As time moved on, so did most of the scene, and all the Aidens and Kill Hannahs went on to different projects. By 2013 Madina Lake were on an indefinite hiatus, and the shattered remains of noughties emo became nothing more than Slam Dunk Fest nostalgia acts.

It’s been almost a decade since the band’s last full length release, and emo is no longer such a dirty word. Following the beginnings of their reunion a few years back, Madina Lake have woken up from hibernation and marked their official comeback with a brand new EP, ‘The Beginning Of New Endings’.

‘Playing With Fire’ slams straight into where they left off – this atmospheric and high-octane opening track has all the energy of their younger selves. With a fun breakdown at the end of the track, the band make their all or nothing mission statement clear.

Vintage Madina Lake with a relentless approach, ‘Love is War’ has a surprisingly heavy intro, featuring a riff that gives them a thrash metal badge of honour. As you headbang to Mateo Camargo’s impressive guitar work, front man Nathan Leone keeps things in check with lyrics that are as emotional as ever – time to wipe away the tears and running mascara just like old times, this track is the most reminiscent of their original run.

As well as crafting an anthemic chorus, ‘Heart of Gold’ displays Leone’s genuinely inventive lyrics that are potentially a career best for the band. The drum breaks from new recruit Chris Morris adds a lease of life to the song at all right moments, and this track marks where the band are stylistically better than any other.

Unfortunately, Leone still falls short vocally – the singer’s unique style is something that always let them down in the past, and that trend has continued here. Their most sentimental fans will continue to love this, but it’s not welcoming to a more casual listener who’s more familiar with either the polished vocalists of arena rock, or something grittier from the metal corner of the alternative world. A purgatory for mediocre vocal chords.

Trying to reignite the depth of storytelling they were best known for, the EP ends on an unfortunate whimper with an eight minute self-indulgent mess named ‘Tiny Weapons’. It’s a collection of tidy ideas and cohesive musicianship that misses the mark, trailing off into an excessive void. At this point, Leone has gone beyond an acceptable amount of time doing his trademark quiet, whisper-like vocals instead of singing with any actual power behind it- sadly, the band’s reliance on slow builds doesn’t pay off when the crescendo is an off key chorus.

For better or worse, Madina Lake are back. There’s nothing wrong with nostalgia, we are all indebted to the bands that soundtracked our youths, and this EP is an expressive outpouring from a band not ready to be remembered solely for their past accomplishments. While it’s a little rough around the edges with some bad habits that need buffing out, ‘The Beginning of New Endings’ is proof that Madina Lake still have a bigger story to tell.

Louis Kerry

They will celebrate the announcement with a UK tour in May, coinciding with a performance at this year’s Slam Dunk Festival. Madina Lake broke up in 2012 following the release of their third album, ‘World War III’.

You can see a list of dates for Madina Lake’s tour below.

May

26 LONDON O2 Islington Academy
27 BIRMINGHAM NEC
28 LEEDS City Centre
29 HATFIELD The Forum
30 MANCHESTER Sound Control
31 GLASGOW King Tuts

Here’s the announcement in full from the band’s website and the dates:

“Madina Lake was conceived 7 years ago, when Matthew, Nathan, Dan and Mateo shared a magical night together in Chicago… As their friendship evolved into something cosmic, a risky decision was made to abandoned their respective musical situations, to form one. A band that could fulfill each members’ vision for their ideal career. The visions matched up, the chemistry was undeniable and we formed Madina Lake. That night we agreed to embark on a journey of realizing an idea that would materialize over three records before we revealed the statement behind it. This tour is the culmination of a 7 year endeavor to get here.
For this tour, we will be performing “From Them, Through Us, To You,” from start to finish.
after that, we will do another set of songs from the rest of out body of work.

This is for the River People….
Thank you for existing.”

NOVEMBER
26 READING Sub 89
27 MANCHESTER Deaf Institute
28 SHEFFIELD O2 Academy 2
29 GLASGOW King Tuts
30 BIRMINGHAM Temple

DECEMBER
01 CARDIFF CF10
02 LONDON Garage

http://www.facebook.com/MadinaLake

Where in the world are you Dan and what’s on the cards today?

We are in our home town of Chicago, and being the week before we leave for the Arlene Tour, we will be in our rehearsal studio creating our set list and getting the show in order!

How is the mood generally in the Madina Lake camp at the moment?

Anxious would be the best way to describe it… We haven’t been on the road since the week before Christmas and we thrive on playing live. We’ve been looking forward to this tour since its inception last year.

