What feels like years in the making, Anthony Green has reunited with his former band to record ‘Along the Shadow’. Those familiar with the foundation laid down 13 years ago in the original EP will immediately recognise the feeling elicited here. From the opening moments as Green exclaims, “Who holds a silver string?” the cataclysmic vocal deliveries and driving, terrific guitar riffs that cemented Saosin as a staple of the post-hardcore scene for so many years come blasting through.

Like their emotionally driven lyrical content, the track listing ranges from songs that showcase the band’s full-throttle, heavily metal influences like ‘Ideology is Theft’, ‘Counting Backward from TEN’, and ‘Illusion & Control’ to the more restrained arrangement of ‘Sore Distress’. The band said that when they got together to write this, they wanted to make something fun and have fun doing it. It’s pretty clear that they succeeded on this front 100%. There is nothing that everyone from long time fans of Saosin to those who are getting their first taste won’t find to love about this album.

Given how polished these songs sound, you would never know ‘Along the Shadow’ is the band’s first material in over 7 years. Following the lackluster ‘In Search of Solid Ground’ in 2009 and bringing Anthony Green back into the fold is a guaranteed recipe for lofty expectations. Thanks to the dedication of a band composed of people nuts for music and a revitalised Green, Saosin have never sounded better. Epitaph were smart to jump on this move because it is truly a release deserving of nothing but the devotion of the best. It should really be quite a sight to see as Saosin storm back onto stages around the world and puts this newfound exuberance to good use.

MAT STOKES

Saosin

Head here for all our coverage of Groezrock 2016 in association with Just Like Your Mom and Just A Riot.

Although So What?! is a two-day event, they kick it off early with a pre-party at The Door in Dallas. When your pre-party consists of Set Your Goals and Knuckle Puck, you know you’re doing it right. Knuckle Puck manage to make the show despite having played a show earlier that day at SXSW in Austin (which was killer, in case you’re wondering). After Knuckle Puck smash their set, Set Your Goals take to the stage, and chaos ensues. With guest vocals from Chad from New Found Glory, the most acrobatic stagedivers I’ve ever seen, and a girl crowdsurfing in an inflatable swan, it’s a hell of a way to kick off So What?! fest.

Saturday

The main event starts with the more pop punk-based day of the two on the Saturday. It’s a solid line up, which sees Milk Teeth, Major League, Seaway, This Wild Life, Have Mercy, Turnover, Knuckle Puck, Citizen and Real Friends absolutely tear up Main Stage 1 for the whole afternoon. Over on the Imaginary Idols Clothing stage, Too Close To Touch and A Will Away particularly stand out.

On Main Stage 2, Miss May I draw a big crowd and then incite numerous moshpits and crowdsurfers, before Escape The Fate take after them. With bangers like ‘Gorgeous Nightmare’ and their new single ‘Remember Every Scar’, they cause both moshpits and anthemic singalongs, which is basically the best of both worlds. It seems like the bands who don’t fit in with the rest of the day’s overall pop punk vibe have just as many fans there to see them, and it’s good to have a little variety.

The best band of the day  are State Champs on Main Stage 2. They play as the sun is going down over the festival, and it’s a pretty special moment. With bangers like ‘Perfect Score’ and ‘All Or Nothing’ off their new album ‘Around The World And Back’, the crowd go off, and it’s an incredible atmosphere. Frontman Derek DiScanio’s voice is on point, and ending on ‘Elevated’ is the perfect finale to a short but sweet set.

Next on Main Stage 2 are Neck Deep, who draw the biggest crowd of the day. It’s pretty wild to see a band from the UK doing so well in America, and it’s definitely something to be proud of. The kids here absolutely love them, and they play their pop punk anthems enthusiastically. This is the last date of their world tour with State Champs, and it’s a great finale. With catchy songs like ‘Can’t Kick Up The Roots’, this is only the beginning for them.

Last but not least today are the mighty New Found Glory, who are just as surprised as anyone that despite being incredibly sunny, Texas can get extremely cold in the night time. Around halfway through the set, Chad complains that his hands are so cold he can’t play anymore, but nevertheless, they power through. NFG are basically incapable of playing a show that isn’t ridiculously good fun to watch, and tonight is no exception. From certified bangers like ‘Dressed To Kill’, to a fan request for them to play their cover of ‘My Heart Will Go On’, to their finale of ‘My Friends Over You’, this is a solid NFG crowd-pleasing set, and nobody leaves disappointed.

However, this isn’t the end for So What?! fest round one, because the guys at Emo Night LA have brought the afterparty to The Door in Dallas. With guest DJ sets from Have Mercy, State Champs and Neck Deep, it’s just as chaotic as you might expect, and a very fitting end to a fun day.

Sunday

Back to Quiktrip Park for round two of So What?! fest on the Sunday afternoon, and today is considerably busier. It’s clear to see that the more metal end of the spectrum is more popular in these parts, because the festival is a completely different beast today.  With bands like He Is Legend, Stray From The Path and Chunk! No Captain Chunk!, it’s a strong start to the day.

The Word Alive, Dance Gavin Dance and Silverstein all put on great shows, and then Beartooth come on to Main Stage 2 and absolutely tear it to shreds. Although they haven’t been around that long, they’ve gathered a huge fanbase already, and the crowd go wild for them. Songs like ‘In Between’ and ‘Body Bag’ are so huge that there are endless crowdsurfers and crazy singalongs throughout their set. A huge success.

