Drew Beringer • Blog and Author Page • Page 13 • chorus.fm

What do At The Drive-In, Taking Back Sunday, and The Movielife all have in common? Other than releasing genre-defying albums, they’ve also have broken up and each have produced two new bands. At The Drive-In gave us The Mars Volta and Sparta, Taking Back Sunday gave us a new TBS and the John Nolan-led Straylight Run, and the Movielife spawned I Am The Avalanche and Nightmare Of You. While TBS and Sparta have tried to recreate their older sound, TMV and SLR have drifted away from their previous band’s sound and have gave us something more original and fresh. When The Movielife broke up, Vinnie Caruana formed I Am The Avalanche and guitarist Brandon Reilly formed Nightmare Of You. While IATA began where The Movielife left off, Nightmare Of You follows in the vein of Straylight Run; a mellow indie band that features more accomplished and mature songwriting than before. Reilly is the lyricist, vocalist, and guitarist for NOY, while the rest of the band is rounded out by guitarist Joe McCaffrey, bassist Ryan Heil (although he joined NOY after the album was recorded, Lader played bass on most of the album) and drummer Sammy Siegler. Produced by Jason Lader, Nightmare Of You offers 11 dark pop songs that burst with memorable melodies, sarcastic lyrics, and great emotion.

To be honest, when I got “All’s Well That Ends Well” in the mail, I didn’t know what to expect. First known as the Chiodos Bros., they had a variety of styles show up in their earlier work, but with their Equal Vision debut, they tried to categorize their sound a bit more with duel-guitar riffs and better lyrics. While there is still a melting pot of styles on this release, it’s more defined. Chiodos is a sextet featuring vocalist Craig Owens, Radley Bell on keyboards and backing vocals, guitarists Pat McManaman and Jason Hale, and Matt Goddard on bass. Chiodos has a nice-sized fan base and has toured with the likes of Coheed and Cambria and Yellowcard. With musical influences from Saves The Day to Queen to At The Drive-In, Chiodos covers a lot of genres in their music. Filled with electronic beats, piano, metal riffs, screaming, and vocals that rival Anthony Green, this is one fun album. At times melodic and at times in your face, this is one album that will definitely intrigue you.

Review: Nightmare of You – Nightmare of You

Review: Chiodos – All’s Well That Ends Well