You’ve got a new EP coming out soon – ‘The Dresden Codex’. Where does this fit into the Madina Lake back story and mythology? Is it a separate entity to the three-album concept that you’ve talked about before?

It is an EP and not our third record, yet the theme will still follow the Madina Lake mentality. It’s still a couple months from being finished… ideas are still being formulated, but this EP will be a kind of bridge between our second and third record.

What is ‘The Dresden Codex’?

It refers to ancient Mayan texts, some of the earliest writings ever found in the Western Hemisphere. There are some prophecies that are closely tied to the Madina Lake story from that period.

We understand you headed down to record it in Florida in January this year. We imagine it’s pretty hard to record an EP with all the sun, sea and sand distracting you. How much of it was spent recording and how much were you just having a bit of a cheeky holiday?

To be honest we did more work down there then we’ve ever down in such a short amount of time. We’ve been known to get retarded no doubt, but it had been well over a year since we’ve written any new material so we were pretty disciplined. The change of scenery was definitely good for us.

Before you went in to record the new EP, Nathan said on his blog you were looking to give it a ‘raw, nipple twisting rock sound’. What the hell does that mean, and did you succeed in doing that?

Haha, we always seem to be referencing tits in some way or another. It means that we are getting tired of that over produced and scrutinized sound. These songs came together very quickly and I think we succeeded in capturing that energy on the recordings.

Do you have a release date for ‘The Dresden Codex’ yet?

It could come out as early as May… Most songs are finished; when we return from the Arlene tour we’ll knock the rest out!

Now you’ve recently been involved with various charities – playing benefits for Darfur and raising awareness for breast cancer. Do you feel responsible as a band that’s recognised worldwide to use your fame to encourage others to do the same? Is that ‘part of the job’ for you?

We don’t consider what we do a job, we feel very lucky to be able to do this. We constantly feel like we need to give back to the people who support Madina Lake so I think doing things like that feel natural for us. It’s never been about the money for us, and yeah, we hope that mentality will be contagious.

How did you get involved with those two particular causes? Are they ones particularly close to your hearts?

We’ve been close to keep a breast for a long time, they have been involved in so many cool events music related that we were totally into doing something with them for a while now. The Darfur thing was also very cool, it was held at a club called the Metro here in Chicago which we spend a lot of time at so we wanted to get involved as soon as we were aware of it. It was about raising money to build schools for refugees – a privilege to be a part of.

You’re back in the UK in April headlining what you’ve dubbed ‘The Arlene Ball’. Is the name another reference to the Adalia story?

Yes. It was a significant event in the story during the first record involving Adalia’s disappearance.

You’ve run a competition for bands to win supports slots on the tour. What has the response/quality of entries been like? Any ones you’ve particularly picked up on?

Yeah we thought that would be a cool way to get different bands on the show and keep the tour fresh every night! There were a bunch of amazing bands in for it and with the help of Atticus we were able narrow it down…

Now after this run you’re back for Sonisphere in August but what else is happening with Madina Lake in 2010? Can we expect to see the next full-length before the year is out?

We are so excited for Sonisphere, you have no idea. We’ve been really lucky with amazing festivals over there every year! We are also hoping to get into the studio this summer to track our third record!

Right, we’ll see down the front next month. Anything you’d like to add?

It’s been almost a whole year since we’ve been over there to headline so get ready to party, the Arlene Ball has been a long time in the making!

PT: Mateo, good to finally meet you, I think you’re the only Madina Laker we haven’t spoken to this year!

Mateo: It’s a pleasure to be speaking to you guys, I’m the one that doesn’t talk that much – I’m the silent type!

PT: How do you think your set went this afternoon?

Mateo: It was a lot of fun, it was cool because there were so many people that were really into it, but for us when we go out there, we really like to just kill ourselves, and jump on everything and use every ramp to jump off, but the stage was really wet and slippery so it was a bit frustrating. We really couldn’t do our whole thing you know. It was a fantastic set though.

PT: Have you been to many festivals as a spectator?

Mateo: Well I grew up in South America, in Bogotá, Columbia so we didn’t get any of this shit man! We don’t get no festivals down there! I remember Guns ‘N Roses came but I was like eight years old so didn’t notice that much.

PT: Talk me through your summer, where’ve you been since we spoke to Dan in May?

Mateo: Well the first couple of months we did Warped tour, which was gruelling, but it’s such a fun time – it’s like punk rock summer camp but it does get to the eighth week, and you just start losing your fucking mind. It’s like if I have to queue up in line one more time for catering, have to take another shit in a portapotty, my mind will explode. At the end of it we were all really, really tired and totally ready to go home. We made a lot of friends though, and saw a lot bands. Any complaints I may have, that makes up for it.

