Song Of The Week: 11/17/19

Song: "Moment Of The Day"

Artist: Thousand Foot Krutch

Album: "Set It Off" (remastered version)

Year: 2004

Place Of Origin: Peterborough, Ontario, Canada

Years Active: 1995 - present



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Moment Of The Day" appears to be a song about not letting things in life bring you down in the present because tomorrow is another day. It's really about striving to be better tomorrow no matter what it bringing you down or holding you back today. This song originally appeared on the self-released Thousand Foot Krutch album "That's What People Do". That album is hard to find for fans so thankfully, TFK put many of those songs on the 2004 remastered version of "Set It Off". "Moment Of The Day" can be found on that remastered album.

THOUSAND FOOT KRUTCH DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1998 - That's What People Do (self-released)
2000 - Set It Off (DJD Entertainment Group)
2003 - Phenomenon (Tooth & Nail Records)
2005 - The Art Of Breaking (Tooth & Nail Records)
2007 - The Flame In All Of Us (Tooth & Nail Records)
2009 - Welcome To The Masquerade (Tooth & Nail Records)
2011 - Live At The Masquerade (Tooth & Nail Records)
2012 - The End Is Where We Begin (self-released)
2014 - Oxygen:Inhale (TFKMusic)
2016 - Exhale (TFKMusic)
2017 - Untraveled Roads (The Fuel Music)

CURRENT STATUS OF THOUSAND FOOT KRUTCH:

Thousand Foot Krutch was formed as a band back in 1995. This Ontario, Canada project is really the vision of frontman and songwriter Trevor McNevan. Originally, the project was called Oddball, but eventually morphed into Thousand Foot Krutch. In 1998, the band self-released the album "That's What People Do". In 2000, TFK dropped what is for the most part considered their "real" debut album, "Set It Off". It was clear early on that TFK's sound was that of a rock/rap type band. In 2003, however, Thousand Foot Krutch signed a deal with Tooth & Nail records, a deal that would span the better part of eight years together. Their sound also shifted to a more nu-metal sound with their album "Phenomenon". This album sold over 200,000 units making it one of Tooth & Nail's best selling albums to date. 2005 saw the band release "The Art Of Breaking". The hit single "Move" would reach #16 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart. In 2007, TFK dropped "The Flame In All Of Us". By this time, TFK had basically morphed into a full on mainstream rock outfit. 2009 saw the release of "Welcome To The Masquerade". This album would peak at #35 on the Billboard 200 charts thanks in part to the hit single "Fire It Up". The band would release their very first live album in 2011, "Live At The Masquerade". This album would end their long time deal with Tooth & Nail Records. In 2012, the band self-released "The End Is Where We Begin". This album reached #1 in the band's native Canada and peaked at #5 on Itunes. In 2014 and 2016 respectively, the band dropped what could be considered "sister" albums, "Oxygen:Inhale" and "Exhale". The latter peaked at #34 on the Billboard 200 charts. Both of those albums were released on the band's own label TFKMusic. Most recently, TFK released their second live album, "Untraveled Roads" in 2017. Thousand Foot Krutch, thankfully, shed the whole rock/rap thing very early on in their career to become a solid melodic, mainstream rock outfit. The band has ties to being considered a "Christian" rock band as their faith is prominent in some of their songs plus their relationship with Christian punk label Tooth & Nail. Faith is a big part of who they are so of course, it's going to run in some of their songs but by no means, is their music saturated by it. A lot of their songs are anthemic, which is why you often hear some of their music at various sporting events. Some of their songs tend to "fire you up"!! No pun intended! TFK has been putting out music pretty much every other year throughout their career so I would assume they have something perculating on the new music front. If you enjoy bands like Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, 12 Stones, 3 Doors Down or Trapt, then you would most likely enjoy the music of Thousand Foot Krutch. Just move past the early rock/rap thing. That type of music should have just begun and ended with Rage Against The Machine!

