Whoa. I haven't really followed The Distance over the years because I was never particularly blown away by their relatively basic hardcore, so I was pretty lazy about finally getting around to listening to "The Rise, the Fall, and Everything in Between", the band's debut full-length for Abacus Recordings. Well, I can definitely say that I regret that now, because this shit is fuckin' great. The artwork alone would suggest that there's been a major change in approach here, and that's absolutely the case on every level. Having come up in the hardcore scene, and more specifically having been a part of the Bridge Nine roster at one point in time, I wouldn't be at all surprised were The Distance dealing with cries of "Sellout!" from purists as a result of their decisions on this record, though I'm actually surprised that they haven't started blowing up a little more already based on the nature of this material. I mean, fuck it, man... good songs are good songs, so while there's barely anything about this album that you could refer to as "hardcore" (it's more like a catchy, heavy-ish brand of pseudo emo with hints of pop-punk and roots in ultra, ultra, ultra melodic hardcore), there's no question at all that this is by far The Distance's strongest material to date, and while I enjoyed some of their earliest work, I'm not gonna lie: I'm much more a fan of this.
The Distance "The Set Up"
The Distance "Inspired by You (For the Broken Hearted)"
Excellent, excellent work. A lot of people might disagree with me on this one, but you're all wrong! Ha, ha... If you're not opposed to memorable songwriting and melody, nor bands shifting direction, then pick this fucker up and enjoy:
Comments
This was so-so. Parts were catchy but overall…bleh
But the new Iron Maiden destroys!
9.5.2006 | By Eric
I’m semi-impressed. But then again I haven’t heard their old stuff at all.
9.5.2006 | By Adrianoso
i know that maybe this is not the right place to post smth like this but i must admit that you have made through those years a great job.
i found the site some month ago and every day from that day i watch it.
thanks for your great music choices.keep up the gooood work.
Chheerss from greece
9.5.2006 | By Professor Sassaroli
great stuff. people talk shit just because they’re annoyed by the fact that they actually like stuff their mind tells them they shouldn’t like.
9.7.2006 | By chris
this is pretty bad
9.8.2006 | By Anonymous
I kind of figured people would be split on this, but I swear “The Set Up” is by far one of the best songs I’ve heard all year. I can’t believe more people don’t get hooked by that…
9.9.2006 | By Andrew Aversionline
andrew, if you like this, you might also want to check out the classic crime. tracks like “the coldest heart” just kill with the hooks.
9.28.2006 | By chris
Andrew, indeed incredible and both songs are some of the best i’ve heard in a long time. This band has everything that is so great about melodic hardcore with that real emo-ish touch. I dont care if it is called “poppy” either, because this is pure quality. Best of the month (and year possibly).
Andrew
10.12.2006 | By Andrew van den Berg