New Release Of The Week - Story Of The Year

Story of the Year's The Black Swan -- Story Of The Year or SOTY as they are also referred to, come back with a bound and determined attitude to take the success they felt on their first album, but couldn't generate from their second album, and get it back. This is their first album with Epitaph Records, but they've brought back their Page Avenue producer John Feldmann in hopes of reigniting the flame of success. SOTY is to be a headliner the upcoming 2008 Vans Warped Tour and then heading to Europe to play the Groezrock festival, after which a tour of Australia is in the works, all in hopes of promoting the new album. Epitaph is brutal.

So let's talk about this. They're saying their first single off of this album is "Wake Up" but it sounds far, far too much like a cookie-cutter single to have it be worth much of anything in my opinion. Trite lyrics like "one by one the pieces fall" and "are we missing what it is to be alive?" Whether I'm missing it or not is my problem, not your's; and if I am missing what it is to be alive, I certainly don't think I should be taking advice on it from you. That's not to say it doesn't sound good, it just sounds like everything else. So if you're okay with a copy of a copy of a copy, then sure, "Wake Up" is the perfect single for you. However, if you're looking for the real gem of this album, if you'll direct your attention to "Tell Me (P.A.C.)" you might actually find something worth being interested in. While a good deal of the album sounds like itself, and this track really isn't all that different, it does seem much more explosive and anthemic -- much like their singles from Page Avenue which is really what we're all looking for. The piano interlude with his desperate voice truly is what makes this song. SOTY also tries to break out a little bit with "Terrified" where they actually play the piano and it's a little bit more gentle, a little bit more emo, but again, it just doesn't stand out enough to make it really something.

The entire album subscribes to fast and hard slinging guitars and screaming, emotional lyrics. But it really doesn't set itself apart as anything special and something that you need to go out of your way to get. A decent listen except the songs all blend into each other. They don't distinguish themselves from one another. All in all, if you want angst and guitars and screams, go listen to "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." by The Fall Of Troy. They do it much better than these guys.