TEN THOUSAND FOOT KRUTCH SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Fire It Up
2. Move
3. Falls Apart
4. Untraveled Road
5. Shook
6. Phenomenon
7. War Of Change
8. Lifeline
9. Complicate You
10. Puppet

Song Of The Week: 11/10/19

Song: "Mad Hatter"

Artist: Avenged Sevenfold

Album: "Black Reign" EP

Year: 2018

Place Of Origin: Huntington Beach, California

Years Active: 1999 - present



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Mad Hatter" was written by the band Avenged Sevenfold for the video game "Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4". Here's what AV7's vocalist M. Shadows had to say about the song. "Watching the initial trailers (of Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4) and looking at production sketches reminded me of the 'S-Town' podcast and its main protagonist, John B. McLemore, Shadows also comments specifically on the lyrics: "I decided that the lyrics would shadow McLemore's life. The result is a thick-grooved song that's dynamic and has a weightiness to it."

AVENGED SEVENFOLD DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2001 - Sounding The Seventh Trumpet (Good Life Records)
2003 - Waking The Fallen (Hopeless Records)
2005 - City Of Evil (Warner Bros.)
2007 - Avenged Sevenfold (Warner Bros.)
2008 - Live In The LBC & Diamonds In The Rough (Warner Bros.)
2010 - Nightmare (Warner Bros.)
2013 - Hail To The King (Warner Bros.)
2016 - The Stage (Capitol Records)
2017 - Live At The Grammy Museum (Capitol Records)

CURRENT STATUS OF AVENGED SEVENFOLD:

Huntington Beach, California's Avenged Sevenfold formed as a band back in 1999. Originally, the band was very much part of the metalcore scene, releasing a few EP's before signing with Good Life Records for their debut album, 2001's "Sounding The Seventh Trumpet". After their debut, the band inked a deal with Hopeless Records for their second album, "Waking The Fallen". This album had more of a mix of screaming vocals and clean vocals. Vocalist M. Shadows began working with a vocal coach around this time and it was decided that this would be their last album to feature screaming vocals. In 2005, Avenged Sevenfold signed a major label deal with Warner Bros. and released "City Of Evil" in 2005. This album peaked at #30 on the Billboard 200 charts, selling 30,000 copies in the first week of it's release. The single "Bat Country" reached #2 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock charts and by 2009, the album was certified platinum. Yes, Avenged Sevenfold was officially on the musical map! Their next album, "Avenged Sevenfold", would peak at #4 on the Billboard 200 and won the Kerrang! award for Album Of The Year. While the band seemed to be riding the high of success, tragedy stopped them in their tracks as on December 28, 2009, the band's drummer, James "The Rev" Sullivan, was found dead at his home. Undoubtedly a very emotional time for the band. There was even talk of disbanding, but, the guys soldiered on and in 2010 released "Nightmare", the band first #1 album of their career. This album sold 163,000 copies in the first week of it's release! 2013's "Hail To The King" became the band's second straight #1 album on the Billboard 200 charts. There were some conflicts between Avenged Sevenfold and their label Warner Bros. after the release of that album and when all was resolved, Avenged Sevenfold inked a deal with Capitol Records. Their first release with Capitol was 2016's "The Stage". This was the band's first venture in making a concept album. In 2017, the band released it's first ever live acoustic album, "Live At The Grammy Museum" and in 2018, AV7 dropped the EP, "Black Reign". Most recently, Avenged Sevenfold members have said that they are hard at work concentrating on their next full length album which will most likely see the light of day in 2020. Avenged Sevenfold is a hard rock/metal band at it's core, but over the years they have ventured into and out of many genres of rock music. Early on, they were metalcore. Then they shifted to more metal. They have some elements of punk rock and some of their more recent material could even be considered prog rock. Maybe that's why they are equally comfortable playing a metal festival like Ozzfest or a punk festival like Warped Tour. The band has received some crap from people who don't consider them metal enough or punk enough but that doesn't seem to affect the band as they refuse to be pigeonholed into any specific genre. Sticking to their guns has worked fine for them as they are one of the bigger acts in rock music today. If you like the music of bands like Bullet For My Valentine, Atreyu, Stone Sour, Breaking Benjamin or Godsmack, then you would most likely enjoy the music of Avenged Sevenfold. Also, kudos to them for dropping the gutteral vocals by their third album. Maybe I'm just turning into an old fart, but I'm kinda sick of the "cookie monster" bands out there. All the vocalist's tend to sound the same. I'm all for a good scream ala Chris Cornell in Soundgarden or Tim Mcllrath of Rise Against but I much prefer M. Shadows cleaner vocals compared to his screaming from their first album.

