Shane Mehling is one of Decibel‘s most consistently incisive, entertaining, and brutally forthright critics. And so when he praises the debut self-titled full-length from Fathers as a “post-hardcore/prog-metal amalgam” amidst which the Denver band exists on its “own wavelength of imaginative songwriting played with a bloodied, punk rock persistence and a seemingly limitless arsenal of memorable riffs” in an 8/10 review it behooves one to take notice.
The hype, happily, is super on point and will make you a believer in the power and legitimacy of the Fathers’ Network-esque mission statement: “This is for every man that has been beaten down, every child that has been abused, woman raped or family member slaughtered. We have all been hurt or slandered and had something irreplaceable taken from us. No matter your race, gender or beliefs, we all fucking fight back!”
With the upcoming limited vinyl edition of the record now up for preorder and keying off that pledge of defiance, Decibel solicited the following list from the band of the songs that first inspired them to fight back.
“Baby Bird” — Whores, Clean
Christian Lembach’s vocal style is very appealing to me. There’s an intensity there that i try to achieve with my voice. And the diction is defined enough so that you can follow the lyrics and understand the content. I’m not sure what vocal mic he used, but I did incorporate a Shure green bullet mic in a few of our tracks to add a gritty desolate sound. His message in this song is similar in vein to our message as a band of fighting through sorrow and sadness no matter your race, gender, social standing or beliefs. –Oscar Ross (vocals)
“Fast Worms” — Intronaut, The Direction of Last Things
You can hear the jazz influence throughout their music. But this song takes that and adds a can of whoop ass before and after the bridge. A struggle is created with a full out war at the end. As most people know Danny Walker is a king on that throne and a big influence for me. Quite a few of our songs have a similar structure with a good bone crushing at the end. Ryan Dewitt (drums)
“Bloodsuckers” — Doomriders, Darkness Come Alive
I’m definitely not alone in thinking these types of themes and situations of “fighting back” against what attacks us, tie hand in hand with aggressive music. That said, I could easily list hundreds of songs that fit the bill of counter aggression. One of my favorite songs to address our fight so blatantly, is Bloodsuckers by Doomriders. Lyrically it’s obvious: “Whats been stolen from us, time has come to take it back”, “Vengeance on the bloodsuckers.” The instrumental aspects encompass fierce, fast aggression that create chills up the spine of any person who has been fucked with, physically and/or emotionally. All of this can be interpreted from different points of view, which is the basis of appeal that bands like Doomriders create. — Eddie Maestas (guitar)
Against Me!: “I Was A Teenage Anarchist”
This song hits so many important points in three minutes, it is genius. I think the most resonating note, for me, is the painful, sobering awareness that any ideology, scene, or group can quickly become the thing it fears most, and that we must fight to retain our own identity and protect our own safety at all costs, whenever we can. — Mhyk Monroe (bass)
The post How Denver Post-Hardcore Brawlers Fathers Found Their Fighting Spirit appeared first on Decibel Magazine.
How Denver Post-Hardcore Brawlers Fathers Found Their Fighting Spirit
How Denver Post-Hardcore Brawlers Fathers Found Their Fighting Spirit
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