Break Down the Breakdown

Ohhh man I love breakdowns. The bigger, the heavier, the screamier, the rhythmicier, the better!

In all honesty, this is where metal gets silly. It's really easy to dig deep into complex song structure or analyze weird scales or passages and get totally enveloped in dissecting how everything works. But the inevitable will happen. The floor drops out from under you, all shredology comes to a screeching halt, your face stops melting just for a bit...and the breakdown HAPPENS! And boy howdy are there some geniuses out there who know their way around making this metal phenomenon happen. But we'll get to them in a sec, first lets talk about what makes breakdowns and what makes them fun(ny). Shall we? Yes. We shall.

Okay, so, I'm listening to "Gimme A D" by Parkway Drive (www.purevolume.com/parkwaydrive). These Aussie teens (so young, so good, so not fair) with the aid of the production wizardry of Adam D provide probably the most clear cut, auditory definition of breakdownage. The song starts with pure unadulterated craziness: tapping, screaming, monster guitar tone, double kick in your face, more tapping...it's pretty much like a full frontal assault of metal. And what's not to like with that?! Nothing. Nothing's not to like. Double negatives, like double bass pedals, are fun. Anyway, right after getting assaulted with facemeltage for no more than about 50 seconds, we're hit with a breakdown (the first one at least). After a fast galloped section, everything stops for a beat and an ultra elementary, heavily rhythmic passage begins. Contrasting with the pace and ferocity in the beginning of the song, the half time feel combined with the rhythmic (versus melodic) nature of the guitars lends to the sludgy, headbanging wonderfulness of a breakdown.

In my own opinion, a successful (not to mention rad) breakdown is one that is sandwiched with fast, melodic guitars, complex vocal leads, and technical drumming. When that breakdown hits, the simplicity in all three of these independent lines unifies into one simplified beast of a rhythm. And that's awesome. The sole purpose of this unity is to make the listener/crowd lose their minds. It's hard to articulate how exactly that works. I think the best way to put it is that the complexity and busy nature of the parts that lead up to the BD (as I'll call it because I'm getting tired of typing "breakdown" so often) create a bit of anxiety that builds in the listener/audience. So when that quality in the music that keeps you so focused on what's happening stops and you're hit with an almost OVER-simplified riff, that anxiety gets released in the form of punchdancing, jumping around like an idiot, goosebumps, or for me: laughter. It's an awesome feeling.

There are a number of bands who all are known for their ability to let the floor drop out from under you, namely Bleeding Through, Every Time I Die, Parkway Drive, Unearth...but I've gotta say that the undisputed champions of the ole BD would have to be Evergreen Terrace. Holy butts. They're not really the most shred-y band out there, but there's enough going on in their verses/choruses as a function of their punk background and influences that the meat of their songs are very fast tempo'd and busy. But then it comes. Sometime around the second verse or second chorus. Metal happens. Both guitars and the bass play some ridiculously simple, single-note rhythm that gets matched by the kick drum. The snare/cymbals play a simple 4/4 lick that drives the off-beat crunch of the instruments behind it. It's such a distinctive sound and feel and I think this band has captured better than anyone else. They seem to revel in the simplicity. And that's really the key to a successful breakdown. Check out the following songs (BD time is in parentheses) from their myspace - www.myspace.com/evergreenterrace:

Wolfbiker (1:12)
Chaney Can't Quite Riff Like Helmet's Page Hamilton (builds @ 2:42, floor drops out at 2:54)
Where There Is Fire (1:26 and again is reprised at the end of the song at 3:12)
New Friend Request (builds @ 2:23, lose your mind at 2:35)

...oh man, and there are so many more...but you get the idea. Hopefully you'll be able to hear them on your own and enjoy the nature of the beast.

There's nothing like an Evergreen Terrace breakdown.

Dude, bro. Wolfbiker!

The FEAR

This could be the cause for celebration in the belly of the beast.

I've realized recently that the "scene" I've attached myself to has come to a critical breaking point. The bands that have established themselves in this genre (your Killswitches, your Every Time I Dies, your Alexisesonfires, your Poisons in the Wells, et cetera) are reaching the point where they've managed to separate themselves from the masses and made names for themselves in their own right. Their labels realize the cash cow that's been created by a gaggle of kids who throw some screamed, witty lyrics over discordant verses. The suits fan the fire by throwing money, tour buses, and producers at these lucky few in hopes of the big dream of commercial success. And this is all fine and dandy. I mean, who doesn't love money right? On top of that, who doesn't love screwing around with your closest friends on a stage and making sweet moolah hand over fist? Nobody...that's who...except maybe communists.

So all this "corporation"-, "major label"-, "the man"- bashing isn't really what I'm getting at. Hell, when I hear of a band I like getting signed to a major label I'm excited! It usually translates into bigger venues, higher production value (on record and live), more extensive tours, longer sets...all in all it's a good time for all! Growth. Hell ya.

