I found a few CD's yesterday that have been sitting here for quite awhile but got shuffled aside, and I was practically disappointed to rediscover "Stages", the debut full-length from Rosesdead (on 
Here's another CD that I got a couple of months ago and found under a bunch of other crap the other day, and yes... it's from another fairly painfully named band. Juniper Sky is from New York, and "Don't Forget" is their debut full-length on Textbook Music. This one's not gonna be for everyone, but I like the bulk of what I'm hearing, and with a little extra push I think this band could actually do some great work. For the most part this is some form of emo with tastefully high-pitched singing and a surprisingly metallic edge that counters the melody in a way that doesn't really change the overall feel of the material. It's really nothing particularly original per se, but the songwriting is solid, and I really like it when emo-ish bands have a crunchy sort of metal edge to their approach. They try to mess with some smatterings of electronics here and there, but while perfectly fine (most of the time, in a few areas they do go overboard with that mess) I just don't really see the need for it—it's not like it adds anything to the material, nor does it really come across as "creative" or whatnot at this point. At times the pacing can drag a touch, so I'd like to hear them speed things up and get a little more energy moving around on occasion, but there's sort of a somber kind of moody crawl to a lot of this stuff that does work with many of the tempos, so that's cool.
Honestly, what would help this band the most is a stronger recording. The vocals are a little overpowering in the mix (which might draw undue hostility from listeners who aren't as acquainted with this niche), and that's largely because the instruments aren't full enough to dominate the overall flow. The guitars need to be warmer with crisper, clearer basslines across the board, and the percussion needs to follow suit. Right now the drumming almost sounds programmed on occasion (not from a performance standpoint, I'm speaking strictly with regard to the actual sound and tone of the percussion), and that just feeds into the fact that the singing is punchier and more dominant than anything else herein. It sounds okay, though, and some of the songs definitely suggest bigger and better things to come. I could definitely see this stuff getting fairly "popular" under the right circumstances.
Juniper Sky "All For You"
Juniper Sky "Forever"
For some reason the label's not selling copies of this disc themselves right now, I don't know what that's all about. But it's definitely out and around in the distros, so pick it up if this is your kind of thing:
Comments
I couldn’t agree more with the misery signals comment, they’re pretty much the only band who come close, but still Rosesdead seems to have a character of their own. They’re more organic and groove-oriented as opposed to MS’s techy, angular approach. Either way it’s a fucking awesome record.
6.14.2006 | By Frans
never got that much into misery signals. i can appreciate the dynamics and all, but just can’t feel the music. plus, when are all these metalcore bands finally stop screaming about heartache?
6.14.2006 | By Anonymous
I like the Rosesdead, although I’ve had it some time and not listened to it much, oh well, your post made me pull it off the shelf :)
Andrew, I seem to remember you saying something about a VSE comp that Jim Winters burned for you with Vigil, Abnegation etc - do you still have this???
Let me know bro, thanxxx.
6.14.2006 | By xbenx
I know I can’t be alone when I hear stuff like Rosedead and think all this metalcore sounds the same and has sounded the same for the last five years now or more. I am just so bored of all the songs about relationships gone bad by some guy wearing black eyeliner.
I guess for me it just takes alot to separate these bands apart anymore, and frankly its not worth the effort since they all release the same album.
6.14.2006 | By Anonymous
honestly, i think rosesdead are more of a breathe of fresh air in that genre. they reminded me more of hopesfall say 6 years ago (no wings ep era) and while a lot of these bands nowadays do the sing/scream/black eyeliner thing, rosesdead really show more talent and the ability to write a more cohesive album. i also dont think they are writing about relationships, but his lyrics are hard to decipher. btw, since it wasnt mentioned, the vocalist for rosesdead is the same as the guy from fordirelifesake
6.14.2006 | By Anonymous
What’s funny is that Misery Signals frequently plug Rosesdead on their Myspace. It’s a small world. (They’ve also been known to plug this other band called The Twilight of Idols who also sound a whole lot like MS.)
6.15.2006 | By Gabriel
bleh. i hate all this bullshit. fuck metalcore, im tired of it
6.15.2006 | By asshole
what what what?! I think you need to take another long hard listen to Five Years! Although I do agree a lot of these metalcore bands sound the same there are a few out there that still kick ass. As for HOPESFALL, they used to be one of those bands; although this new A-Types….idk. No Wings to Speak of was awesome but Frailty of Words is my all time favorite.
6.21.2006 | By Adrianoso