Band : The Banner

Album title : Frailty

Label : Ferret Music

Distributor : Plastic Head - Suburban

Release date : 10/06/2008

Release : CD

When I got the CD by this Bloomfield, New Jersey based "Metalcore" band very little info was available to me, and it took some real extensive search on the internet and sifting through old "news" files (which weren't that easy to find either), to get you the stuff I'm about to reveal, so I hope you can appreciate the trouble I took getting it for you!

Seems like The Banner originally started somewhere in 2002, with a line-up comprising singer Joseph (Joey for friends) "Southside" Coralluzo, guitarists Kevin Manion (who'd go on to play with Shape Shifter and Mother Night)and Garrett DeFalco, bassist Chris Carsen, and drummer Paul Jaffre (of Shady View Terrace and The Hostage repute). By the end of that year, they were already talking to the people at Eyeball Records, but then decided to go look elsewhere for the release of their first EP Posthumous (released in June on the Brightside/ Blackout Records imprint). Earlier that year in February, The Banner was honoured to play at the last New Jersey show ever by Reach The Sky, one of the band's role models. That same month, the guys had won a Battle Of The Bands to perform at the late April Surf And Skate Fest (where they'd share the stage with the likes of Chemical Romance, Andrew WK, Coheed And Cambria, Killswitch Engage, The Used, Thrice, and many more). No need to point out this hightened the band's local profile quite sensitively. In May (so even befóre the release of their debut EP) the guys were already recording their debut full-length Your Murder Mixtape for a release in late December on the same label as the EP. Additional recordings provided the material for the February 2004 released split 7-inck with Dead Wrong, issued by the Warmachine Records label.

There's a gap in the band's history up to July 2005, because I simply found no info relating to that period. Nevertheless, I think I'm quite correct in supposing there'd been a couple of line-up changes. In July and August, the guys put in a couple of US tours in alliance with CannaeEmbrace Today, Since The Flood, and The Red Death, followed up with a brace of shows linked to Modern Life Is War, Walls Of Jericho and With Honor in October, and by another series of shows in December, this time sharing the bill with At All Cost and Nodes Of Ranvier. 2006 starts with the recordings for the August release of the Ferret Music released Each Breath Haunted. In early April 2006 a tour with Madball, Remember Never, Scarlet, and Zao in the US was followed into May by a UK & European tour with Death By Stereo and Himsa. Having announced that they are to cease activities in August, the band then decides to continue after all, allying with Ed Gein, Heavyheavylowlow and Nights Like These for a US tour in September and October. After that tour, the band announced they were disbanding. However, a month later it was found out that the musicians were writing new songs for an upcoming album. The explanation behind these weird actions by the band is quite simple: first there'd been some line-up troubles, leading to the first announcement of a split. Then, the guys re-united with original guitarist Garrett DeFalco for the tour, before the latter again exited. In spite of initial disappointments, the guys found new personal and continued...

...which is very nice for the lot of us, or otherwize The Banner would not 've made their third full-length! Short (only 69 seconds in length) opening track "Welcome F**ckers" is somewhat misleading, the guys bringing a rather Southern tinted track with weirdly wrung acoustic guitar and much calmer vocals than elsewhere on the album. The 11 other songs on the album however show the true face of these guys (current line-up comprising singer Joey; guitarists Rich Bukowski of Groups Of People, Chokepoint, Rattling Cages repute, and Buzz Luciano of Pellinore; bassist Jake Dimeo of As Good As Dead; and drummer Paul "Pollution" Klein, of A Lifeless Alliance and Gotham Road – line-up info may not be up to date though) with a somewhat complex and often chaotic sound. On the one side, the boys will play rather heavily on the down side of the musical scales in the slower parts. In the faster parts the frantic double bass drums occasionally combine with extensive play on the cymbals, thrudging bass, and the wacky hacking play of one of the guitarists to make for a whole which may scare away most fans of more melodic things. However, once you've accepted to embrace those seemingly chaotic moments, you're ready to unravel the wonderful layered structures underneath, and to appreciate The Banner's extremely aggressive music! On top of it all, Joey screams out his guts to the max, and you start wondering whether the guy doesn't occasionally taste blood or guts after a show! Check out the band's music at myspace.com/thebanner, where you'll find 3 tracks off their previous album (which do nót have that wacky chaotic feel) and two off the new one.

I've heard of comparisons to the Cleveland sound of Integrity and Ringworm (as well as Most Precious Blood), but I surmise that The Banner does all those bands proud by bringing an even dirtier hybrid of its influences. At a certain moment, and that foremost in the "calmer" moments, of course, I was thinking about a term like "DoomCore"...and in fact, if that word hasn't been invented yet, I would say it certainly applies for a lot of the material on The Banner's Frailty! Definitely "Best Album Of 2008"-list material in my book!

98/100

Tony.