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Words cannot even begin to express Story of the Year to me. I had the privilege of seeing Story of the Year a few years back and was completely blown away by their live shows. Filled with sheer brutality, acrobatics, and the general goofing off that makes one wonder if they are at a comedy show or at a concert, the band equally focuses the passion of their live shows into every album. I've been a huge fan since Page Avenue came out in 2003, which featured incredibly well arranged songs and some of the most hook filled choruses out there.
Then came 2005's In The Wake of Determination when the band stepped a bit away from sing-song choruses to face crushing guitars and epic chanting choruses. After some label issues, the band joined Epitaph Records and released their latest work The Black Swan which features the highlights of both their previous works. One thing is clear; Story of the Year is not done. They are pissed off, have a bone to pick, and yet they have grown up and crafted some of the most beautiful songs of their career.
The album kicks off with the heavy thrash filled "Choose Your Fate" a song blasting President Bush. Before you chalk this up to another group jumping on the band-wagon, give the album a chance. The album goes forth to encompass many things that are wrong with humanity in general right now. The first single "Wake Up" follows next and is the trademark Story of the Year song, wailing guitars, thundering drums, singing, screaming, you name it. Song's like "The Antidote" and "Message to the World" feature blazing guitar solos that were commonplace on their last album In The Wake of Determination. "Message to the World" also features a slight change in the band's sound featuring djembes and African chanting in the outro.
Other notable songs on the album are "Apathy is a Deathwish", "Tell Me (P.A.C), the interlude "Pale Blue Dot", and album closer "Welcome to Our New War". The album as a whole is phenomenal, no track feels unnecessary and everything flows perfectly together. With the perfect mix of radio friendly, sing song, thrash, and screaming to be a common ground for any fan new and old, Story of the Year have released not only the best album of their career, but possibly the Best of 2008 thus far. Perhaps they should rename their band Story of the Decade because I can only hope that this is still just the beginning of their career.
