Melodic punk act Random Orbits are currently in the studio recording 7 songs for a new EP.  5 of the tracks will be re-recorded versions of songs from their Safety Meeting EP (only released in Japan and available for free download here) while the other 2 will be brand new.

Says the band of the new tracks: “Even though these songs were previously recorded, expect them to be twice as greasy with even more shreds than ever before. Swear to god.”

No word on an expected release date yet for the new EP.

The Broadsiders are streaming a brand new song on their MySpace page.  It’s titled Mid-City Martyrs and it’s a b-side off the band’s upcoming album Pressed To Kill, due out soon on Longshot Music.

The new album will be a follow-up to last year’s Against The World.

Derived from two different Scranton, Pennsylvania ska/punk bands, The Menzingers have been a joint force of unabashed “Brit” Punk since 2006. Working hard to carve their place in the scene, the band seems to have re-invented an old school sound influenced by over sea’s legends such as The Clash and Billy Bragg, while spiking it with new age aggression along the lines of (old) Anti-Flag and Rise Against. Trying to describe the band’s sound is near impossible but there’s no denying it does a great job of combining angst and melody in a way that feels fresh and unique.  With each subsequent release The Menzingers manage to out do themselves and their latest album, Chamberlain Waits (2010), is no exception.  Backed now with two solid full-lengths and another solid EP its likely that this band will only continue to grow exponentially in the coming years. If you think punk is dead, listen to a few tracks on the band’s MySpace to be proven otherwise.

Swedish punk act, Splitside, are streaming another new track, El Supulturero, from their upcoming album, This Sinking Ship (listen here).

This Sinking Ship is scheduled for a 12 May 2010 release. Every day until the album’s launch, the band will be releasing a new track to their MySpace.

This Sinking Ship is the follow-up to the band’s 2007 release, Our Days Are Numbered, both of which released on Knuckle Ride Records.

Metalcore act Arm The Masses are releasing their new EP For Those Who Fear The Fall Of Man this summer and you can stream three of the tracks from the album right now on their MySpace page.

The band has a handful of shows coming up.  Check out their Dying Scene Shows page for dates and locations.

**The Album Reviews published on Dying Scene are written and submitted by regular users of the site. These users are not professional music critics nor are they paid for what they write.  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.

Like many punks rockers my age, the Descendents were one of, if not THE first punk rock band that I got into. Pioneering what would become the pop-punk genre, the Descendents and later ALL would pave the way with their signature sound. A large portion of this sound was created by the talent and creativity of guitarist Stephen Egerton. His unique style was something I spent way too many teenage evenings trying to break down. But that’s more than enough history – lets get to the album!

For those unfamiliar with the project, it was birthed by Egerton in the wake of both the Descendents and ALL being on an extended hiatus. Egerton continued writing songs while forming Armstrong Recording Studio. Along with producing other bands, he also spent time recording his own songs. He would write and record all of the instrumental parts himself before turning to various friends to cover his self-proclaimed “weak suit” – singing. The result is a laundry list of talent including Tim McIlrath (Rise Against), Jon Snodgrass (Drag the River), Dan Andriano (Alkaline Trio), Chris Demakes (Less Than Jake), and Joey Cape (Lagwagon), along with former ALL bandmates Chad Price and Scott Reynolds, as well as Descendents front man Milo Aukerman… just to name a few. The complete list of contributors can be found here.

My biggest fear about this album was that it would fail to be just that – an album. Something significant that could be listened to from front-to-back as a complete piece of work. With the aforementioned who’s who it would have been pretty easy for this to have just been a random, namedropping showcase of unconnected songs. Thankfully these fears went out the window about three tracks in. Not only was it not a rag tag mix of songs… it was a flowing showcase of talent and collaboration

While some songs sound like the next chapter in the ALL/Descendents library (notably the ones featuring Aukerman, Reynolds, and Price), other tracks, such as Snodgrass’ “Fire’s On” and Andriano’s “Our Last Song”, take on a very unique feel flavored by the voices and styles of each singer. Yet to my surprise and delight, this never feels like just a compilation of songs. All 16 tracks make up a very unique and cohesive rock album that is enjoyable from beginning to end.

While it is not a new ALL or Descendents album – and in this case that’s not a bad thing – this album shines on its own as one of the greatest pop-punk/rock albums in recent memory. Fun, catchy and never ceasing to be unique, I have a strong feeling this is going to be on many “best of” lists come the end of the year.

Well this is randomly awesome.  Italian skate punk act Out Of Date have a pretty cool punk version cover of Shakira‘s Whenever, Werever streaming on their MySpace page.  Definitely worth a listen.

Out of Date is currently working on their debut full-length album, due out later this year.

We Are Defiance are currently working on a new album for release on Tragic Hero Records.  They’re also working on the music video for their new track To The Moon and you can check out the video teaser for said music video right here.

To The Moon is also currently streaming on the band’s MySpace page.

[Read more…]

Any of you watch the Showtime original series “Weeds”?  If not you should.  If you do, then you recognize the song Little Boxes as the intro song to the show for the first 3 seasons.  In seasons 2 and 3 each episode featured a different bands doing their own variation of the song.  Pole Position was not one of those bands, but it didn’t stop them from recording their own punk version cover of the song and posting it on their MySpace page.  Kinda cool.

Pop-punk act The Apers announced today that they will be heading into the studio in August to record 7 new songs .  5 of those tracks will appear on an upcoming split with Sons Of Buddah which will be released on an unspecified future date via Dirty Witch Records.  The other 2 tracks will appear on a compilation for Stardumb Records.

The Apers released their last album You Are Only As Strong As The Table You Dance On via Asian Man Records on July 14th.