Next are The Devil Wears Prada on Main Stage 1, who sound just as massive as ever. They draw a huge crowd and people go absolutely wild for them. Their sound is heavy, and although there’s a little less crowd interaction than I’ve seen them give before, it’s an absolute triumph. Next up are Saosin, back with original singer Anthony Green. They sound great, and people are beyond psyched to see them playing together. Green talks a lot about how he’d had an energy drink before they’d gone onstage, and he’s definitely not quite on the same planet as everyone else. Nevertheless, it’s pretty damn entertaining, and their set is great.

And finally, what everyone’s been waiting for: Underoath. The band are back together, and they’re reunited with drummer/vocalist Aaron Gillespie. You’ve never seen a crowd more excited, and there are tears of emotion throughout. They play their two most popular albums, ‘They’re Only Chasing Safety’ and ‘Define The Great Line’, which hadn’t been announced, so the excitement is palpable. The highlights of the set are ‘A Boy Brushed Red Living In Black And White’ and ‘Reinventing Your Exit’, which set off some truly anthemic singalongs.

A wonderful finale to a fantastic weekend. Bring on So What?! fest’s tenth anniversary next year.

LAIS MW

The track is available to stream via Spotify, with a video unveiled exclusively over at Noisey alongside a lengthy interview with Green.

‘Along The Shadow’ is available to pre-order now.

Produced by bassist Chris Sorenson and Will Yip, and engineered by Beau Burchell, the record includes new single ‘The Silver String’.

Saosin will head to Europe in April for Groezrock Festival, and an appearance at London’s Islington Academy on the 30th April.

TRACKLISTING:
01 The Silver String
02 Ideology is Theft
03 Racing Toward a Red Light
04 Second Guesses
05 Count Back from TEN
06 The Stutter Says A lot
07 Sore Distress
08 The Secret Meaning of Freedom
09 Old Friends
10 Illusion & Control
11 Control and The Urge to Pray

Tickets for the London show, scheduled for the 30th April at the O2 Academy in Islington, go on sale Wednesday at 10AM.

Saosin have confirmed via their Facebook page that they are recording a new album with Anthony Green.

Green quit the band in 2004 but famously reunited with them ten years later; when the new album is released in 2016 it will their first album in 13(!) years to feature his vocals. Recovering emo kids are stoked.

More info as and when it comes in.

We’ll set aside for the minute that the choice of venue was crap (no alcohol + no smoking in the arena makes me a very bitter man). We’ll also set aside the fact that half the crowd spent most of their time bundling each other to the floor, there were no concession stands in the venue at all, and if you lost your ticket at any point during the evening, you wouldn’t even be able to leave the arena floor to use the toilet. Despite all of this, it was hard not enjoy the musical show put on by the bands present in the country’s cultural capital.

As I arrived, Saosin were just wrapping up the last song of their set, and from what I could hear, they managed to translate their massive sound from the record to the stage with excellent results. It’s only a shame that I missed the majority of their set due to them starting earlier than anyone was expecting (we’ll blame the mis-print of door opening times on the tickets for that one). Senses Fail exploded onto the stage with ferocity and their trademark harmonies travel well across the Brighton Centre’s vacant floor. I can’t imagine the band would want to return here after tonight, as there’s barely a handful of people that even look like they’re interested in what’s going on in front of them. Despite this, Buddy Nielson leads his New Jersey amigos through a half hour set full of passion and enthusiasm. Although his voice begins to strain before their finale, you can’t fault the amount of effort the boys put in to their show. Without a shadow of a doubt, the highlight came in the form of ‘Rum is for drinking, not for burning’, as it managed to encapsulate the band’s energy within its 3 minute life-span.

I’ve said it a million times before, and one more time won’t hurt… Alexisonfire put on an absolutely blinding show. By the point they hit the stage, the crowd have fortunately woken the fuck up and ‘Drunks, Lovers, Sinners and Saints’ gets the party going. Powering through a water-tight playback of their most famous tracks (see Waterwings, Accidents, .44 Calibre Love Letter) as well as the strongest tracks off ‘Crisis’, there’s not a single person left standing still by the time they’re done, and quite rightly so.

A short break and it’s time for Anti-Flag‘s somewhat trend-setting breed of Anti-establishment punk rock to fall upon the ears of Brighton’s scene. From this point on, things got a bit blurry. Stupidly large circle pit plus me on the floor getting trampled all over doesn’t make for the best way to see a band, yet I still managed to come crawling out with a smile on my face. As the opening riff of ‘Press Corps’ floods the arena, Anti-Flag know they can go home, safe with the knowledge that they’ve shown a few thousand kids a great time.

There’s no stopping Taking Back Sunday at the moment. With an internationally acclaimed third album bothering the Top 20 both sides of the Atlantic, and tours selling out in record time, there’s every reason for them to be co-headlining the 2006 TOC tour. Lead guitarist Fred Mascherino is sadly missing tonight’s performance due to family issues, but fortunately for us, an absolutely astonishing contingency plan had been formed in advance to overcome TBS’s shortcomings. With guest musicians from almost every band on tonight’s bill filling in for Fred on vocals and guitar, the Taking Back Sunday Family Circus is formed to show everyone just how perfectly a scene can pull together to combat a problem such as this. Following an Adam Lazzara solo performance of ‘Divine Intervention’, the setlist is somewhat predictable, yet a tasty cover of The Cure’s ‘Just like Heaven’ is thrown in to keep us guessing. It truly has been a blazing performance, and one that will stay in the collective minds of thousands for quite some time.

The only thing stopping this show from receiving a full five stars is the effect the venue itself had on the evening. It sounds petty to be making such a menial criticism, but the fact that drinking and smoking isn’t permitted inside the Brighton Centre’s main hall really numbed the atmosphere from what it could have been. It’s a crying shame really, as none of the bands here were at fault, and all deserve maximum credit for the effort they put in to give the crowd a good time.

Andy R