When was the last time you left your car running while going inside your house to get a jacket from your room because it began raining? And while you were in your room you noticed a CD you thoroughly enjoyed? You began playing the CD and realized the next day that your car blew up and everything inside it was no longer in this dimension? This situation could happen to any of us, and is more likely than not if the CD is Destined For Anything by Life Long Tragedy. Your query, "Why this CD? Why not the new Arcade Fire? I heard that CD is so good!" Well, to that, I spit on my penis. It will all begin making sense if you continue reading a review on one of the best hardcore records of 2004, yo!
Life Long Tragedy began playing a very metallic influenced hardcore with lyrics about blood and crucial stuff like that. The average age of the LLT roster was about 16 when these songs were written. Fast forward two years, facial hair begins growing and the boys of LLT begin focusing on trying to find their own sound. These boys have become men. Really good-looking men. With the end of "Roll The Credits" you can tell the metal is still present, but it definitely takes a back seat to what can best be described as sincere sounding hardcore. Band wise, I'd compare this to Verse and Modern Life Is War but with more heaviness and mosh. The subject matter of Destined For Anything is sometimes specific to hardcore ("Where We Belong": having school/work the day after a show and being fried from no sleep) to a more broad ground for anybody to connect to ("Standing By Our Words": growing up in a small town with nothing to connect to in the surroundings). The arrangement of the tracks is organic, beginning with an intro song that lasts a minute that finally leads to "Time Stands Still," a minute epic song that reminds one of the buildups from My Love My Way by MLIW. The variety in the nine middle tracks is appreciated with different textures brought on by each song while still containing an overall musical theme that keeps Destined For Anything feeling cohesive. Cameo vocals from Ryan (These Days) and Ross (Hammertime/Ceremony) keep things fresh while gang vocals blast away in every song. It's great how powerful and emotional this can sound without coming off as cheesy. I'd attribute this to the excellent sounding recording, heart felt vocals and well developed music that is constantly progressing.
A lot of the time when I hear a 7" by a hardcore band that I enjoy I wonder how the band is going to release a full length without sounding redundant. Destined For Anything is exactly how hardcore full lengths should be done, keeping the listener attentive for the full album instead of wanting to change discs half way through. Without a doubt this is one of the best hardcore releases of 2004 that can appeal to fans of all types of hardcore. Now if only I still had my automobile, LOLZ.
The way the underground music scene, namely hardcore, functions is vastly different from the days before the existence of the Internet. Gone are the days of having to attend shows to purchase records, shirts, and other merchandise. We now have online distros and record labels that exist only in theory. Gone are the days in which music was spread by word of mouth. These days we instead rely on mp3's.
Like it or not, the Internet has changed the face of music as we know it, and there is no turning back. So it is only fitting that I sit here to review the new full-length, Destined for Anything, from Life Long Tragedy, a band that I befriended some five years ago via an Internet message board.
Destined for Anything eases in slowly with building drum work, handled by Jason Woolery. The guitars jump in and vocalist Scott Phillips declares, "And now you'll know from deep inside of me, that this is something worth loving." Truer words could not be spoken; this is an album that I most definitely love. "Explaining a Feeling," the following track, features an excellent mid-song sing-a-long that is followed by an equally impressive breakdown. After listening to this album several times, I've noticed that the guitar tone used by RJ Phillips and Jeremy Gallegos sounded strikingly familiar. After a few more listens it came to me: Integrity. Now I'm not just saying that because they were a band that I grew up on, nor am I saying that because Integrity seems to be a band to namedrop lately.
The album continues on in this fashion, chock full of fast-paced hardcore, falling in line with acts like With Honor, but with a bit more of an edge to it. Songs like "Make or Break" and "Where We Belong" are comprised of honest yet blunt lyrics screamed out by Phillips, who reminds me of a young Freddy Madball. He later reflects on the lyrics he writes in the track "Confront" as he belts out: "I've got a song in my head / I've got a pen in my hand / I'm going to let it all out / I don't give a fuck what anyone thinks / And I'm not sorry."
I was please to see that "Sincere," a song I got to see the band play live on their tour in 2003, made it onto the album. I thought it to be their best song then and I still believe it to be the best representation of the band: excellent guitar work, fast mid-sections, great lyrics and sing-a-longs, and a nice breakdown to round things out. The album also features a few guest spots on vocals from some notable peers: Ross Farrar of Hammertime fame, and Alex Capasso and Ryan Needham, both from These Days. Needham lends his talents on the track "Roll the Credits," which features a ridiculously heavy breakdown.
As the album closes with "Time Stands Still," I found myself reflecting back over the lyrics. I always enjoyed the music of Life Long Tragedy, but after taking the time to read the lyrics of Phillips, I found a new appreciation for the band. It has become cliché to tackle the topics of intra-scene turmoil, but instead of dwelling upon this Phillips looks inward towards his own self and band.
It is no surprise that Zach Ohren handled the recording and engineering for Destined for Anything. If there is a release coming out of Northern California hardcore/punk scene, chances are that he had a hand in recording it. This isn't to say he's merely a local talent, his abilities shine above even his peers.
The packaging and layout could easily throw first impressions off. Instead of the derivative hardcore design, we are instead treated to a series of scenic photographs of views in and around the Bay Area of California. It's always nice to see something distinctive; I must commend Isotope Studios on doing an excellent job.
Life Long Tragedy has come a long way in a short time. Over the course of the past years, the band has shaped and molded their sound and style to form a sound that is truly unique. So where is 2005 going to lead Life Long Tragedy? With Destined for Anything, under their belts and likely another US tour this summer, it is only time before the band reaches the heights that they are destined to reach.