TEN AVENGED SEVENFOLD SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Dear God
2. Nightmare
3. Beast And The Harlot
4. Afterlife
5. Unholy Confessions
6. The Stage
7. Bat Country
8. Warmness Of The Soul
9. Hail To The King
10. Almost Easy

Song Of The Week: 11/3/19

Song: "Incomplete"

Artist: Bad Religion

Album: "Stranger Than Fiction"

Year: 1994

Place Of Origin: Los Angeles, California

Years Active: 1980 - present



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Incomplete" is a song that appears to be about not having much self-confidence in one's self. The vocalist lists a bunch of self-deprecating examples as to why he doesn't feel whole as a person. It's gotta be tough going through life feeling like you don't add up or not feeling as though you are complete as a human. This song is the vocalist expressing his frustration with being incomplete.

BAD RELIGION DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1982 - How Could Hell Be Any Worse (Epitaph Records)
1983 - Into The Unknown (Epitaph Records)
1988 - Suffer (Epitaph Records)
1989 - No Control (Epitaph Records)
1990 - Against The Grain (Epitaph Records)
1992 - Generator (Epitaph Records)
1993 - Recipe For Hate (Epitaph Records)
1994 - Stranger Than Fiction (Atlantic Records)
1996 - The Gray Race (Atlantic Records)
1997 - Tested (Epitaph Records)
1998 - No Substance (Atlantic Records)
2000 - The New America (Atlantic Records)
2002 - The Process Of Belief (Epitaph Records)
2004 - The Empire Strikes First (Epitaph Records)
2007 - New Maps Of Hell (Epitaph Records)
2010 - The Dissent Of Man (Epitaph Records)
2010 - 30 Years Live (Epitaph Records)
2013 - True North (Epitaph Records)
2019 - Age Of Unreason (Epitaph Records)

CURRENT STATUS OF BAD RELIGION:

Bad Religion formed as a band back in 1980. Hailing from Los Angeles, California, the band established their roots in hardcore punk. Bandmember Brett Gurewitz had formed a record label called Epitaph which would distribute all of Bad Religion's albums except for a 6 year stretch that they spent on major label Atlantic Records. After the band's debut album, "How Could Hell Be Any Worse", the band had a major hiccup with their follow up, 1983's "Into The Unknown". The band went from hardcore to prog rock! Not a good move. Things were so bad that the band basically dissolved. Luckily for everyone who loves punk rock music, the guys decided to get back together and what came out of that was one of the most important and iconic punk rock albums of all time, 1988's "Suffer". As a musical shift in the landscape was happening up in Seattle, Bad Religon soldiered on with more great albums. "No Control" in '89. "Against The Grain" in '90. Their first album to sell over 100,000 copies. "Generator" in '92. Their first album to have a music video, "Atomic Garden". And, 1993's "Recipe For Hate" which spawned the singles "American Jesus" and "Struck A Nerve" and peaked at #14 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. Now it's 1994 and there's a full on punk rock revival going on. Bands like Green Day, Offspring and Rancid are selling more records than any punk bands ever have and Bad Religion was right there on that train as well. Like many other bands, Bad Religion signed a deal with a major label, Atlantic Records, and released "Stranger Than Fiction" which would become gold certified. With things getting crazy at Epitaph because of the success of The Offspring and Rancid, Brett Gurewitz decided to depart the band to focus on his record label, leaving lead singer Greg Graffin to handle all of the songwriting duties. To close out the 90's, Bad Religion released "The Gray Race", "No Substance" and "The New America" to complete their deal with Atlantic. The band returned to Epitaph in 2002 for the release of "The Process Of Belief". This also saw the return of Gurewitz and the return of a faster, more aggressive style that harkened back to their early Epitaph days. From 2004 to 2013, Bad Religion released four more great albums. "The Empire Strikes First". "New Maps Of Hell" which reached #35 of the Billboard 200 charts. "The Dissent Of Man" which reached #6 on Billboard's Independent Albums chart. And "True North", which peaked at #18 on the Billboard 200 charts, Bad Religion's only album to hit the top 20! Most recently, Bad Religion's new album, "Age Of Unreason", was released on May 3, 2019. This marks the longest time between releases for the band. What can you say about Bad Religion? This band is iconic. Arguably, the greatest punk rock band of all time. I'd take it even further. They are one of the greatest bands of any genre of rock music. They are that damn good. Their influence spreads all over punk rock circles. Bands like NOFX, Pennywise, Rancid, Offspring, No Use For A Name and Good Riddance all hold Bad Religion in the highest regards. The whole "skate punk" style could easily be traced back to the music of Bad Religion. Lyrically, Bad Religion is not shy about shining a light on government corruption, religious hypocracy or human behavior towards each other. The band has been together for almost 40 years and they are still totally relevant and their voice is still as strong as it's ever been when speaking of the ills of society. Iconic and legendary are the two words that come to my mind right off the bat about Bad Religion but just those two words alone don't do enough justice to what Bad Religion is as a band.

TEN BAD RELIGION SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Generator
2. American Jesus
3. Sorrow
4. The Devil In Stitches
5. Punk Rock Song
6. 21st Century (Digital Boy)
7. Infected
8. Do What You Want
9. Los Angeles Is Burning
10. Fuck You

Song Of The Week: 10/27/19

Song: "Hell Or High Water"

Artist: Smackin' Isaiah (A Wilhelm Scream)

Album: "The Champagne Of Bands" EP

Year: 2001

Place Of Origin: New Bedford, Massachusetts

Years Active: 1999 - present



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Hell Or High Water" appears to be a song about a broken relationship, and a broken man because of that relationship. You can tell that he still yearns for her to be with him. He remembers her touch and her scent. It almost feels like maybe he lost her tragically. When he says he's never gonna let her down. Perhaps she's passed and he's going to do right by her even after she's gone.

A WILHELM SCREAM DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2000 - The Way To A Girl's Heart Is Through Her Boyfriend's Stomach (Tank Records) (as Smackin' Isaiah)
2001 - Benefits Of Thinking Out Loud (Jump Start Records) (as Smackin' Isaiah)
2004 - Mute Print (Nitro Records)
2005 - Ruiner (Nitro Records)
2007 - Career Suicide (Nitro Records)
2013 - Partycrasher (No Idea Records)

CURRENT STATUS OF A WILHELM SCREAM:

A Wilhelm Scream has it's roots dating back to 1993. The guys in this band hail from New Bedford, Massachusetts. After going through line-up changes and name changes, in 1997, they settled on the moniker Smackin' Isaiah. After releasing some self-released cassettes and some EP's, the band put out their debut full length album in 2000, "A Way To A Girl's Heart Is Through Her Boyfriend's Stomach". The band's next recording became much more serious and you can feel the band rounding into form with 2001's "Benefits Of Thinking Out Loud". At this point, the band became A Wilhelm Scream. "Benefits Of Thinking Out Loud" was re-issued under their new name in 2004. Also in 2004, A Wilhelm Scream released "Mute Print". This would mark the beginning of a three album deal with Nitro Records. 2005 saw the release of "Ruiner". For me personally, this is where A Wilhelm Scream really sucked me in as a big fan. The song "The King Is Dead" is just a fierce punk rock song! Next up for the band would be 2007's "Career Suicide". This is probably the band's fastest and most aggressive release in their catalogue. This album would be re-issued in 2017 with a slew of b-sides and demo recordings. The band's most recent full length studio album would be 2013's "Partycrasher". Yet another gem of an album! Supposedly, the boys in A Wilhelm Scream have been in the studio since early 2019 working on a new album. A Wilhelm Scream is fast, technical and hardcore punk at it's roots. Plus, they're Mass-holes like me!! That gotta count for something!! My first experience with this band was the 2005 album "Ruiner" and i've been hooked ever since. If you like your punk fast and your guitar playing technical then A Wilhelm Scream is a band for you. Their sound is similar to artists like No Trigger, Propagandhi, Strike Anywhere, Bigwig and Strung Out. This band is killer, or "pissah"! Like I said we're fellow Mass-holes! Can't wait for their new album to come out, hopefully soon.

