The Black Swan

Dan Marsala – Vocals

Ryan Phillips – Guitar

Phillip Sneed – Guitar

Adam Russell – Bass

Josh Wills – Drums

            The St. Louis rockers Story of the Year are back with their third installment of their young brash tunes. Leaving a label can be disastrous for a band and after doing so the band is back. The same great sound of Story with an added progression of flair and attitude is what The Black Swan equals. The album begins with an edgy track “Choose Your Fate” With its mixture of screams and natural flowing vocals it’s a great start to the album. It also is upbeat for the most part offering steady drums and guitars. “Wake Up” begins sort of like a Linkin Park track, but quickly switches pace to a very nice anthem track. With the explosion of vocals mixed with backing vocals and soaring guitars. “The Antidote” begins with some guitar picking before blowing up into a killer track. It offers a great mixture of vocals and backing vocals not to mention the music which is amazing. “Tell Me (P.A.C.)” begins with marching and moves into an onward moving track. Powerful vocals enhanced with good backing and a steady hard rock beat keeping everything at an even flow. It also carries a great message. This song has all the key elements. The title track “The Black Swan” throws out killer guitar riffs, incredible vocals and an all around easy track to get into. This one should be a fan favorite. The seventh track “Message to the World” inflicts an electric line that will be hard to forget, “When you kill me do it slowly.” Not only that line but the hold track offers glimpses of what and how the band thinks and feels about topics. It ends with some bongo drums with is a nice ending to such a soft but strong song. “We’re Not Gonna Make” is a strong track that offers up the mixture of lead and backing vocals as you should have come a custom to by this point. The track grabs your attention with its catchiness and easy sing-a-long lyrics. “Cannonball” is a blast of music assaulting your ears while “Terrified” is a soft track that is more emotional and close to the heart. The album ends with an interlude and “Welcome to Our New War.” It’s a super fast track with almost rap style vocals thrown in and out of the track. It also gives a great dose of guitars and sweet and steady drums. This track will be blaring on CD players and iPods all over the world soon enough. Overall this is a superb third effort from SOTY. The band has grown of the years and I think that is put the test on this album. Every fan should be happy with the effort and it should bring new fans to the mosh pit.

Rating:  9 out of 10

My favorite tracks:

Wake Up, The Antidote, The Black Swan, Welcome to Our New War

Track List:

1.      Choose Your Fate

2.      Wake Up

3.      The Antidote

4.      Tell Me (P.A.C.)

5.      Angel in the Swamp

6.      The Black Swan

7.      Message to the World

8.      Apathy is a Deathwish

9.      We’re Not Gonna Make It

10.  Cannonball

11.  Terrified

12.  Pale Blue Dot (Interlude)

13.  Welcome To Our New War

Website (s): www.storyoftheyear.net, www.Epitaph.com