Thought Riot – Sketches of Undying Will

Thought Riot‘s second release on A-F Records, Sketches Of Undying Will, caught me by total surprise. After receiving the album well over a month ago I placed it in my CD player and listened to a couple tracks. My first thoughts: Not for me, I don’t like it. After only a few tracks I pressed stop and moved onto a different album. A couple nights ago I found the album again in my pile of CDs. Since I could not exactly remember why I disliked the album, I decided to give it another shot. Something changed, I don’t know what it is, but something was different. I fell in love with the album after only a few songs, and it just got better and better as it went on. Why then, did I dislike it when I first heard it? No idea. All I know is that right now, this is an album I am really enjoying.

This Modesto, California five piece punk band combines many aspect of music talents. Screamo, emo, pop-punk, power-punk and just plain punk rock are all found in Thought Riot‘s songs. Mixing them all together perfectly creating an infectious sound of punk rock madness. Changing from screaming to singing to having many back up vocalists, Mark Riot and the rest of the gang stops the tracks from becoming repetitive and monotonous, making each song slightly different from the previous. Adam Parker‘s drummer styles really stand out, adding extra depth and uniqueness to the band; really rounding it all off perfectly. The two guitarists (Bryan Fantastic and Kelly Dangerously) along with bassist Mikey Winderbar all help to make the songs complete with amazing melodies and awe-inspiring solos just at the perfect moment.

Sketches Of Undying Will may not be for everyone as it does combine a very wide spectrum or musical ideas and techniques, for others it will appeal to them right away; or maybe you’ll be like me and hate it at first, but give it a second try and you’ll be amazed.