TEN A WILHELM SCREAM SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. The King Is Dead
2. The Soft Cell
3. The Horse
4. Boat Builders
5. Bulletproof Tiger
6. We Built This City (On Debts And Booze)
7. Famous Friends And Fashion Drunks
8. Rip
9. Number One
10. Skid Rock

Song Of The Week: 10/20/19

Song: "Eyes Like A Target"

Artist: Hidden In Plain View

Album: "Operation: Cut-Throat"

Year: 2002

Place Of Origin: Morristown, New Jersey

Years Active: 2000 - present



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Eyes Like A Target" is yet another song about a relationship on the outs. It has a sick and twisted feel to it however. Though the vocalist is saying his girl is free to leave, it appears he's going to make that departure as difficult as possible. You can definitely feel his anger for her after the heartbreak and sorrow that she's put him through. He wants her to feel what he is feeling because of her actions.

HIDDEN IN PLAIN VIEW DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2004 - Life In Dreaming (Drive-Thru Records)
2007 - Resolution (Drive-Thru Records)

CURRENT STATUS OF HIDDEN IN PLAIN VIEW:

New Jersey's own Hidden In Plain View got their start as a band back in 2000. By the time the band was ready to cut their second EP, they hooked up with Drive-Thru Records, the label which they pretty much stuck with up until 2007. In 2004, the band was ready to drop their debut full length album, "Life In Dreaming". This album featured what is probably the band's most famous song, "Bleed For You". The band followed up that album in 2007 with their sophomore effort, "Resolution". While the band had some promise, the members decided to call it quits in 2007 and focus on other ventures. In 2013, Hidden In Plain View got back together to play a one off live show in Philadelphia. 2015 saw the band embark on a tour to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of their debut album "Life In Dreaming". Hidden In Plain View also dropped a brand new EP that year entitled "Animal". Hidden In Plain View's style is that of a melodic, alternative rock/pop punk type band. They're a pretty good band. They don't really stand out from all the bands of a similar ilk, but they have some memorable songs. Its been a few years since they had a new release, but the band is still touring. Most recently they performed at The Warped Tour. If you enjoy listening to bands like The Starting Line, Halifax, Spitalfield, Matchbook Romance or So They Say, then you'd most likely enjoy Hidden In Plain View's music. As I've said on some other posts, some bands lead the way while others follow. I'd put Hidden In Plain View in the "follower" crowd. They're a good band and I like their music, but they just don't stand apart from their contemporaries.

TEN HIDDEN IN PLAIN VIEW SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Bleed For You
2. Bendy
3. Hunting The Hunter
4. Like An Ocean
5. Twenty Below
6. Ashes Ashes
7. Garden Statement
8. No Way Out
9. Mr. Jones (Counting Crows cover)
10. Self Inflicted

Song Of The Week: 10/13/19

Song: "Green To Me" (Hum cover)

Artist: Funeral For A Friend

Album: "Songs Of Farewell And Departure - A Tribute To Hum"

Year: 2011

Place Of Origin: Bridgend, Wales, United Kingdom

Years Active: 2001 - 2016



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Green To Me" appears to be a song about waking up in a hospital, most likely after some tragic accident. You get the sense that the vocalist is lying in his hospital bed with all these wires attached to him. He notices that his girl has awakened and seems ok. The songs lyrics almost describe the scene through medically induced eyes, which, would be more than likely if you were recovering from some sort of accident. This song is a cover by Funeral For A Friend. The original song is performed by the band Hum and can be found on their 1998 album "Downward Is Heavenward".

FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2003 - Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation (Atlantic Records)
2005 - Hours (Atlantic Records)
2006 - Final Hours At Hammersmith (Atlantic Records)
2007 - Tales Don't Tell Themselves (Atlantic Records)
2008 - Memory And Humanity (Victory Records)
2011 - Welcome To Armageddon (Distiller Records)
2013 - Conduit (Distiller Records)
2015 - Chapter And Verse (Distiller Records)
2015 - Hours/Live At Islington Academy (End Hit Records)

CURRENT STATUS OF FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND:

Funeral For A Friend formed as a band back in 2001. This United Kingdom outfit put out their debut EP in 2002 called "Between Order And Model". After winning a Kerrang! Award for "Best UK Newcomer", Funeral For A Friend quickly signed a major label deal with Atlantic Records. In 2003, the band dropped their debut full length album, "Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation". This album was certified gold and had three top 20 singles in the UK, "Juneau", "She Drove Me To Daytime Television" and "Escape Artists Never Die". When the band dropped their next album, 2005's "Hours", their sound departed from being a post-hardcore, almost screamo type of band to a more melodic sound. This album was recorded in Seattle at two studios owned by the band Pearl Jam. This is my personal favorite album by Funeral For A Friend. 2007 saw the release of "Tales Don't Tell Themselves". This album debuted at #3 on UK album charts. In 2008, the band wanted to get back to that heavier, hardcore style and display a more technical sound. They achieved this with the album "Memory And Humanity". This album also marked the end of their time on Atlantic Records as Victory Records would distribute this album. 2011 saw the band release "Welcome Home Armageddon". 2013's "Conduit" would peak at #34 on the UK album charts and in 2015, the band released their last full length studio effort, "Chapter And Verse". In 2015, Funeral For A Friend also released a live album, "Hour/Live At Islington Academy" which features the band playing their 2005 album "Hours" in it's entirety. In 2016, FFAF embarked on their "Last Chance To Dance" tour which culminated on May 21st. This was the band's last goodbye... well, almost. While the band had no plans to reunite for new music or play live, they decided in 2019 to perform three concerts at the end of October with all the proceeds going to a friend of theirs who is terminally ill. Perhaps these shows will rekindle that spark and light that fire under the guys to reunite permanently? One can only hope. Funeral For A Friend is a really good band. They've went through some stylistic changes but for the most part they incorporate post-hardcore, screamo, melodic rock and punk elements throughout their catalogue. "Hours" was the album that first drew me to this band. I think it's a great album, one of my favorites no doubt. I'm kind of growing out of the "screaming" vocals thing but Funeral For A Friend doesn't overkill with them. They strike a great balance between clean and screaming vocals which suits me fine. If you like bands like Finch, Silverstein, Senses Fail, A Static Lullaby or From First To Last, then you would most likely enjoy Funeral For A Friend. Fingers crossed that these three benefit shows for their friend re-ignites that passion in them to get back together and create new music. This band is too damn good to be no more!

TEN FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. History
2. Into Oblivion (Reunion)
3. Streetcar
4. Kicking And Screaming
5. Roses For The Dead
6. Juneau
7. Best Friends And Hospital Beds
8. Front Row Seats To The End Of The World
9. 1%
10. Walk Away

Song Of The Week: 10/6/19

Song: "Ball Of Confusion" (Temptations cover)

Artist: Bouncing Souls

Album: "Ugly Bill" EP

Year: 1991

Place Of Origin: New Brunswick, New Jersey

Years Active: 1989 - present



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Ball Of Confusion" was originally performed by The Temptations. This was one of the many psychedelic soul records that Norman Whitfield wrote and produced for the Temptations between the late '60 and early '70s. The song tries to make sense of the chaos and disorder pervading the times. Lyrically, the song attacked the Vietnam War, Nixon's government, and drug addiction, making it one of the few protest records that came from Motown. The version of the song I chose for my song of the week is a cover version by The Bouncing Souls. The original Temptations version can be found on their 1970 album, "Greatest Hits II".

