Youthanize

Travis Richter and Derek Bloom from the Color of Violence are also in the band From First to Last. Confession: I don’t like the band From First to Last. There’s something about sing-songy vocals in hardcore music that just doesn’t feel right, and that’s pretty much FFTL’s M.O. For me, they’re a bit like cheddar cheese on Chinese food. Both cheddar and Chinese food are good on their own, but together, they equal something that makes me think about that time at the fair when I rode the Octopus after eating three corn dogs and more than my share of extra-greasy funnel cake.

HOWEVER! The Color of Violence is brash and sassy and screamy and heavy-drummy-mathy-fuzzy-howly-guitary. The artwork on Youthanize is covered with sex, bacon faces, and skulls. They have a song called “Crapandemic” which sounds exactly like you would think a “Crapandemic” would sound like. It is like the summer I ate the E. coli-tainted bagged spinach set magically to music.

This is what post-hardcore is supposed to be about; it is supposed to be a migraine headache and a violent bowel movement with guitar and drums. The only vague moment of sing-songy comes on “Look! I Made It! I’m Dating an Actress!,” which is still balanced by plenty of growling-guitar swagger. Sure, there is no question they glean much of their influence from bands like Dillinger Escape Plan and Converge, but they one-up their competition with two drummers!

You may ask why any band would need two drummers, but then I would ask you to ask King Buzzo why the Melvins and Big Business needed two drummers when they played together as The Most Amazing Band in the World. Then I would ask you to ask yourself (right after you ask me why I ask so many questions) how much more amazing two drummers are then one. They sound like half an octopus (the sea-beast, not the pukey fair ride), and if you multiply half an octopus with baconface-skulls and mathy guitars, it roughly equals awesome.

My mind is blown. It feels like there are fish swimming around in my brain, which means that I am re-thinking the cheddar-covered Moo Shu pork I ate for lunch. Superb.

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