PT: You’ve shot a new music video for ‘Let’s Get Outta Here’. What was the concept behind that?

Mateo: Well we talked about doing something where someone’s in a situation where they’re not comfortable and they want to get out of it. So the girl in the video is at this totally cramped party and totally an outsider, and she just blasts her way through the wall – that’s how the director ‘saw’ the lyrics as it were. I love the video, man. Every video that we’ve done up until that one, I’ve been disappointed with.

PT: Why’s that?

Mateo: Well a lot of them don’t really capture us live, or the narrative is so meaningless, but this one, I was just ecstatic about.

PT: You’re back over here supporting Papa Roach in October. Who knew they were still going?

Mateo: Yeah, man it’s weird. I was never a fan – when they came out they were in that whole Korn thing, that nu-metal thing, and I never really got into that. But we crossed paths in the States and I saw their show – that band could fucking rock a mountain – I was blown away. I had this perception of them, and then I saw them and I just couldn’t believe it, so since then I’m a FAN. We’ve done a few shows with them since then and we’ve become really good friends, and they’re fantastic guys. Hopefully their fans and our fans will get along and it’ll be a nice little package of pleasure!

PT: You mentioned on your Myspace you’re planning on getting back over here for a headline tour in the New Year too. What can you say about that?

Mateo: Well yeah sure, I can’t tell you too much about it yet, but it’s gonna be sort of two-thousand capacity places, and fun times. They’re the kind of shows that I like. Shows like Reading are amazing, because they’re so overwhelming, but you have to kind of disconnect from the audience – you can’t really see anyone it’s just a big mass. There’s such a big gap, which is a bummer – if you wanna get to the audience you have to pretty much pay a train fare to get there! Me, personally I grew up on hardcore so I love just getting out there and getting into it, but on shows like this you’ve got to take another approach!

PT: I last caught up with you guys back in early March and you’ve been incredibly busy since then. I know you’ve been all over the world getting the word out about Attics to Eden. Talk me through the last couple of months – where have you been, what have you been up to and what have been the highlights?

Dan: Last time we spoke we’d just done the Soundwave Festival in Australia. We went to do some promo in Japan and then here, then we went back home. We’ve been doing a lot of sporadic dates, some with the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and a band called Hollywood Undead, I don’t know if they’ve reached over here yet – they’re sort of a rap metal kind of gangster-party band.

PT: Yes, unfortunately, they have.

Dan: They’re a bit strange but it’s been some completely different crowds for us. Their audiences were really cool. It’s good to be over here now, the record’s just come out and it’s good to be here spreading the world when it comes out. Hopefully things will go well. We’re doing Warped Tour this summer but after that, we want come back and do a proper headlining tour in the UK, maybe in the Fall.

PT: Have you had much time to rest over the last couple of months, or has it been a full-on Attics To Eden PR operation?

Dan: Honestly, the most rest that we’ve had in the last few years was actually making the record. At times it was strenuous, but it was pretty chilled the majority of the time. From like November through December, we got to hang out for the first time in years. As soon as January came, it all got pretty hectic, we’ve been so busy, but that’s what you want. You don’t want your record to come out then be sat at home watching TV, y’know what I mean? You want to be out there, talking to people; you want to be out on the road and doing it! I would be more stressed out if we weren’t doing anything.

PT: You’re been here for a week or so now. How have the shows been so far?

Dan: Awesome man! It’s really been nice, the turnout’s been great. Tonight sold out – about three or four other shows sold out too. It really, really feels good; we’re so lucky for that. We had a fairly successful headlining tour when we over here for our first record, but that was way back in Autumn ’07. It’s a year and a half since we’ve really come here and done a tour of our own and that’s a long time y’know. People’s attention spans aren’t that long and everybody’s always got new favourite bands all the time, we were a little bit stressed out to play these shows because we didn’t know if people would come, but we’ve been pleasantly surprised that people seem to still be into us!

It really feels like ages since we’ve been here. It’s great to see a lot people coming back and we’re trying to re-invigorate them with the new stuff. On this tour we’re playing some of the songs from Attics To Eden for the very first time. Literally playing them for the first time since we recorded them in October/November. When we finished the record, we weren’t playing new tracks because it was still months from the release.

PT: You were meant to have Kill Hannah joining you over here. What happened there? Why did they pull out from the tour?

