. The lineup for the tour includes No Bragging Rights (tour headliners), We Are Defiance, Onward To Olympas and Boys No Good (8/8 – 8/14) & Burning Twilight (9/3 – 9/6).

This new disc, Stroma, is the followup to 2009’s Capture & Embrace and, musically, it continues in the same melodic hardcore vein. The disc starts out with the barreling, high-energy track “Holes” and doesn’t let off the throttle until the disc’s twelve tracks (40 minutes) have run their course. While the band retains the melodic hooks of past releases, this time around, the guitar leads have been de-emphasized in favor of more percussion-heavy, melodic “full band” sound.

Lyrically, the band continues to write about the “struggles, life lessons, negative situations, and mistakes” and principal songwriter / vocalist Ian Fike delivers these predominately uplifting lyrics seamlessly switching between his clean and heavy vocals (the later delivered in a higher pitch than on previous releases). The track “Break Away” showcases the depth and versatility of Fike’s vocals and the track includes guest vocals from Brendan Foley of Betrayal. Adam Jackson from Twelve Tribes also makes a guest appearance on this disc and joins Ficke on the track “Artisan”.



It Prevails obviously sees this disc as a turning point for the band as, in a recent interview with Rock Edition, Ian Fike talked about the album’s title and how Stroma means “the framework, the building base of something. When me and Aaron were putting the skeletons of the songs together — Aaron kept saying this is the framework of our new ideas, this is what we’ve grown into….writing ‘Stroma,’ it was so much fun. We had all these riffs, and it was very natural how it all came together.”

“The Beautiful & Spineless" Tour Dates
08/05 Lewisville, TX – Dad’s Venue
08/06 San Antonio, TX – The White Rabbit
08/07 Austin, TX – TBA
08/08 Baton Rouge, LA – Here Today Gone Tomorrow
08/09 Mobile, AL – American Legion Post 88
08/10 Daytona Beach, FL – Stingrays
08/11 Tampa, FL – Transitions Art Gallery
08/12 Jacksonville, FL – The Pit
08/13 Douglasville, GA – The 7 Venue
08/14 Raleigh, NC – The Brewery
08/15 Fredericksburg, VA – The Refuge
08/16 Linthicum, MD – LHUMC
08/17 Lemoyne, PA – The Champ
08/18 Brooklyn, NY – Party Expo
08/19 Albany, NY – Bogie’s
08/20 Manchester, NH – Rocko’s
08/21 Buffalo, NY – Broadway Joe’s
08/22 Pittsburgh, PA – 42nd Street Rock House
08/23 Columbus, OH – TBA
08/24 Mt. Clemens, MI – The Hayloft
08/25 Toledo, OH – Frankies
08/26 Steger, IL – Another Hall In The Wall
08/27 St. Louis, MO – Fubar
08/28 Omaha, NE – The Commons
08/29 Wichita, KS – The Eagles Lodge
08/30 Tulsa, OK – Reverb
08/31 Denver, CO – TBA
09/01 Ogden, UT – Mojo’s
09/02 Boise, ID – The Grange Hall
09/03 Spokane, WA – The A Club
09/04 Pullman, WA – The Bell Tower
09/05 Portland, OR – TBA
09/06 Klamath Falls, OR – Yesterday’s Plaza
09/07 Rocklin, CA – Studio 21
09/08 Stockton, CA – Plea For Peace
09/09 Bakersfield, CA – The Dome
09/10 Anaheim, CA – Chain Reaction
09/11 Tempe, AZ – The Fixx

Links:
It Prevails

As Blood Runs Black: Pictures from Blender Theater, NYC 3-7-09 (Mediaskare)

I went to Saturday's show at Blender Theater not really knowing what to expect as I wasn't that familiar with any of the bands. I watched each of the bands looking to see whether I would hunt down their music after the show and/or see them again next time they came through.

I got to the venue a little before 8PM and Impending Doom were playing their last couple songs. Who would have thought that a concert would start on time in NYC? The songs that I heard from Impending Doom didn't strike me. It seemed a bit too stereotypical "grunt and growl". I have nothing against Christian metal but I was probably happier not knowing that the band calls its style of music "goreship". According to UrbanDictionary.com, goreship is "worshipping the god of the christian religion through the brutal music of Impending Doom." I'll pass on seeing these guys again.

I'm a fan of melodic death metal so As Blood Runs Black really caught my attention. The band's sound is comparable to At The Gates and Black Dahlia Murder and they have a strong live show that got the crowd and the pit moving. Not knowing their material, I couldn't put together a set list but I did recognize "Hester Prynne" (from As Blood Runs Black's 2006 debut CD), which got a strong reception, and a couple songs were introduced as being on the band's forthcoming second album (due out on Mediaskare later this year).

From As Blood Runs Black - Blender Theater, NYC 3-7-09

From As Blood Runs Black - Blender Theater, NYC 3-7-09

From As Blood Runs Black - Blender Theater, NYC 3-7-09

From As Blood Runs Black - Blender Theater, NYC 3-7-09

From As Blood Runs Black - Blender Theater, NYC 3-7-09

As Blood Runs Black is in the midst of a tour with Impending Doom, Arcadia Strain and Bleeding Through that runs through the end of March.

Upcoming tour dates are:

March 09, 2009 6:00PM, The Station, Portland, Maine
March 11, 2009 6:00PM, Le National, Montreal, Quebec
March 12, 2009 6:00PM, Reverb, Toronto, Ontario
March 13, 2009 6:00PM, Xtreme Wheelz, Buffalo, New York
March 14, 2009 6:00PM, Diesel, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
March 15, 2009 6:00PM, Peabody’s Downunder, Cleveland, Ohio
March 17, 2009 6:00PM, Majestic Theatre, Detroit, Michigan
March 18, 2009 6:00PM, House Of Blues, Chicago, Illinois
March 19, 2009 6:00PM, Eagles II, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
March 20, 2009 6:00PM, Station 4, St. Paul, Minnesota
March 21, 2009, 6:00PM, The Picador, Iowa City, Iowa
March 22, 2009, 6:00PM, The Marquis Theater, Denver, Colorado
March 24, 2009, 6:00PM, The Venue, Boise, Idaho
March 25, 2009, 7:00PM, Neumo’s, Seattle, Washington
March 26, 2009, 7:00PM, Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, Oregon
March 27, 2009, 7:00PM, DNA Lounge, San Francisco, California
March 28, 2009, 6:30PM, Key Club, West Hollywood, California

Links:
As Blood Runs Black's MySpace Profile