reviews
Whatever doesn’t kill them only makes them stronger.
Bleeding Through - DeclarationAlternative Press - Tim Karan on 1/15/09 @ 2:40 PM - altpress.com
Having teetered on the brink of great things for the past few years, it's time for Bleeding Through to either shit or get off the pot, and Declaration could well be the album that finds the Orange County metalcore monsters pinching an almighty loaf. 2006's The Truth saw the band take a massive leap forward, not so much in terms of intensity but certainly in so far as their ingenuity, creativity and a lack of fear for melody. But with Declaration, Bleeding Through have pushed the boundaries of metalcore even further and finally sound like the unique, genre-defining band that many have long felt they were.
The orchestral "Finnis Fatalis Spei" serves as an introduction before the album bursts into life with "Declaration (You Can't Destroy What You Cannot Replace)." It's immediately apparent that Strapping Young Lad front-loon Devin Townsend has done a stellar job from behind the production desk; the band simply sound huge, the guitars are face-melting and Marta Peterson's keyboards are more prominent than they have been in the past. Brandan Schieppati's vocals are as passionate as ever, particularly on album highlight "Sister Charlatan." Declaration is the sound of a band surfing a creative wave. Hopefully they'll ride it for some time to come. (TRUSTKILL) Brett Callwood
ROCKS LIKE:
Bleeding Through's The Truth
Underoath's Define The Great Line
Shadows Fall's The War Within
IN-STORE SESSION WITH FRONTMAN BRANDAN SCHIEPPATI
It must be nice to finally get Declaration out after all of the record label problems that you've had...
Yes, it is. I think that the record sounds the way it does because of the bullshit that we went through. We felt darker and angrier while we were recording, and I think that all came through on the record. It's all resolved now though, and it's to a point where everything's working. It's a business and it's all coming together now, so everything's cool.
Is there a concept behind the record?
It's sort of about what we've gone through as a band over the past six or seven years-the places we've gone and what the lyrical content was about for the first few records. We're turning a page and moving on from that, and writing about the perseverance through the last seven years.
What inspired "The Loving Memory Of England"?
That song is just about how England is one of our favorite places to play. Every time we're there, it has a really bleak, dark feel to it. It almost makes you feel the mood of your music a little more and makes you play harder and give it your all.
You're on tour with Bullet For My Valentine right now. How are audiences reacting to the unreleased songs?
I really wish the record was out on this tour, but the songs are going over really well. We started playing the new songs while we were in Europe and carried them over onto this tour, and they're going down well.
In terms of the production, Devin Townsend seems to hear music in a different way to everybody else, and he's gotten the best out of you guys. What was he like to work with?
We had preconceived notions about what he was going to be like in the studio. The only times we had met him in the past was when he was with Strapping Young Lad, and he was really wild and crazy. But he is super mellow and down to earth. He's a workaholic, and he has a vision for music. He knows how to put it all together. He made it really comfortable for us, and fun. We used to be a band that didn't like recording too much, but on this record, we really had fun in the studio. [BC]
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