Dan: That was such a strange deal man. We’re friends with a couple of bands from Chicago – Kill Hannah being one, The Audition being another – so were really excited to do these dates with Kill Hannah. We’ve been doing the Chicago circuit with them for literally years.

It was some really kind of freak thing. Business-wise, I don’t really know the details, but they had to re-do some recording they felt really necessary to do for their career. They apologised and everything, but it was really last notice, and it kind of freaked us out. This was all maybe a week before we were due to come over!

PT: You must be relieved that your buddies in The Audition could help you out!

Dan: It’s just amazing the way the universe works, man. They’re some of our best friends from Chicago as well, we’ve toured with them before. They were on a tour in the States with another band and they were really not happy on that tour for a variety of different reasons. I think Matthew called Seth and he was telling them our shitty situation. They were literally talking about quitting that tour the night before that call, so it worked out perfect y’know! A couple of phone calls, managers’ thumbs up and bang, Here they are!

Dan: The first real tour we did was with The Audition and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. It was like six weeks and we had a lot of fun – we really became tight. So now having them over here, and sharing one of those double-decker buses with them, and partying with them has been awesome!

PT: You’ve got Flood Of Red on this tour as well. Had you heard of them before you came over?

Dan: I’d heard the name but never the music until we came over. Everybody’s really sweet in that band, and they’re going over great with the crowds so that’s worked out nicely too.

PT: Do you get much of a chance to keep up with the UK scene when you’re back home?

Dan: Not as much as I’d like to, but have you heard of a band called Swound! ? That’s one band that I came across that I absolutely love. Last time we were over here we met the guys, and one of the guys gave me their EP. I put it on my iPod for the travel back to the States, and I was like, this band is amazing.

PT: One of the things you’ve been doing whle out on the road is keeping fans updated regularly through Twitter. How important do you think the likes of Twitter, Facebook, and the rest are for bands connecting with their fans? Do you think it’s going to make it easier for bands just starting out to get known?

Dan: It’s interesting, because it’s not like it even gives you an advantage anymore, it’s more of a necessity now. It’s not a bad thing because I think connecting with your audience and connecting with kids that like your band is amazing, it’s really cool to be able to get closer to people in that way. I think now the competition is so steep and the record industry is in shambles, no one’s making any money any more. Anything that helps you out if you want to be in a band full-time is an advantage. Not only is it fun but I think it’s a necessity because you’ve got to stay in communication with people supporting you.

The only drawback to that for me is that I remember when I was growing up there was a certain mystique about certain bands because you didn’t know anything about them. I was a Tool fan from early on, and the fact that it was so hard to get information about them almost made you want more. There’s part of me that wishes that it was still like that. Bands could create this unknown mystique around them, it became an appeal in itself. Even with the Smashing Pumpkins in a way, you never knew how the relationships were in those bands – did they like each other, did they hate each other – the unknown was so fascinating!

PT: You’ve also self-confirmed for Reading Festival, something which you said you were shooting for when we last spoke. Any news on which stage you’ll be on?

Dan: I really can’t believe that one! We’ve been so lucky with festivals here. First one we did was Give It A Name – that really jump-started out career over here, that was the biggest show we’d ever done to date. Then we did Download last summer, which was just some thirty-odd thousand people, and now Reading and Leeds is apparently even bigger! I believe we’re going to be on the Main Stage – early on obviously.

PT: It’s a good slot to have – people are still sober and alert and paying attention!

Dan: Oh definitely. It works out in our favour because you get your stuff set up first. I feel like even bands at our level are just so much more professional than us – we don’t have techs, we don’t have a sound guy, so going on early and getting your stuff out the way early takes a lot of the weight off your shoulders!

It’s important for a band like us, if you only have a certain amount of time to impress that many people, early on is good. Everyone’s full of energy, sober, they haven’t been standing in the sun for eight hours. It’s a fun time to play.

PT: You’ve also got some special packages available for people who pre-ordered the album – exclusive videos, interviews and so on available through your River People fan club.What will you be treating your fan club members to over the coming year?

Dan: Basically we’ve been doing a lot of filming on the road and backstage and that. It’s going to be a cool little exclusive thing. I believe we’re going to set up a message board for the fan club members, and you’ll be the first one to get your hands on these things. There’ll be contests, ticket giveaways. Anything that we used on the record like drumsticks, drum skins, guitar picks, we kept and autographed and gave those away. Basically anything we can think of to give that little bit extra back!

PT: You’re definitely a band that takes care of its fans!

