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525 Power Tracks - Featured Artist |
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36 Crazyfists |
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Brock Lindow – vocals (1994 – present)
Steve Holt – guitar (1996 – present)
Thomas Noonan – drums (1994 – present)
Brett Makowski(Buzzard) - bass guitar (2008 - present) |
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Despite the state of today's tumultuous world, the Alaska-bred,
melodic metal band 36 Crazyfists are inspired to look beyond the
negative and aggressively emphasize the positive. They are able
to distance themselves from the pack by never resorting to
stereotypical metal rage while maintaining their heavy roots.
Whether front man Brock Lindow addresses road fatigue,
self-worth or accountability, the music is fueled by a
contagious enthusiasm and optimism in the face of frustration.
The band's third
album Rest Inside The Flames is a record of this and comes
across as an energized batch of modern anthems built upon a pyre
of swarming emotions, stomping, surging rhythms and vocals that
seesaw between scathing rage and melodic regret. And the band's
universal, contemporary sounds are earning them an army of fans
across the world, especially in Europe, where they have been
embraced by thousands of people, playing main stages at some of
the biggest rock festivals on the continent. It's easy to see
why. Rest Inside The Flames offers a fresh take on aggressive
music that simultaneously revels in strength and vulnerability,
while carving a path of self-reliance and personal expression as
wide as an ocean basin. "I'll Go Until My Heart Stops" begins
with a barked verse that builds into a climactic roar before
leveling off in a contagious chorus. "Elysium," is a colossal
slab of brutality filled with dense, chugging breakdowns, yet
buoyed by unexpected blasts of melody. And "The Great Descent"
opens with a plangent guitar arpeggio and pain-stricken vocals
before building into a hailstorm of slamming beats and angular
riffs. In addition to being more lyrically revealing the album
is also more musically developed and heavier than their previous
work. "There's a lot more double-bass than before and a lot more
mosh parts," Lindow says. "We've always been pretty heavy live,
but it hasn't really translated on record before. So, with this
one, there was more of a focus to make sure the songs would rock
as hard on the record as they will in concert." A perfect
juxtaposition to the thematic heaviness of some tracks, "Aurora"
is about the magnificence of the Northern Lights and how they
reflect the magic of love and life. "On Any Given Night"
addresses the quest to stay upbeat when thousands of miles away
from friends and family and "Midnight Swim" is about having the
strength to take advantage of second chances. "We live in a
country where you can chase your dreams and have more than one
chance to make them happen," Lindow says. "The song is about the
people who chase dreams and the journey that goes along with
that."
36 Crazyfists
started working on Rest Inside The Flames in February 2005, less
than two months after they stopped touring behind A Snow Capped
Romance. By September they had most of the songs written and in
October they entered the studio with producer Sal Villaneuva,
who has worked on albums by bands like Thursday and Taking Back
Sunday. Lindow says. "He is very melodically in tune, but he
also knows how to get killer metal tones, so it was awesome
working with him." While the sessions were long and sometimes
grueling, the band generally enjoyed the recording process --
especially when friends came over to help them out. Former
touring partner and Killswitch Engage singer Howard Jones
fulfilled an old promise to collaborate with the band by adding
guest vocals to "Elysium" and Only Living Witness singer Jonah
Jenkins pitched in on "We Cannot Deny." "Only Living Witness was
one of our favorite bands growing up, so we really wanted him to
be on the record," Lindow says. "Over the years, I made friends
with him online, which is a little weird. But he lives in Boston
so he came down to New Jersey when we were recording, and that
was awesome."
Formed in
Anchorage, Alaska in 1994, 36 Crazyfists named themselves after
a Jackie Chan film, and immediately created a buzz coming out of
the frigid scene. When their original bassist died in a car
accident in 1996, they moved to Portland, Oregon and persevered.
They soon made friends with propulsive thrash band Skinlab, who
passed their demo to the A&R department at Roadrunner Records.
They were signed in 2000 and immediately entered the studio to
work on their debut album Bitterness The Star which came out in
2002 established the band as a powerful new force. Lindow grew
up quite a bit since then and his new lease on life shone
through 36 Crazyfists' 2004 album A Snow Capped Romance, which
showcased positive lyrics with accompanying heartrending
melodies that shared elements in common with emotionally
expulsive performers like Thursday and Thrice.
The band
supported the disc on tours with Killswitch Engage and Poison
the Well and remained on the road until December 2004. A month
later, the band started writing songs for Rest Inside The
Flames. From the ominous arpeggios and ecstatic, distorted ring
of "Felt Through a Phone Line" to the skewed chug and harmonized
chorus of "On Any Given Night" to the tumbling beats and barbed
licks of "Midnight Swim," 36 Crazyfists gives a new twist to
familiar themes and leaves listeners energized with fists
clenched. "We have fun making music and I think that comes
across," concludes Lindow. "Hopefully, at the same time, we can
connect with people and help them deal with whatever's going on
in their lives so they can have a good time as well. That's what
it's about for me, trying to connect with people and hopefully
everybody's enjoying themselves and having a good time."
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