Ever wonder where some bands come up with their band names?  Well, we do, and we’re sick of sitting around scratching our heads about it.  We’re hitting the streets (aka. “Internet”) to find the origins behind some of the more bizarre, intriguing or just plain random band names in the scene.  Every Wednesday we’ll be pulling the curtain back on a different band, and this week it’s Texas punks Samuel Caldwell’s Revenge.

Samuel Caldwell was the first person ever arrested for Marijuana in the United States in 1937. He was caught with two joints just two days after it became illegal and was sentenced to 4 years hard labor in Leavenworth penitentiary in Colorado. He died less than a year after he was released. He was a poor farmer and became the first victim of the early U.S. drug war.

Samuel Caldwell’s Revenge lead singer, Shaun, was watching the history channel one day about Pot and how it became illegal. When they flashed a picture of Samuel Caldwell and said who he was, Shaun was so inspired he immediately wrote the name “Samuel Caldwell’s Revenge” down on a piece of paper.  When he showed it to Tony (co-founder of the band) it was a done deal.  A new band name was born.

With Perseverance and dedication, Fall of Man have come a long way since their humble beginnings. Case in point, the Greek melodic, metal-infused punk band’s first album was delayed for years before finally getting released in early 2011. With Fall of Man you get a healthy dose of punk and metal, with some good ol’ rock (especially in a few intros). Like many up and coming acts, there are no shortage of comparisons that can be traced back to their local contemporaries. I personally find that in Greece, the legendary Vodka Juniors often has a presence in a band’s sound. Heck, they’ve been around forever so no surprise there.

On “Promises in Empty Words,” which is the band’s first official release after a slew of demo songs put out here and there, the guys did not go for 100% straight up punk or metal album. Instead, they have a ton of variation in their song writing (kudos to Ion) and wind up with more an amalgamation of both genres.  Most of the tunes on this album are 4:00 minutes and up so you get your money’s worth in the end. This release could technically be labeled as an EP with 8 songs but due to the length of the songs, it’s clearly not. Think of it as a metal release: less songs but a ton is packed into each of them.

One of the first songs I heard from the band was “Silence,” which is also on the album. This is the track that originally got me hooked on Fall Of Man. Having a smooth vocalist also really helped in capturing my attention. Ilias, on rhythm guitars/vocals, has this “No Motiv” tone in his delivery that has a very North American feel to it. For many new fans, I am sure Greece (or even Europe) will be the last place they think of when it comes to their origins. I dig key elements like this since it brings attention to a scene that is well worth learning more from.

For a young band, these guys have experimented a lot with their sound and are certainly on the right track. I personally can’t wait to see what the future holds for these young guys and I’m sure that they’ve already got a handful of new songs brewing.

**The Album Reviews published on Dying Scene are written and submitted by fans of punk music, just like you. If you disagree with an album’s rating, feel free to voice your opinion and give it your own rating in the comments. If you’d like to submit your own review do it here.

Worester, Massachusetts hardcore upstarts Mountain Man have announced U.S. tour dates in support of their upcoming album “Grief.”

You can check out the dates, locations and supporting line-up here.

“Grief” is slated for a February 22nd release through Think Fast! Records.

L.A. punk (super)group OFF! just joined Twitter (welcome to the 140-character dark side, fellas), and today they Tweeted, “We have a couple things brewing for Record Store Day.”

OK, it’s a little cryptic. We don’t know if it’s a performance, a release, both or something else entirely, but we’re not above wondering and speculating. And we’ll spread the knowledge as soon as we find out what Keith Morris and co. have in store.

Record Store Day is April 16. The band’s debut album, First Four EPs, came out on vinyl in late 2010 and was released on CD February 15 on Vice Records. The band is on tour in March and April.

I recently had a chance to talk with Steve Ludwig, the former Nations Afire frontman who now finds himself behind a drumset as a member of Sederra. Yeah, you read that correctly! It turns out that Steve put his inner “frontman ego” aside and got behind a drumset, a post he had held way before his Nations Afire days. Funny thing is, Steve feels right at home on the drums.

We talked about the band’s recent “best rock band” nomination for the Orange County Music Awards, the difficulty in transitioning from being in front of the band to being behind the band, as well as where things are going to go musically for Sederra now that he’s there. Check out the full interview here.

Sederra were our latest guests for the Dying Scene Sessions. The videos will be posted early next week, as well as an exclusive interview with two special members of the band. Check back early next week to find out who we talked with. [Read more…]

Time for your daily D.R.U.G.S. fix.

The Craig Owens-fronted group released another teaser for their upcoming album today, this time for the song “Stop Reading, Start Doing Pushups.”

Check out the video here.

The self-titled D.R.U.G.S. debut comes out February 22 on Sire Records.

Tony Sly of No Use For A Name has announced a few solo shows in Canada this April with Russ Rankin and Steve Rawles.

Check out the dates here.

Sly is currently working on a new record. His last album 12 Song Program came out on February 16th 2010 on Fat Wreck Chords.

[Read more…]

Boston celt-punks Dropkick Murphys are counting down until the March 1 release of Going Out In Style by posting daily teasers to their Facebook page.

Each day between now and the release, go to their page and ‘like’ the post to see a video. Today you can check out the song “Hang ‘Em High” (which they already released for streaming) and see the band chat with Bruins player Shawn Thornton.

Going Out In Style comes out March 1st on Born & Bred Records. The band’s last studio album was 2007’s The Meanest Of Times, released through Hellcat Records.

Michigan pop-punkers The Swellers are about to start working on their next album. They posted to Twitter that they’ll be heading into the studio next week, and that they’ll be working with legendary punk producer Bill Stevenson.

They also posted a video with some details about the recording. Check it out here.

The band’s last album, Ups And Downsizing, came out in 2009 on Fueled By Ramen. No word on a title or release date for the next album, but we’ll be sure to share the wealth of knowledge as soon as we find out.

[Read more…]

Last week, Heartsounds teased us with a little video of new music from the studio where they are working on their new release. At least now we know when to expect them to follow through and stop leading us on (because that’s just mean) — the new album will be out in June on Epitaph (and the big cheese himself, Brett Gurewitz, will be producing the album’s vocals).

Ben Murray had a fair bit to say about it:

What can I say about this record that every other band hasn’t always said about their upcoming record? Nothing, really. But I hope you believe me when I say that the follow up to Until We Surrender has turned out to be much, much faster, a bit more technical, and definitely more melodic. I think it’s the increase in melody that makes the speed and technicality of these 12 new songs pretty unique. All we wanted to accomplish with this second LP was to create our version of what we feel is a progressive and refreshing take on melodic punk rock, and I think we’ve achieved that. We’re definitely excited for you all to hear this new record, and we sincerely feel like it’s a natural progression of the band.

The album is a follow-up to 2009’s Until We Surrender (which was re-released on Epitaph last year).