What worries me is the machination of the whole process. At a certain extent, some ear at some label hears the potential for a certain sound from a certain band. So the push comes not towards creative liberty but towards chart-topping. With the commercial success of bands like Killswitch Engage, Every Time I Die (ETID), Alexisonfire, Poison The Well, and others, I can't help but sit back and wonder if Epitaph is going to start pushing ETID towards a more mainstream sound for example. Or maybe Poison the Well will start shopping around to major labels again like they did with "You Come Before You" which was put out on Atlantic. Will these larger labels whittle away at the uniqueness of these homegrown success stories? I honestly couldn't tell you. But with new records on the horizon for all four of those bands (not to mention several others, Evergreen Terrace and August Burns Red to name a couple more) I can't help but worry a little. Look what happened to Atreyu...Avenged Sevenfold...Norma Jean...All That Remains.

To end on a positive note though, its hard to ignore the roots. These bands managed to "make it" in a time when power pop, faux-metal, nu-metal, and general teenie-bopper "punk" dominated the airwaves in the forms of anything from American Idol, Linkin Park, Finger Eleven, Breaking Benjamin, Newfound Glory, to Blink 182, these small garage bands managed to grow to national recognition. Sans help from MTV, sans help from mainstream radio, sans help from Rolling Stone, this scene has flourished. How can a band leave behind what has been doing for the past decade and hop onto that gravy train? It's hard to imagine. I'm not going to pretend like it DOESN'T happen...but I'm gonna say that I'm hopeful for the future.

Hopeful with a pinch of trepidation.

Title. Expanded.

wlfbkr = wolfbiker

I might decide to mention this in the next couple postings in hopes that it might stick. But that has yet to be determined. Both if it will stick and if I remember to reiterate this point to you.

Either way, lets not stray too far.

I wanted to title this blog (or at least make the web address) "Wolfbiker" (dot blogspot dot com) but it was taken. To get around this I used the same word but took out the vowels. Easy enough. Wolfbiker. No vowels. Wlfbkr. If you look at it and try to prounounce it, it still sort of sounds like my intended word. My favorite word. Probably. I hope that sticks for you like its sticking for me.

Wlfbkr.

Being as this is going to be a blog about music, let me explain my title.

I listen to a lot of music. It may not be a particularly wide variety, but I know what I like, and for the most part I think I know why I like it. Strangely enough, I'm pretty confident in saying that this word, "wolfbiker", pretty much embodies a lot of what I like in the music I listen to.

"Wolfbiker" is actually the title of the most recent record by a band I really enjoy called Evergreen Terrace (named for the street the Simpsons live on). This band, if you were to listen to them, would probably sound about as raucous as...something really raucous. (I haven't quite decided how explicit to make this blog, but the analogy I was thinking of going for involved a cheese grater and something that would make a horrible sound when said kitchen appliance would be used on it...) I think I would classify this band as some mix between hardcore punk, metal, and metalcore. A blend of fast paced, screamed verses, occasionally melodically sung choruses with more screaming in them, and crunching, percussive breakdowns...probably with more screaming. To the layman's ear, it would probably sound terrible. And I don't blame you, layman. But I've been listening to this "garbage" for a little while and have moved past the "noise" of it all and revel in all it's musical glory. There are complex rhythms based around straighforward time signatures that give the music a simultaneous simple and intreguing feeling. There are feelings behind the screaming that speak to me. There's a really awesome duality to the music that presents itself when the clarity of the singer's voice cuts through the distortion. There is a very tangible energy of sorts that's translated through to me. It's in the tone of the guitars, it's in the way the eq on the kick drum mic cuts through the mix, its in the balance of the singing and screaming, it's in the way the bass guitar is barely audible but it's grain beefs up the sound. When you hear can it, you feel it.

Beyond the musical aspect of this word, the record, the song, and the band, there's a whole other attitude that "wolfbiker" has. This band, Evergreen Terrace, described the meaning of this word in the following way:

Say theres this girl/guy youve been crushing on. You like em, but are hesitant to approach them to ask them out on a rollerskating date, or out for some mini golf and a John Cusack movie.

Then your bff looks at you dead in the eye and says, "Wolfbiker, bitch."

At that moment, you reply "You're right. Wolfbiker."

It's ridiculous. By the sound of it, "wolfbiker" is really just the combination of two of the hardest, most metal, ridiculous things they could think of: wolves and bikers. Then combined it. It's funny. You watch these guys on stage and what you're watching is a tight-knit group of buddies having the time of their lives playing music they love to make. The make jokes between songs, goof around while playing, title their tracks silly things like Bad Energy Troll, Rip This!, New Friend Request, and No Donnie These Men Are Nihilists (a quote from The Big Labowski). They're just normal dudes having a blast. And I can dig that.

So that's what "Wolfbiker" really means to me. It's the melding of really really stupidly heavy things with the profound understanding that what its being heard is not serious at all. It's fun(ny).

I hope that clarifies why I chose this word as the representation of the things I'll be writing.

Dude, bro...Wolfbiker!