In this week’s Album of the Week poll, you, the fans, voted Hell or Highwater to the top spot, for their album, Begin Again. Check out the top five vote-getters below:
1. Hell or Highwater – Begin Again
2. The Virginmarys – King of Conflict
3. RED – Release the Panic
4. Coheed and Cambria – The Afterman: Descension
5. Heaven’s Basement – Filthy Empire
Stay tuned for this week’s poll, which will be live tomorrow on RevolverMag.com. Until then, you can check out Hell or Highwater’s “Go Alone (featuring Avenged Sevenfold’s M. Shadows)” off Begin Again below:
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The new, seventh album, This Is How the Wind Shifts (Hopeless), from post-hardcore vets Silverstein hits stores today–you can pick it up via iTunes. In celebration, the band is premiering the music video for new song “Massachusetts” right here right now. Check it out below, and let us know what you think in the comments. The band is also hitting the road–tickets can be purchased at SilversteinMusic.com–check out tour dates under the video.
Silverstein tour dates:
Feb 5 Los Angeles, CA- The Roxy Theatre
Feb 6 Las Vegas, NV- Hard Rock Café on the Strip
Feb 7 Mesa, AZ- Nile Theatre
Feb 8 Albuquerque, NM- Sunshine Theatre
Feb 9 Lubbock, TX – Jakes Sports Café
Feb 10 San Antonio, TX- White Rabbit
Feb 12 Dallas, TX- Trees
Feb 13 Houston, TX- Warehouse Live
Feb 15 Ft. Lauderdale, FL- Culture Room
Feb 16 Orlando, FL- The Social
Feb 17 Atlanta, GA- The Masquerade
Feb 19 West Springfield, VA- Empire
Feb 20 Baltimore, MD- Baltimore Soundstage
Feb 21 Ashbury Park, NJ- Stone Pony
Feb 22 Philadelphia, PA- Trocadero
Feb 23 Clifton Park, NY- Upstate Concert Hall
Feb 24 Cambridge, MA- The Sinclair
Feb 26 New York, NY- The Gramercy Theatre
Feb 27 Cleveland, OH- Peabody’s
Feb 28 Rochester, NY- Water Street Music Hall
Mar 1 Montreal, QC- La Tulipe
Mar 2 Toronto, ON- The Opera House
European Tour Dates:
(w/ Funeral For A Friend, The Tidal Sleep)
April 7 Zurich, Switzerland -Komplex
April 8 Vienna, Austria- Arena
April 9 Munich, Germany -Backstage Werk
April 11 Berlin, Germany- Postbahnhof
April 12 Hamburg, Germany- Markthalle
April 13 Cologne, Germany- Live Music Hall
This week sees new shit from Coheed and Cambria, The Bronx, Silverstein, Funeral For a Friend, and more hitting stores. Check out the list of releases below and let us know which ones you’re snagging a copy of and which record should be the Album of the Week. Pick your favorite and feel free to vote as many times as you want. Voting ends on Monday, February 11, at noon, when the results will be announced.
UPDATE: The poll is closed. For the result, click right here.
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Leading up to the end of the year, Revolver has asked some of our favorite artists to pick their Top Albums of 2012 and tell us why each record rules. Here, Paul Koehler (pictured left), drummer of the post-hardcore band Silverstein, selects his faves.
5. Ringo Deathstarr, Mauve
“Right now, the most underrated and genuinely authentic shoegaze-worship band is Ringo Deathstarr. On their third full length, the riffs are louder, the tones are broader, and the melancholy vocals juxtapose the dark tones that carry from beginning to end. This isn’t their ‘best’ album because each contains a uniqueness and quality that cannot be compared.”
4. Mount Eerie, Clear Moon
“Clear Moon is Chapter 1 in this year’s two-part release from Mount Eerie–Clear Moon/Ocean Roar, respectively. While being the more accessible and song-driven of the two, it still captures the drone and atmospheric presence that is carried throughout it’s companion album. Genre shifting from folk to drone to krautrock, this album keeps changing gears but is reigned in carefully by Phil Elvrum’s consistent vocals.”
3. Beach House, Bloom
“Teen Dream was a foreshadow of Bloom that no one knew at the time. While some artists have repeated themselves and never been able to overcome their previous successes, Beach House have continued their abilities in such a graceful way. Bloom is Beach House, and proof that they are incredibly articulate in the form of hazy luscious pop.”
2. The XX, Coexist
“Everything that was to love about the XX on their debut is extrapolated on their second album. Space is extended, emotion is deepened, and tones are expanded–while staying true to their simplified approach. The most commendable part of this album is the cleverness of each beat that truly encases these songs.
