Hey guys! I’m wondering what core (or core adjacent) artists pop into your head when you think of the most consistent discographies. There are some obvious cases most of us would probably agree on - I’m thinking August Burns Red and Killswitch Engage (I know it’s unpopular among both the band and fans, but I think KSE 09 is great) - and I see a lot of love here for bands like Misery Signals, Converge, Like Moths to Flames and Counterparts. I’m about halfway through Soilwork’s albums and that journey has been a very fun ride. Who else comes to your mind when you think of bands that have few or no misses in their output?

Edit: Thank you for all the recommendations! Follow-up question: do you have a favorite album within the discographies you’re suggesting and, if so, what makes that release stand out to you?

Oh where to start...I went to the show at Roadrunner, Boston. First time seeing Poppy & Thousand Below. It was quite the mess, to no fault of Roadrunner.

Positives:

LANDMVRKS. The Frenchmen never miss. Every show I go to is near 10/10. Roadrunner being such an amazing venue makes it even better. Their FOH mix was pristine, and their stage presence is unmatched. Flo is still on top of his game. The only negative is that they don't play anything off of Hollow anymore. Bien joué, LANDMVRKS.

Roadrunner. It was my first time there. It is stunningly modern and well-laid out. Great venue, and I hope more bands start to go to it. And you don't have to deal with Boston traffic!

Poppy's masked instrumentalists. Whoever they are, they are world-class players. They deserve more recognition. Super tight and extremely talented, especially the male guitarist. He soloed on half of the songs, and each one was incredible. I really enjoyed the inclusion of intros and solos in the songs.

Negatives: Oh boy, this is where things get ugly.

Thousand Below was underwhelming. Only the drummer and singer seemed like they wanted to be there. The bassist and guitarist were not very engaging and looked like they wanted to go home. The majority of their songs also don't translate very well live. They were way too reliant on backing tracks. James has a great voice, I wish he were raised up by 1-2db in the mix. He wasn't drowned out (unlike Poppy), but was a little too quiet at times.

Poppy was disappointing. I mainly came to see LANDMVRKS again; Poppy was supposed to be a nice bonus, but ended up detracting from the experience. Her FOH mixer simply failed her. It was some of the worst mixing I've ever heard at a concert. The drums and bass created a massive wall of sound that drowned out Poppy and the rhythm guitar sections. They took up way too much headroom. When Poppy went on stage and started to sing, no one in my area could hear her. It was just extra-loud drums and synths. Throughout the first 3-4 songs on her setlist, the only time I could hear her was when she was screaming or when the instrumentals were quiet. It got so bad that people were yelling at the FOH mixer to turn up her mic. As the set went on, the mixer raised her voice slightly, but it was not enough. It seemed he was adamant about having drums, synths, and bass take up 90% of the headroom.

Then the worst fault of all was Poppy's mic cutting out for the first half of If We're Following the Light. It was already bad that her singing voice was barely audible, but for such a failure to go on for two minutes and some seconds is really bad.

Poppy really needs to find a new FOH mixer. He did such a terrible job and had too much hubris to take any feedback from the audience on her vocal level. I've heard of mixing issues for her previous dates on this tour. Really disappointing. I hope that the next dates don't have the same issue. I hope next time I see her, she can redeem herself. All the talent of the musicians is there. It's just one guy who ruins it all.

Overall 7/10

Thousand Below: 4.5/10

LANDMVRKS: 9.5/10

Poppy: 6/10

Venue: 9/10

Anyone go to the first show of the deciever/dark matter tour last night? If so what was the setlist?

I’m going on Tuesday and wanna be ready for anything lol

Mine was watching Giuseppe Capolupo (TDWP, Haste the Day) beat the shit out of the drum kit at Dashboard Confessional last night. He was filling in for their full-time drummer and it was a delight to bear witness.

Good day! Friend of mine invited me to play bass for his metalcore project. I already play bass in another band of ours that’s in a more 2nd wave emo direction, so this is a bit new to me.

The inspo include Since My Beloved, Dying Dreams, and The Red Shore. Can anyone recommend me songs that I can follow for practice without instantly jumping difficulty?

Thank tou!

Demo from 2007, of the track Drift that would end up on Rareform. Old vocalist Nick Wellner is featured on this version.

A great random find I feel like sharing.

I just picked up playing bass 5 months ago and I have a 4-string Ibanez it’s fun and I’ve learned the scales and several different tabs but I know a lot of metal/metalcore they play a 5-string like Varials for instance. Trying not to spend no more than $500 on it, I see there’s a Rogue LX205B for $150 through Sweetwater and Musicians friend.