"Twenty Bucks Says You'll Remember Me, When You See Me On Your TV Screen"

A Day To Remember
"For Those Who Have Heart" Review (Revised) (3.5/5)

Straight out of the Ocala underground, A Day To Remember brings an It Dies Today aggression with a melodic euphoric tone. This bands first release through Victory Records is hoping to give the troubled label a mainstream bounce-back since the fall in popularity of such bands like Hawthorne Heights. Their new album titled, “For Those Who Have Heart” is A Day To Remember’s second album. “And Her Name Was Treason” was the band’s debut through Indianola Records back in 2005. The debut managed to sell about 8,000 records independently.“For Those Who Have Heart” plans to surpass the mark, and sell enough records to quite possibly push them into the lime light for 2007.

This album is strategically targeted at the breakdown driven, double-bass “scene” fanatics. Their catchy vocals and fluid harmony makes them a bit above average in a totally generic genre. They’ve managed to incorporate Comeback Kid-like chanting along with the bands growls and light singing. Their echo effects on the chorus of “Here´s To The Past” is enjoyable. For most of the melody on the albums choruses, they are addictive and could easily be mistaken for a track off of Eighteen Visions latest project. The upbeat choruses are no match for their breakdowns though. Every track off “For Those Who Have Heart” has a breakdown except for the traditional ballad song, “The Price We Pay.” The most exceptional breakdown on this album can be found on “I Heard It´s The Softest Thing Ever,” but they’ve managed to conjure up a weak breakdown. “The Plot To Bomb The Panhandle” has the MTV2, alternative rock breakdown which will make some people unhappy. The rest of that song is nice though, especially with the fast paced vocals. It’s poppy, but a great beat to dance to.

A Day To Remember has written songs based on experience. One could relate to such songs on an emotional level. “Monument,” one of the most stand-out tracks off this record deals with the doubts of making it as a band. They didn’t need head-scratching metaphors to show how they really felt. On this new record, they tell it like it is. Most bands that perform under this style of music tend to over exaggerate the content of the situation on their lyrics. On “Show Em’ The Ropes” when you hear, “Just hold your breath / to make sure you won’t wake up again” that would be the most cliché lyric they’ve written on this LP.

This band is a part of the new Victory Records. If you haven’t liked the changes the label has made in the recent years, then approach this album with caution. It seems like A Day To Remember is set to blow up all over places like Fuse and MTV. Their record is too catchy and upbeat to stay dormant and ignored. They have been touring with very aggressive bands like The Devil Wears Prada and Calico System, so it’ll be interesting to see how diverse the growing fan base will become.