1. Chromatics, Kill for Love
“Seventy-seven minutes, 16 tracks, Kill for Love is a complete and powerful album that flows like a perfect score to film that was never produced. Undeniably ambitious yet completely riveting, its peaks seem engrossingly high while it’s valleys feel hauntingly dark. Each layer is meaningful, represented in the fuller synth pop tracks, and appreciated in the minimalist transitions.”
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Silverstein have premiered a new song, “Stand Amid The Roar,” off of the band’s forthcoming record, This Is How the Wind Shifts, a 14-track concept album due out February 5. Check out the track below and let us know what you think in the comments.
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In our never-ending quest to provide you with the best music available, we present the Revolver Bootleg Series. Every month we’ll feature new, rare, and often exclusive music. This installment comes from the Toronto, Ontario post-hardcore group Silverstein. They release Rescue (Hopeless), their fifth studio album, on April 26, but they share one song off the album, “Intervention,” here. Vocalist Shane Told fills us in below.
REVOLVER What’s this song about?
SHANE TOLD It’s about someone who has completely lost their way. Someone who knowingly made a decision that would deeply affect them and now is dealing with the consequences. A lot of people will think the song is about drug addiction. If that’s how they want to take it, it definitely applies, but the song to me is about a greater and wider picture.
Which part of it did you come up with first?
This song started with the main riff that is in the verses. Interestingly enough we recorded it first as a mid tempo drum part, then decided to do it all punk rock and fast drum wise.
What was the inspiration?
We wanted to write a super heavy in-your-face song that really punched you, but still had a big catchy chorus and some melody to it.
Was this an easy song to record?
This song was one of the most difficult to record! We kept arguing about where the accents should go in the bridge and we couldn’t decide on which guitar harmonies to do. I’d say of all the songs this caused the most in-studio drama, but I’m glad we hashed it out because I think it made the song a lot better.
What sort of feedback have you gotten on this song so far?
I’ve played the record for six to seven of my friends and all of them after the first listen said this was their favorite. I didn’t know my friends were all so tough!
Heavy-music fans best know Mike Ski as the frontman of the A.K.A.s, the Philly punk rawkers who recently dropped their latest album, Animal Summer (Paper+Plastick). What fans might not know is that the ink-covered vocalist is also a skilled tattoo artist. And in celebration of Revolver's current tattoo issue, we thought we'd talk to Ski about his visual art.
REVOLVER How long have you been tattooing?
It's been around 15 years or so. There's been times where I've tattooed both full and part time over that span of time. Still trucking.
How/why did you start?
Myself and all the friends I came up with were into tattoos and were getting tattooed by a friend of ours who ended up moving away shortly thereafter. It was a time when we didn't know much outside of our hometown aside from traveling to see bands, and there weren't many local people that were into the stuff we were into. I had been drawing my whole life and was interested in learning myself. With great trust and support from my friends–and their bravery in letting me tattoo them so early–I taught myself. Not something I would recommend nowadays, but sometimes you gotta make your own options I suppose.
Where do you tattoo?
I do a lot of traveling and tattooing on the road. When I'm home, I'm excited to have recently started tattooing by appointment at Olde City Tattoo in Philadelphia. It's always been my favorite tattoo spot in Philly since before I moved here a couple years ago. Whenever I was in town on tour I would go there and just look at all the flash for an hour. Call and make an apt! www.oldecitytattoo.com
What piece are you the most proud of?
I think like a lot of people who do different kinds of art, I'm constantly trying to learn and get better–so much so that any excitement of a sweet high fiver is short-lived. I almost completely replace my tattoo book every few months as hopefully continues to evolve. That said, I know my dad still talks about a portrait of a pit bull I did like 10 years ago. Even though it wasn't that awesome by any means, I like to say that's my favorite piece just because nothing ever impresses that guy, so it's kind of funny.
How would you describe your style?
I try to keep rounded and I like doing different stuff, however, my favorite stuff tends to be Traditional American. Bold lines, lots of black, with a contrast of bright colors. I like tattoos that you can read from a block away and look good for a long time.
Have you tattooed any other musicians?
Yes sir. Lots. Bros from Bring Me The Horizon, Silverstein, AlexisOnFire, Anti-Flag, Gallows, POS, Chiodos, Bayside…to name a few.
What’s the most annoying client you’ve ever dealt with?
I tend to be an idealist, and therefore am continually fascinated by people in general and the different ways they approach getting tattoos, so I get more amused than annoyed. Obviously, some are more challenging than others, but that's part of being a tattooer is giving your advice and opinions and ultimately making the person the most stoked. You don't always get to do a skull on a forearm…but that's what keeps it interesting. Two bits of advice: 1) Quit moving around. 2) Flex your tips yo.
Mike Ski photo by Kencredible