| CD REVIEW Break Of Day |
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Band : Break Of Day 2005 (Westerlo/ Herselt, in the neighborhood of Aarschot, Belgium): former members of Buckle Up and Minor Setback get together to Rock out again, and bring people the kind of fast Punk Rock experience in the vein of Strike Anywhere, Rise Against, and Strung Out, with additional (Post-) Hardcore influences: fast and shredding guitar riffs (often including a nice solo) supported by a furiously pounding drummer, a devilishly thumping bassist, and vocals switching from clean to screaming. 2006: Said outfit releases the demo album Where Ends Meet Life Begins, and follow that up with a lot of shows throughout Belgium, during which they get the opportunity to support the likes of Across Five Aprils, Homer, No Turning Back, Noyalty, Skin Of Tears, Sparkle Of Hope, The Hurt Process, and When We Fall, to name but the most resounding ones. 2007: co-founding guitarist Jelle Van de Kerckhof leaves the fold, and in his stead Give Us Your Money six-stringer/ shouter Tim Dries comes to join the remaining foursome of Teun Van Aerschot (lead vocals), Bart Van Eynde (lead guitar), Thomas Goossens (bass & shouts), and Raf Van Eynde (drums & backing vocals). With the new man in place, subtle changes occur in the band’s musical direction: while on the one hand the band will continue to play the kind of emotionally/ socio-politically charged Melodic Punk Rock alà Bad Religion (still one of the band’s biggest examples), they will also include even faster songs in their catalog. 2008, September: Break Of Day, having secured a deal with Funtime Records earlier in the year, enters Dé Studio in Asse to record their official debut album with renowned producer Dirk Liers, and additional guest appearances by Johan Quinten (Homer, PN, Funtime Records, guest vocals on the track “Contrast” & additional backing vocals – alongside a host of 8 other guests – on “The Hobo Wears Prada”), Geert Croonenberghs (additional backing vocals on “Dawn Of The World”), and TomBessemans (piano on the album’s piano-&-vocal-only ballad “Father’s Day”, to which he also wrote the music, by the way). 2008, November 24: The end result comes with this 12-track album, the only mp3-samples of which you can listen to at myspace.com/breakofdaymusic is for “The Hobo Wears Prada” (alongside 3 tracks off the 2006 demo album)…at least when I last looked on November 15! In their own words, the band sounds “…like someone who’s being angry on a rollercoaster through history, someone who wants you to think, create and live your own life free of the belies of others…” and they want you to lissten to what they have to say because “…listening to Punk and Hardcore music doesn’t make you an outcast, it gives you an idea that you don’t have to be another copy of popular singers and movie stars…there’s more to life than fashion, money, greed and power…it’s up to you to discover it!”. Well, I agree, but let’s keep things in proportions: I’ve seen too many youngsters destroy their life because of being confronted with those kind of ideas at too young an age, and in acting upon ‘em “forgot” their own education and development as usefull members of society! As far as this release goes, I can’t say I’m exactly overwhelmed. Maybe I’ve been spoiled somewhat with the last couple of releases on the Funtime, but this one definitively belongs to an older category of bands, going back to the beginning days of the label, when fast played melodic Punk Rock was more of a common thing. Still, you gotta support your local Punk Rock/ Hardcore scene, and while these days I do that by writing the best possible reviews (getting a promo copy for free I the trade), there were days when I wouldn’t miss a chance to buy anything coming out locally…just to support that local scene, you know (and because of getting that many more nice releases into my collection, of course…because after all, we’re music lovers first, and the Punk Rock/ Hardcore heart comes second!). 86/100 Tony. |