D.I. – On The Western Front
Suburban Noize Records

(3.5/5)

Two words: Old school! If you’re looking for an old school Punk band in a new school world, check out D.I. Their newest album On The Western Front is a great example of what is that classic West Coast Punk. To compare their sound, they remind me a lot of bands like Social Distortion and the Dead Kennedys! Honestly, it’s pretty refreshing to hear a splash of that old school Punk sound that’s not all about politics and world issues! Being the only original member still in the band, ex-Adolescents and Social Distortion drummer Casey Royer tears up the vocals on the first album since the reunion of D.I. with Chckn and Clinton on guitars, Eddie tater on bass, and Joey Tater on drums. Really, none of the tracks on this album stuck out to me, but they all definitely take me back to my Punk days. Overall, it’s a good album, especially if you’re looking for that good ol’ West Coast Punk style!

(4.5/5)

Reach is easily in my top 10 albums of 2008! I seriously can’t put this album down! In this album, Eyes Set To Kill brings you a great Metalcore mixture with a few heavy breakdowns, excellent acoustic work, and all around great music! Vocally, you are hit throughout the album with Alexia Rodriguez’s GORGEOUS singing and Brandon Anderson’s, almost, demonic scream. Not only do those two cover the vocals, but Alexia plays lead guitar while Brandon plays keyboards. Joining them in the incredible musical journey that is “Reach” are bassist Anissa Rodriguez, guitarist Greg Kerwin, and drummer Caleb Clifton. Although the entire album is awesome, a few songs stuck out to me as “favorites”. Oddly enough, they all are right after another as tracks 4-7 which are entitled “Darling”, “Violent Kiss”, “Young Blood Spills Tonight”, and “Where We Started”. “Darling sticks out the most to me because of it beginning. Altogether the track is a great one as all the others are, but it starts out really strong with one of Brandon’s crazy screams and proceeds through different phases that switch vocally from Brandon to Alexia giving it a great mixture of Metalcore vocals. The next song that stands out really well is “Young Blood Spills Tonight”. This song starts out very beautifully with an acoustic part. All of the sudden you are hit with another one of Brandon’s screams before ESTK finishes taking you through different “movements” of the song, once again, providing a great Metalcore mixture. “Violent Kiss” and “Where We Started” stick out simply for their entire structures, but “Where We Started” also has the sound of a “female anthem”. What I mean by this is that lyrically, it sounds like what a lot of girls go through in relationships and whatnot. I definitely recommend the female fan base listen to that track! All in all, Reach is a fantastic album and I can’t wait to see what Eyes Set To Kill does next!