Punk's Not Dead...

... but a large part of it is.

It's a sad day in music, particulary punk music world. Hilly Kristal, founder of CBGB's in New York died on Tuesday. I just found out a few minutes ago.

You can read more about it in this article. Here's another one from MTV

RIP Hilly! You will be missed.

Under a Killing Moon

So I've been reading up on the new albums that Thrice are releasing over the next 8 months or so and I'm quite intrigued. Here's a press release that goes into a bit of detail of what the 4 albums (fire, earth, water, air) will entail. Also make sure you check out their studio diary, there's a little taste of what some of the albums will sound like.

Thrice are fuckin' geniuses!

Press Release - THRICE Underground Music Scene Heavy-Weights Gear Up To Unleash The First Two Of Their Four-Disc EP Set The Alchemy Index: Vols. I & II - Fire & Water Out October 16th, 2007

Orange, CA- August 23, 2007- The first installment of The Alchemy Index, Vols. I & II: Fire & Water will be available October 16th, 2007, followed in Spring 2008 by Vols III & IV: Earth & Air. By turning the model for rock music on its head, Thrice have exposed the different components that create their signature sound, exploring each factor thoroughly, instead of condensing them to fit with one other. In the process, they’ve created a series of songs that shift from gritty to spacious and scorching to fluid between discs.

“We’re doing something that’s the opposite of what a producer is supposed to do on a record—which is make everything make sense and fit together—whereas this project is all about taking things apart and pushing them one way,” says Teranishi. “We really wanted to try doing things our way this time around, and make this record sound the way we want it to sound, not the way it’s “supposed” to sound.

“Dustin [Kensrue] came up with the idea of using the elements, and separating all of the feels that we normally come up with,” adds bassist Eddie Breckenridge. “That was scary at first, because part of what our sound is, is that combination and the experiment of mixing different feels, but this is actually helping us push each feel in a further direction.”

Thrice fans will likely find the thundering strains of Fire to be the most familiar of the four EPs, with the kind of blistering riffs and captivating melodies the band has built a career upon. From the opening bombast of “Firebreather” to the towering, unforgettable "Burn the Fleet" - with its Elliot Smith meets Isis vibe, is a song representative of the vast dynamics in these albums. Fire exhibits a Thrice who still know how to punish with decibels, and with greater force and impact than ever before. “I’m really happy on how [“Burn The Fleet”] came out,” says drummer Riley Breckenridge, who also resides in the house that holds the band’s studio. “It’s really melancholy, yet crushing.”

Water, on the other hand, offers some of the most subdued textures the band have explored to date, and makes extensive use of a palette of electronic sounds, particularly for rhythms and synthesized effects. Haunting and beautiful, Water is an aural aquatic voyage as serene as it is somber, with the shimmering bliss of “Open Water” naturally coexisting with the dark, moody “The Whaler” and the groundbreaking and evocative instrumental track, “Night Diving.”“For [“Night Diving”], we ended up making this whole plot outline of what’s happening in the song, even though there are no lyrics. That was how we decided on the different movements—when they’d come up, and when they’d come down,” Kensrue says. “It’s the story of this guy diving at night, and the things that he encounters. That was a pretty interesting way to write a song; we definitely had never done anything like that before.”

Kensrue took the elemental theme still further by composing an original sonnet for each EP, set to music, yet organized in the traditional English structure and rhythmic fashion. These passages (“The Flame Deluge” on Fire; and “Kings Upon The Main” for Water) offer powerful sentiments that serve as thought-provoking closers for each EP’s respective journey.“Each sonnet is written from the point of view of the personified element, speaking to mankind, and lamenting our various failings,” explains Kensrue. "The Fire sonnet deals with fire being resentful and ashamed of the way that it’s been used in destruction and war, while the Water sonnet deals with man’s pride, and the futility and idiocy of that pride, when it comes face to face with the power of the sea.”

On The Alchemy Index, Thrice destroyed the rock rulebook and created their most engrossing and accomplished work to date…The true evolution of a band.

Thrice is releasing music videos in installments of one per week for the next 8 weeks. Click below for the first two:
Here is 1/10: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbOMAoIeLKE
Here is 2/10: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSGp1tyak-o

For more information on Thrice and The Alchemy Index please check out www.thrice.net or www.alchemyindex.com and be sure to check them out on their upcoming headline (9 week – 42 dates) tour with Brand New.

Aside from this four album release, Thrice have also switched labels. In June they parted ways with Island Records and found a new home in August with Vagrant Records, which is also home to the Eels, .moneen., Dashboard Confessional, Saves The Day and many others. I have a feeling that these concept albums are going to knock us all on our asses.

Drink, Drank, Punk

I just got the new (released July 10th) The Unseen album, Internal Salvation. It's quite predictable that I would love these guys considering their uncanny similarities to Anti-Flag. This new album is kickin' my ass. They still sound quite a bit like Anti-Flag but their sound has evolved since State of Discontent. It's obvious that they enlisted the help of a veteran producer for this album, it's much cleaner than any of their other albums. All I can think about when listening to this album is how much fuckin' fun they would be live.

Everyone should listen to this album!! Go get it right now!!!