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 | Ryan's HopeWeighing What Matters2002 Self-Released 
  Review by: greg0rb See others by this writer ![[staff]](/images/icons/staffsticker.gif){kind=icon}
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 Published on January 28th 2003 Ryan’s Hope is still a virtually unheard of band outside of Chicagoland, with their hometown being Joliet, IL. But since their formation less than a year ago, they have been working hard to change that by playing a ton of shows and releasing good music like on this album. A short summary of their bio would be: hardcore guys fed up with that local scene decide to form a melodic punk band. They decided they wanted to make music that could include a wider range of their influences, and the result is a nice blend of great vocal melodies, fast rockers, slower/quiet intros and breakdowns, and the occasional hardcore riff. Terry, the lead singer and guitarist of the Ryan’s Hope lists one of his favorite bands as the Smoking Popes, and you can really hear that coming through on a lot of the tracks, including “So Far,” which contains a Popes-like simple and effective vocal melody, a sweet guitar solo, and then a harder ending. “Nick Springer,” one of my favorite tracks, includes a great guitar riff in the bridge that is pulled off with ease even live, and songs like “Reasoning” showcase their hardcore C-tuning. There are a few downsides to Weighing What Matters, like the length. With 9 tracks totaling just shy of 22 minutes, this is more of an EP than the full-length they claim it is. It leaves me wanting more, and I guess I’ll get it since they’re recording a 5 song EP next month. Another slight downside is the sound quality of the disc, even though it is quite good for being completely self-funded. Along the same lines, the disc isn’t that good looking, with a sticker label on the CD and booklets with an almost unreadable pixel-y font. Hopefully they’ll get a deal soon and put out a pretty-lookin’ disc.
Musically, Ryan’s Hope has a lot of what you look for in bigger bands, with their catchy melodies over of a wide range of volume/intensities and tempos. This is not the best album I’ve ever heard, but it’s really good for a band so new on the scene and I can only foresee them getting better.
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I hope someone signs these guys. Ryan's hope is the one of the greatest bands that I have ever seen play. I would bet that if anyone of you ever saw them live you would be blown away. every member of that band is amazing. The guitarist/vocalist is sooo talented. Not only are they talented as hell but they are really nice guys too. So I strongly recomend that you go see and meet them sometime soon. Now that I have safely returned from NYC, I will address that ass-pirate below... smoking popes is SO melodic hardcore. Good review, good cd. I saw this band live and their guitarist is amazing... look for many more good things to come with this band. "So i think that it was not really cool of you to put down there name when in fact the only name that should be put down it yours...sickboi???? is that from an mxpx song..come on." Dear Mike-C-Net: i listened to the mp3's.... its pretty boring and bland... they aren't the greatest musicians hey sickboi....Ryan, was a friend of theres that is not with them anymore because of a fatal car accident. So i think that it was not really cool of you to put down there name when in fact the only name that should be put down it yours...sickboi???? is that from an mxpx song..come on. ryans hope will take over the world one day. Me and my 2 best friends have been folowing Ryans Hope since they formed and i have to say they just keep getting better and better. We wait for their next show to come. The cd is great and they are even better live. And as stated in a previous posting the name "Ryan's Hope" means a lot to the group so don't hate on the name. And sickboi, i bet you haven't even heard their music so shut the fuck up. THE HOPE ROCKS! Who the fuck is sickboi? I get sick of seeing your name and nothing but jibberish next to it. Some people use this site as a tool to broaden their horizens musically. What the fuck do you do? I hope you die you putz fuckin shitdick. Smoke. I need to look into this ryan's hope. the band name "ryan's hope" has a lot of meaning behind it. the guys have lost some very important people in there lives and the band name is there way of remembering. Ryan's hope is an ok band, but a better band from around Chicago is The Invectives! worse band names: snowdogs, saturday supercade. Not bad, wack name though. Yeah, puns are fun. sorry, call me a 12 year old...but when you said "busting..on nuts" i just had to laugh. tickle me pervy. Damn it, stop busting on Forty Nutz. Fo heezy my sheezy. Hey you stole my comment! Or Fifty Nutz? i still stand by forty nutz as worst name ever. just for the Z factor. come ON. get that shit out of there. Worse than Rock Kills Kid? worst band name ever. |
