From Safety to Where
Irreversible Trend
Radical
Like most in the banal genre of screamo, From Safety to Where cradle a fine line between post-punk and metal. The largest distinction between those two forces being in the vocal and lyrical content. Many ’80s metal bands didn’t so much as sing as scream. Growing up in this time myself, I never felt it was wrong or out-of-place to have a good scream. Hell, I still scream into my fluffy pillow like a heartbroken pre-teen when I’m upset. It’s habit.
But, like most during this time, I found hardcore. Surprise, surprise, you can bring down the falsetto. And, then came art-rock, then post-punk, and any other label you want to attach to bands that are different from what was before. Now we have bands drawing a very natural lineage from Iron Maiden, Helloween, et al to Black Flag, Bad Brains to Sonic Youth, Fugazi…
According to From Safety to Where, the music public will endure this platypus of a genre, screamo, for a while now. The first track, and album namesake, “Irreversible Trend,” puts to rest the argument while having the insight to call it for what it is: “this noise is all we’ve got say.”
The most promising tracks on this album are the aforementioned title track; “Monument,” an ethereal rock song (strange, I know); and “Vertical,” which tantalizes with its slow-burn ignition to its all-out destruction, most notably in the lyrics: “What is the price of this piece of paper?/Joining the ranks of no such distinction.”
While at times the album seems disjointed, on Remainder, FSW do a better job of melding the hard driving bass lines with jazz-inspired drumming and harmonious guitar parts.
Radical Records: http://www.radicalrecords.com
