Hopesfall

"The Satellite Years" is the second full-length recording from Hopesfall. It is the first featuring Jay Forrest at the helm of the ship, and Trustkill Records as the ship helping the band sail forward.

Since signing to Trustkill, it appears that there have been no more shallow waters to pole through, or rough storms to face. Hopesfall is at the point of their journey where they are experiencing clear blue skies and sunny days with low humidity. They are certainly directing the ship, but no adversity stands in the way of the choices they are making at the moment.

The group is sincerely happy, appreciative of where they're at, and potentially one of the nicer groups of individuals in the music scene today. There is little not to like about them.

They further scored points by enlisting the help of Matt Talbott, of Hum fame, to produce "The Satellite Years." He has put his signature style into the record and it shows. The guitars' sounds are lifted directly from Hum's "Downward is Heavenward" at points. It has his name written all over the production.

The album's title, the cover art, the song titles, and even some of the lyrics seem to bear his fingerprints as well. This is something that the band denies, though. The shared interstellar themes are incidental. At the very least, it's an interesting coincidence.

The overall sound and production of the album are high-quality. The music is tight and well-written. The guitar and drum work are downright impressive at points. The backing vocals are unobjectionable. It's just the lead vocals that are difficult to understand. For a loud, aggressive, and angry song, it makes sense to scream. Scream your heart out, as loud and throaty as you want. It's fully functional in that instance. A good bit of the songs are downright pretty, though. To continue the same type of scream over every part of every song shows a lack of ability to diversify. It makes the songs one-dimensional, no matter how hard the rest of the band tries to open up the sound.

Forrest has the ability to sing. Use it. Okay, this scream is the fashionable thing to do in the hardcore scene. That's understandable, but such a scene has no lifespan. The kids listening to it now are going to grow up. They will no longer agree with the anger that comes out of the screaming. They will not want to listen to such records anymore.

It's a shame. Overall, "The Satellite Years" is a good album. It is the constancy of the screaming that shortens its lifespan. It makes an otherwise remarkable record sound faddish.