SONG OF THE WEEK: 6/26/22

SONG:  "Forward From Yesterday"

ARTIST:  Jason Devore

ALBUM:  "Conviction (The Smoke House Sessions)"

YEAR:  2006

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Mesa, Arizona

YEARS ACTIVE:  1994 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Forward From Yesterday" appears to be a song about moving forward despite not being able to overcome life's obstacles from the past. I think the vocalist is speaking of the troubles, the bad choices, the wrong paths, etc, that he has made in life. Some days were good, some were bad, but the important thing is that he keep striving ahead. Hopefully the positivity can eventually outweigh the negative.

JASON DEVORE DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2006 - Conviction (The Smoke House Sessions) (Operation Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2011 - Conviction 2 (The Crooked Path) (Operation Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2019 - The Road To Clarity:  Conviction III (Operation Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON JASON DEVORE:

Jason Devore has been on the music scene dating back to 1994. Hailing from Mesa, Arizona, he is most well known as the frontman for the long running punk outfit Authority Zero. After Authority Zero released their first two full length albums, Devore decided to put a solo album out. These songs were mostly acoustic tracks. His solo debut was released in 2006, called "Conviction (The Smoke House Sessions). This album features the song "Courage", which would be released on the Authority Zero album "12:34" a year later and to this day is one of their biggest songs, a huge fan favorite. In 2011, Devore continued his "Conviction" series with the release of "Conviction 2 (The Crooked Path)". This album would continue the trend of stripped down tracks. Devore's most recent release would be 2019's "The Road To Clarity:  Conviction Volume III". Jason Devore is a great frontman. Of course, as I said earlier, he is much more known for being the lead singer of Authority Zero. His solo projects are more in line with Authority Zero's "Rhythm & Booze" live acoustic albums that they've released. Like Authority Zero, Devore writes some pop punk tracks and also incorporates some ska and reggae tunes as well. I first learned of Jason Devore from seeing the "Revolution" video by Authority Zero in 2004. His solo material is good, but Authority Zero is totally the shit!! I love that band. It seems like they just keep getting better and better. They are an awesome band! As I said earlier, Devore actually put "Courage" out on his solo debut. What a fantastic song. Until doing this blog, I always thought that was an Authority Zero song first. You learn something every day, right? Jason Devore fans can also check out his celtic punk band The Bollox as well who have released one album to date. Devore is fire!!

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Authority Zero

Russ Rankin

Jim Lindberg

The Riot Before

Kevin Seconds

TEN JASON DEVORE SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Courage

2. Hold Me Down

3. Hey Kid

4. I Hate To Say I Told You So

5. New Orleans

6. Wait

7. Crooked Path

8. Call Out

9. Choke

10. Vertigo

SONG OF THE WEEK: 6/19/22

SONG:  "Walkin On My Grave"

ARTIST:  Black Lungs

ALBUM:  "The Ranger" (Motion Picture Soundtrack)

YEAR:  2019

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada

YEARS ACTIVE:  2005 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

There's no lyrics to be found anywhere on the net for "Walkin On My Grave" and because of Wade MacNeil's gravelly vocals it's hard to piece together the exact lyrics to the song. I know the term "walking on my grave" or "walking over my grave" is describing when you get a cold shiver unexpectedly or like when people say that they got a shiver up and down my spine. Almost as if you felt a quick presence of evil around you. Not sure exactly what that has to do with the song but there ya go!

BLACK LUNGS DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2008 - Send Flowers (Dine Alone Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2015 - Pagan Holiday (Dine Alone Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON BLACK LUNGS:

Black Lungs formed as a band back in 2005. It was created as a side project for Alexisonfire guitarist Wade MacNeil. On Black Lungs, MacNeil would handle vocals and songwriting duties. The band's debut full length album came out in 2008, called "Send Flowers". Things were a little sporadic for this side project after this release. While Alexisonfire was on the verge of breaking up, MacNeil was asked to join Gallows as their lead vocalist after the departure of Frank Carter. There were a few 7" singles and a split with the Cancer Bats out there but Black Lungs next full length wouldn't be till 2015's "Pagan Holiday" and word has it that this album was in the can well before 2015. Black Lungs most recent offerings were two songs that were contributed to the motion picture soundtrack for the movie "The Ranger" in 2019. "Walkin On My Grave", my song of the week, being one of those tracks. Black Lungs is a punk rock outfit through and through. Being a side project, the releases are a little sporadic. Wade MacNeil keeps very busy with Gallows and it appears that Alexisonfire appears to be back together as well so there's probably not going to be a lot of focus on Black Lungs anytime soon. Black Lungs always seemed like they had a dark vibe to me. Almost like a Misfits vibe without really sounding like the Misfits. That vibe seems to be there though. I kinda learned of this band by a domino effect. I was a fan of Gallows when Frank Carter was their vocalist. Alexisonfire was never really on my radar. When Carter left Gallows, I gave MacNeil a shot and continued to like what I heard from newer Gallows material. From there, I found out that MacNeil had this other band, Black Lungs, so I delved into their catalog. For me, Gallows is the superior band, but Black Lungs isn't anything to sneeze at either.