Dan: Thank you, we try. It never ceases to amaze us. When we get done at a gig, and there’s a crowd of kids standing there wanting to meet us, we’re like, ‘really’? I think it’s because we’ve all failed so many times at it, that it makes us feel lucky in a way. Ever since we were in high school and in our old bands, just playing shows for no one, and spending every dime that we made into the band, we spent so long trying to get somewhere. Over a three-year span before we got signed to Road Runner, we did eighteen major label showcases and every single one was a thumbs down. It really took it out of us. It makes every opportunity we have, every single fan that we get to meet that much more special, it really means something to us. We ate shit for a long time, so it’s still fascinating that people like it!

PT: I understand after you wrap up this tour you’re sticking around to film your next video over here. What can you tell me about that? Can you tell us what sort of format the video will be taking, what’s the story behind it?

Dan: We’re so excited about this. It’s for a song called ‘Let’s Get Out Of Here’, it’s one of my favourite tracks on the record. It’s kind of rocking, but it’s got a party kind of vibe. We’ve never done a video here before, so we’re really excited to be doing it in the UK, with a UK producer. I don’t know if I’m yet allowed to say how the video’s going to go, but I hear we’ve got some really cool lighting effects going on, so I’m really excited by that!

PT: It’s the last show of the tour tonight. Have you got anything special planned?

Dan: I think we’re just going to try and go as ape-shit as we can. We just want to be reckless and connect, we’re not going to be back until Reading, so we’re gonna make the most of it!

Tonight?s openers Yashin are a clich‚ in every way they possibly could be, but they?re just so damn good at it, you can go ahead and forgive them for their haircuts and predictable stage moves. Although they battle with sound difficulties that hamper all of the bands on the bill, they put in a solid performance and do a half-decent job of warming up the room.

Flood Of Red on the other hand struggle to hold themselves together. The bass-heavy sound completely drowns out the guitars and, through little fault of their own, they end up sounding messy. Still, they play valiantly, and ending on a remarkable six-man drumming spectacle (a trick which they may or may not have borrowed from their friends in the Xcerts) ensures that the Glaswegian sextet have made their mark.

I?ve often thought The Audition?s Danny Stevens has one of the strongest voices in the current pop-punk scene, but tonight he struggles to prove that. Still, when he does hit the notes, his voice shakes the room to its core. Leading the band through a set that strangely seems to ignore their second album, he makes up for his average vocals with his ability to work the crowd. Still, it must be frustrating when your biggest cheer of the evening is actually the crowd collectively wetting themselves over a brief appearance from YMA6?s Josh Franceschi.

Tonight?s show is the last stop on Madina Lake?s current jaunt around the county, and boy, do they go out with a bang. Nathan Leone is one hell of an entertainer, and despite his somewhat cheesy between-song banter, their set is truly astounding from start to finish. The reason Madina Lake have earned the ability to play sell-out shows like this one at the Electric Ballroom, is they write anthemic, infectious songs, the likes of ?House Of Cards?, ?Here I Stand? and ?Pandora? all sounding phenomenal here. Despite Attics To Eden?s release being only days ago, the crowd are word-perfect on the handful of new tracks played with ?Never Take Us Alive? generating the biggest singalong. As a band, Madina Lake ooze confidence and with a live show as enjoyable and action-packed as this, it?s a confidence one can?t argue with.

Andy R

Part 2

Part 2

The punters fall in through the doors just in time for one of those bands that really should be where Paramore are tonight if there’s any justice left in the world. Southern rockers theriverclub open up with ‘My Girl…’ and play through the majority of their debut EP, and two more, very promising new ones. They’re not setting the world alight with something new, but what they do is do it well, and tonight’s performance should win them a few more fans. (7)

At the time that Madina Lake take to the stage, I’m not in the room, but they come out all guns blazing, and from the merch desk, it sounds as though the capacity crowd are coming off their every word. Unfortunately, my view from the other room is that they’re a bit bobbins, and my time would be better spent discussing the tour with theriverclub.

Fighting an urge to leave, I stuck around for Paramore. The crowd’s excited for their new favourite pin-up, and the screams are rather loud as Hayley struts onto the stage wearing a ‘Paramore is a BAND’ t-shirt. Unfortunately, tonight’s performance does little for me, as the ‘hits’ from the album are far too early in the set, and the filler to the album doesn’t come across as strong live at all. With all the extended insrumentation it’s obvious that they can’t fill a headline slot, as 9 songs do just about enough to fill 40 minutes. As far as they go as a live band, they’re not bad, but the song quality just doesn’t back up the stageshow. (6)

Dave