For those who visit Erik’s Album Reviews regularly, you will know that the staff has been very busy for the last two weeks. Because of this we unfortunately missed the last two “The Thursday Ten” segments. However, last week we announced that in order to make up for this lack of album ratings, we will give 20 album ratings for this week’s installment rather than the usual 10! This week’s post features various releases over multiple genres covering everything from Black Metal to EDM. Even though twice as many releases are feature in this installment, the rules to “The Thursday Ten” haven’t changed, and of course, we encourage you to check out every album listed on any of the major music streaming platforms. Let us know what you think of the ratings, which albums you want us to rate next, and don’t forget to check out the previous installment to “The Thursday Ten”. Here is this week’s post:
Skeletonwitch – The Apothic Gloom EP: 8/10
The Acacia Strain, Thy Art Is Murder, and Fit For An Autopsy – The Depression Sessions: 9/10
Last week I totally forgot to write a post for Track of the Day Tuesday so, like what I’ve done in previous weeks where I missed a post for Track of the Day Tuesday, I’ve decided to discuss two songs that you absolutely need to check out today. These tracks are Balance and Composure’s “Reflection” and Columbus’ “Raindrop”. These two bands have made a significant impact in the pop punk/alternative rock genres and are slowly becoming some of my favorite acts in the punk and rock scenes, despite the fact that I just started listening to these bands this year. Columbus and Balance and Composure have multiple prominent differences in their music that makes them extremely distinct from one another, but what they do have in common is phenomenal material that I guarantee you will definitely enjoy.
Balance and Composure is one of those artists that I have heard a lot about over the years but have slept on until recently. Even though they often tour with some of my favorite pop punk bands of all time, I still neglected their material and put off listening to them until this month. And of course, like with most bands I put off listening to, I realize I have been missing out on great music and instantly regret not giving them a listen when I first heard about them. My reasoning for finally giving them a shot is due mostly to the fact that their two iconic albums, “Separation” and “The Things We Think We’re Missing” (which is the album that features the track “Reflection”), were recently repressed and released on cassette tape. “The Things We Think We’re Missing” has actually never seen a cassette tape pressing, but “Separation” has seen one pressing over three different variants years ago through Lost Tape Collective that quickly sold out. Due to the fact that Balance and Composure tapes are pretty rare I decided to finally give them a listen to see if it would be worth it for me to buy myself a copy. I’m extremely glad I did because they are one of the bands I cannot stop listening to lately! I haven’t really given “Separation” an in depth listen, but what I have heard so far from “TTWTWM” is simply amazing. Balance and Composure does a perfect job with mixing my favorite elements of alternative rock and pop punk together to form outright beautiful music. “Reflection” is a perfect example of this and is easily my favorite song that I’ve heard so far from Balance and Composure. I definitely plan on checking out more of their discography, especially their 2016 release, and if you are not familiar with their material then definitely check out their track “Reflection”!
Columbus on the other hand is a pop punk band that I have been a huge fan of for the last few months. I discovered Columbus when I was bored last spring and decided to search through different tabs on bandcamp. I ended up stumbling upon their 2015 release, “Home Remedy”. After hearing the first track off this EP, “Downsides of Being Honest”, which features guest vocals from John Floreani of Trophy Eyes, I instantly got hooked on Columbus and I have since become a massive fan of the Australia based band. Right after I discovered Columbus I saw their announcement that they were recording their first ever full length record. Excited to hear new material, I continued to stay up to date with the group until the release of “Spring Forever”, their debut LP. Even though I’ve only listened to the record once through, I can definitely say that it is a great album and is full of amazing Columbus songs. Their sound changed slightly, exemplifying a more calm pop punk sound that Blink-182 fans will instantly become addicted to, but overall this new record still sounds like classic Columbus that their fans have grown to love. I will say though that none of the songs top my favorite track by them, “Downsides of Being Honest”, but this does not mean that the 2016 album is anything less than superb. However, what “Spring Forever” does have is an amazing new track titled, “Raindrop”, that is accompanied with one of the saddest and most powerful music videos I have ever watched. I don’t want to spoil too much about the music video, but the symbolism and plot development of the main characters and how it aligns with the lyrics heard on the song allow the video to get progressively more sad until the absolutely heart breaking ending the music video has. Emotional music and videography is one of Columbus’ strengths and it is showcased in the outstanding track “Raindrop”. It is essential that you watch this music video today and give this great up and coming band a listen as they would greatly appreciate your support!