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

The Sainte Catherines

The Black Maria

Jersey

Gallows

The Artist Life

TEN BLACK LUNGS SONGS THAT YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Hold Fast (Sink Or Swim)

2. In Memory

3. For The Love Of Ivy

4. Walkin On My Grave

5. For Her

6. Fire And Brimstone

7. Pagan Holiday

8. Stay Out Of Parkdale

9. Bored?

10. These Moments Define Us

SONG OF THE WEEK: 6/12/22

SONG:  "Put You On"

ARTIST:  Four Year Strong

ALBUM:  "It's Our Time"

YEAR:  2005

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Worcester, Massachusetts

YEARS ACTIVE:  2001 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

I get a sense "Put You On" seems to be about someone, perhaps a former bandmate, who was given an opportunity with the band but blew his shot because of his attitude. Maybe this person began being too pushy or tried to take control of the band but the rest of the guys weren't having it and it was probably that move of letting him go which propelled them to get to where they ultimately wanted to go as a band.

FOUR YEAR STRONG DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2005 - It's Our Time (Open Your Eyes Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2007 - Rise Or Die Trying (I Surrender Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2009 - Explains It All (I Surrender/Decaydance Records)

* peaked at #115 on the Billboard 200 on 10-10-09

2010 - Enemy Of The World (I Surrender/Decaydance Records)

* peaked at #47 on the Billboard 200 on 2-15-2012

2011 - In Some Way, Shape, Or Form (Universal Republic Records)

* peaked at #88 on the Billboard 200 on 11-20-11

2015 - Four Year Stong (Pure Noise Records)

* peaked at #77 on the Billboard 200 on 6-9-15

2017 - Some Of You Will Like This, Some Of You Won't (Pure Noise Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2020 - Brain Pain (Pure Noise Records)

* peaked at #175 on the Billboard 200 on 3-10-20

MY THOUGHTS ON FOUR YEAR STONG:

Four Year Strong formed as a band back in 2001, when all the members were still attending high school in Worcester, Massachusetts. After releasing a few EP's, the band dropped their debut album in 2005 called "It's Our Time". This debut was hastily recorded and the band's next release, 2007's "Rise Or Die Trying", was a much more polished effort. In 2009, the band paid tribute to some of the artists they grew up on with the release of the covers album, "Explains It All". In 2010, the band definitely shifted a corner with the album "Enemy Of The World". You could really sense that Four Year Strong was getting tighter in their playing and songwriting skills. In 2011, the band released their only album to be distributed by a major label when they put out "In Some Way, Shape, Or Form" through Universal Republic. That proved to be a one off deal as the band would form a relationship with Pure Noise Records for the last three releases, starting with 2015's self-titled "Four Year Strong". Then they put out the compilation album "Some Of You Will Like This, Some Of You Won't" which featured re-worked recordings of some of their hit songs. Their most recent full length release would be 2020's "Brain Pain". Most recently, Four Year Strong released a cover of Green Day's "Brain Stew/Jaded" in May of 2020. Four Year Strong is definitely a pop punk band. I find them to have a little grit to them though. I first started getting into these guys in 2010 with their "Enemy Of The World" album. I was instantly hooked from hearing the song "Wasting Time (Eternal Sunshine)". Album wise, it was their next album, "In Some Way, Shape, Or Form" that was, and still is my favorite album from the band. Four Year Strong is a pretty consistent band, putting out new music fairly on the regular. These guys are one of many that proves that punk rock music is alive and well in my home state of Massachusetts!

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

A Day To Remember

Bayside

Transit

The Swellers

The Starting Line

TEN FOUR YEAR STRONG SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Stuck In The Middle

2. Wasting Time (Eternal Sunshine)

3. Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die

4. Talking Myself In Circles

5. We All Float Down Here

6. Bada Bing! Wit' A Pipe

7. Semi-Charmed Life (Third Eye Blind cover)

8. It Must Really Suck To Be Four Year Strong Right Now

9. Just Drive

10. What's In The Box

SONG OF THE WEEK: 6/5/22

SONG:  "It's 2 A.M."

ARTIST:  Hisdayhascome

ALBUM:  "4 Bands, 4 States, 1 Cause" split

YEAR:  2010

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Du Bois, Pennsylvania

YEARS ACTIVE:  2010 - ????

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"It's 2 A.M." is a song that appears to be about having a bit of late night restlessness. Sometimes your mind starts racing like crazy at the most inopportune times. The vocalist seems like he's getting bombarded with all these negative vibes late at night when he just wants to sleep to make it all go away.

HISDAYHASCOME DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

Hisdayhascome has not released a full length album, only an EP and a few splits with other bands.

MY THOUGHTS ON HISDAYHASCOME:

There is not a whole lot out there on the net about Hisdayhascome. What is known is that they are from Du Bois, Pennsylvania and they formed probably around 2010. They appeared on a 4 band split called "4 Bands, 4 States, 1 Cause" in 2010. In 2011, they released an EP called "Where We Belong". 2015 saw the band release a split with the band Crucial Dudes. Since that release, there has really been nothing to come out of the Hisdayhascome camp. They've been kinda dormant since 2016. In 2020 they made a post on their Facebook page asking fans if they had any copies of some old self-released material but really there has been no news on if these guys are still together. I learned of this band from the old dyingscene.com website that's been down for what seems like forever now (I hear they are coming back tho... yay!!). The "Where We Belong" EP showed a band with some promise if you enjoy a melodic hardcore style of punk rock. Hopefully the band has some more to offer with their music but it definitely doesn't look promising.

SIMILAR BANDS:

Still Rings True

Living With Lions

Placeholder

Banquets

Bike Tuff

TEN HISDAYHASCOME SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. It's Reassuring To See You Smile

2. I Won't Let Me (Descendents cover)

3. Great Heights

4. Clear Blue Skies

5. Here We Are

6. Resolutions

7. This May Cause Lung Cancer

8. Where I Belong

9. In Front Of Your Eyes

10. Early Morning Departure