The Black Maria – A Shared History Of Tragedy

The Black Maria have been busy over the past year and a half, touring constantly in support of their debut album, Lead Us To Reason, saw them playing shows all over the globe. In that time, I saw them twice. I saw them in different venues, opening for different bands, with very different crowds; and both times their set left me with the same feeling: that was okay, but nothing great. Their song, Betrayal always stood out for me, but the rest was forgettable. Their CD, Lead Us To Reason left me with that too; but after all the constant touring and hard work, I was intrigued with their follow up. I was hoping they’d improve on what they already had down pat and make an album that wasn’t forgettable, one that actually stood out in the ever growing scene sadly though, A Shared History Of Tragedy left me with relatively the same feeling for the band.

A Shared History Of Tragedy will easily be clumped alongside the mountainous stack of generic emo bands that have been spurting out as of late, and rightly so. Vocalist Chris Gray hits that melodic, slightly poppy/slightly annoying, boyish vocals; but he does actually have a decent range on him, making his vocal style not that bad, but still forgettable. And with ingenious lyrics like “The scent of your perfume left me consumed, and every promise that you made, were they pure and true? ‘ cause when I looked beyond the mattress, I saw you for what you really were; and from that moment you’ve been a stranger and I’ve been a fool” you can’t help but scoff at the thought.

Still, they still do it better than a lot of bands out there, making it so that A Shared History Of Tragedy, while forgettable, is bearable. They throw in certain rock elements, and the occasional scream which push the song forward just a bit. Of course, it is the heavier rock elements which really “save” the band, listen to Call To Arms and you can hear what the band is capable of doing. It is hard, in your face, and angry. A protest song against the radio industry force feeding us crap that will easily get a pit throwing their arms in the air. There is a certain intensity on that track which shows that The Black Maria are talented musicians but just aren’t reaching their potential.

Maybe, after another year of touring, these young Victory signings will be back with a third album; and with that extra year of touring under their belts, they should be able to tap into their potential to make an album that will be, finally, memorable. But as it is, A Shared History of Tragedy is decent, but after a week you’ll forget all about it.