This has probably been the lengthiest Track of the Day Tuesday that I have ever written. However, the two groups mentioned are so significant and important not just to their respective sub genres, but also to me as a fan, that I think a lengthy post like this is completely justified. The two tracks, “Reflection” and “Raindrop”, which you need to listen to, are attached below. I’ve also added the link to buy the Balance and Composure cassette tapes for any fans of the band that would like to buy their own copies and I’ve also added the link to Columbus’ bandcamp page where you can download “Home Remedy” and any of their past material for free. Give these tracks a listen, let us know what you think of the two songs, and be sure visit the site often this week for more music content!
2016 has seen some huge vinyl represses this year, but this repress is probably the most significant repress we will see all year! Las Vegas based rock band, Panic! At The Disco, will be repressing their iconic debut album, “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” this month. Their debut record, along with their sophomore and third full length records, “Pretty. Odd.” and “Vices & Virtues”, will get represses this year as well after years of having previous presses completely sold out. Panic! At The Disco’s first three records are some of their most successful and popular releases to date and it’s no surprise that their previous pressings of these records are extremely rare and hard to find online. Almost all of these previous pressings have been resold for at least $100 and some have even seen sales close to $400! That being said, this repressing of Panic!’s first three records gives collectors and fans of Panic! At The Disco the ability to finally purchase a copy of these great records for an affordable price!
Even though each of the albums mentioned are extremely limited on vinyl and in high demand from fans of the band, “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” is still the most significant repressed album all year. “AFYCSO” was the record that launched Panic! At The Disco into their massive successful career that we see today, and the record is widely received by fans as the group’s greatest record. It also has the most previous pressings than any of the first three albums and has also been sold for as much as $399 on Discogs! I personally never thought that “AFYCSO” would ever be repressed again due to the fact that there were already multiple pressings made for the debut album that are often resold on various websites. However, this repressing, like mentioned earlier, gives fans a way to get a copy, whether or not they own a previous pressing. Even though this repress will add more vinyl copies of the album to the vinyl and cassette market, I still think that older pressings will still have ridiculously high prices and the demand for these copies will still be great, similar to how certain Circa Survive pressings are still high in price and demand. If you are one of the people who are still looking to get any copy of this record on vinyl you need to purchase this as soon as possible as this pressing will definitely sell out and could also be added to the list of expensive resold Panic! At The Disco records.
If you are looking to buy a copy online then check out the links I have posted below to srcvinyl and my favorite store ever, Bullmoose Records, who are both selling copies of the Panic! At The Disco records. Again, and I cannot stress this enough, these represses will absolutely sell out so now is your chance to pick up a copy at a normal, affordable price, especially if you don’t care what pressing of any of the records you can get. I also attached the full stream of “AFYCSO” for those who want to give the classic record a listen! We have a lot more vinyl and cassette news to share in the upcoming week so make sure to visit the site to see more updates about the vinyl and cassette market!
Last week saw an extreme lack of content, and as a result, the week of 10/23-10/29 was the first week without a “The Thursday Ten” post since the segment was first announced. However, we are back this week with the latest “The Thursday Ten”. For those of you who read the last installment to the segment, you will remember that the ratings for the 10 records mentioned all received scores within the range of 7/10-9/10. Even though these ratings are a representation of my honest opinion of the albums, I understand that the ratings from the previous post might seem inflated, and that an average reader might think that almost every album receives around an 8/10. In order to disprove this assumption, I decided to rate some albums that were released this year that I was not very fond of, in order to show a more broad spectrum of where certain records may fall on the rating system for “The Thursday Ten”. The rules for giving these ratings have not changed and each album mentioned can be listened to on any major streaming service, and I highly encourage you to give them a listen! Also, the previous “The Thursday Ten” is posted below and of course, if you disagree with any rating or want to submit a record to be rated, let us know in the comments or shot us an email! Here is this week’s “The Thursday Ten”:
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