01. Into Twilight
02. Craft Messenger
03. Quiet.Still.Dead
Recently I was asked, “Can you name ten screamo bands still together?” by a friend that was attempting to point out that the genre is pretty much dead. The first band that came to mind was Welcome The Plague Year. While they do contain members from such mid 90s “legends” as Neil Perry, Makara and Joshua Fit For Battle, they are reaching a zenith of their own. You can hear the traces of the former bands, not so much in Neil Perry, but definitely with JFFB with a melodic screamo sound. The vocal attack too is similar to JFFB, but with a little more kick in the nuts.
The most interesting track is the first, “Into Twilight”. At times the song feels like one big crescendo, similar to the recently deceased City Of Caterpillar. The instrumental beginning contain a looped sample updating us that, “they were very sad that our planet was dying”. This might be hinting at political overtones that are sadly scarcely used in today’s post hardcore/hardcore scene. But considering the fact that I was not able to acquire lyrics, the rest of the song could be about ovulating unicorns for all I know. Back to the song, although it begins with a desolate single riff soon layered by a clean bass and a rising drumbeat by 1:55 distortion kicks in. At this point a pure rock ‘n’ roll spirit is unleashed with a fury of dual vocals, harmonizing visceral guitar melodies, bass lines that showcase the beauty of violence, and drum beats that although are very busy will appeal to those that aren’t down with fancy fills due to the level nine intensity. After a few minutes of this fiesta the volume is lowered as your jaw is still lying on the ground. It’s probably lying there because you enjoy listening to music on the floor belly down.
Upon realizing what has just occurred, your first multi-orgasm, “Craft Messenger” kicks in. This song displays WTPY’s ability to write a more straightforward song, although the breakdown in the last half of the song is appreciated to break up any repetitiveness. “Craft Messenger” ends on a hard note, beats reminiscent of Tipping Canoe with sounds like that of a chase scene in a dim mine shaft. The momentum is soon carried into the third and final track, “Quite.Still.Dead”, with blast beats and grungy sounds. As you probably guessed, dynamics kick in and the rest of the two minutes are filled with tempo changes. The last thing you’ll hear is a sample like the first, loop once again, warning you, “take steps now or you’ll planet will die.”
The reason why the original question holds so much validity is because kids seem to ignore bands until they’ve broken up, then all of a sudden they are swarmed by the fans they never had. Therefore I suggest getting this demo pronto, supporting this great band before it’s too late. As much as you might love City Of Caterpillar, Saetia, etcetera, they are no longer breathing and won’t benefit nearly as much as an active band such as this one. As you might have read in the news WTPY will be doing a split this summer with Funeral Diner, and from the sample I heard, it appears as though WTPY is going into a slower more heavy/thick sound.
PS Since this demo is out of print, I full endorse the use of your preferred file sharing program to track this down. Just be sure to purchase their upcoming releases ;)
Recording Quality: 3/3
Format: CD
MP3s | Official site
Order from: Out of Print