BOUNCING SOULS DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1994 - The Good, The Bad, And The Argyle (Chunksaah Records)
1995 - Maniacal Laughter (Chunksaah Records)
1997 - The Bouncing Souls (Epitaph Records)
1999 - Hopeless Romantic (Epitaph Records)
2000 - The Bad, The Worse, And The Out Of Print (Chunksaah Records)
2001 - How I Spent My Summer Vacation (Epitaph Records)
2003 - Anchors Aweigh (Epitaph Records)
2005 - Live (Chunksaah Records)
2006 - The Gold Record (Epitaph Records)
2009 - Ghosts On The Boardwalk (Chunksaah Records)
2011 - Live At Generation Records, NYC: April 18, 2009 - Generation Records
2012 - Comet (Rise Records)
2016 - Simplicity (Rise Records)

CURRENT STATUS OF THE BOUNCING SOULS:

The Bouncing Souls formed as a band back in 1989. They forged their start in the college town of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The bands first full length release was 1994's "The Good, The Bad, And The Argyle" which was basically a compilation of the band's EP's that they had released in their early years as a band. 1995's "Maniacal Laughter" was the band's first album of all orignally recorded material. This album caught the ear of the guys at Epitaph Records who went on to sign The Bouncing Souls to their label. Their first release with Epitaph, "The Bouncing Souls", wasn't a particularly great album. Lead singer Greg Attonito has said that it's basically an album of unfinished songs. In 1999, however, The Souls began to find themselves as a band. "Hopeless Romantic" showed that this was a band that had a lot of promise on the punk scene. After releasing a b-side and rarities compilation in 2000, The Bouncing Souls continued their rise in the punk rock world with 2001's "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" leading to what I think was the band's pinnacle, 2003's "Anchors Aweigh". By now, The Bouncing Souls had produced many punk rock anthems, or "Manthem"'s if you will, but "Anchors Aweigh" featured two punk anthems that to this day are two of my favorite songs, "Kids And Heroes" and "Sing Along Forever". In 2005, the band released their very first live album then followed that up with 2006's "The Gold Record". This album features a sweet cover of Avoid One Thing's "Lean On Sheena". As 2009 approached, The Bouncing Souls celebrated their 20th anniversary by releasing a series of digital singles. Twelve of these singles were packaged into an album called "Ghosts On The Boardwalk". In 2012, The Bouncing Souls signed a deal with Rise Records to release "Comet". 2016 saw the band release their most recent full length album, "Simplicity". The Bouncing Souls continually show that they are still going strong as they released a brand new EP in 2019 called "Crucial Moments". The Bouncing Souls are a hugely respected and influential band in punk rock. They're known to have brought back the "pogo" style pits at their shows, thanks to their energetic and anthemic songs. As their star rose, they always were quick to lend a hand to up and coming bands, especially in their native New Jersey. In my mind, "Kids And Heroes" is just one of the best punk songs ever! I love the shit out of that song!! Some of The Bouncing Souls punk rock contemporaries are bands like Face To Face, The Lawrence Arms, Lagwagon, Off With Their Heads and No Use For A Name. If you're a fan of melodic punk or skate punk like any of those bands, then you would most likely enjoy the music of The Bouncing Souls. Iconic band with an iconic following.

TEN BOUNCING SOULS SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Kids And Heroes
2. True Believers
3. Lean On Sheena (Avoid One Thing cover)
4. Sing Along Forever
5. Manthem
6. Gone
7. Ghosts On The Boardwalk
8. Coin Toss Girl
9. The Pizza Song
10. Crucial Moments