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The Casting Out

Go Crazy! Throw Fireworks! (2009)
Fail Safe

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Contributed by: Jo_punk_promoter
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on March 31st 2009

The Casting Out is the new band of Nathan Gray, the ex-singer of Boysetsfire. I wasnt a big Boysetsfire fan, but the Casting Out really don't sound like BSF, and for me it's a really good thing.

Boysetsfire was a political, kind of hardcore band, but what the Casting Out offer here on their first full-length is no political hardcore stuff. With lyrics dealing with personal struggle and experiences, we're far from there, but in this case, it's better that way. One of my favorite lyrical moments is from opener "Quixote's Last Ride":

Don't look to me for sympathy
Everybody knows it's not so damn easy
You've got to bleed a little every day
And let the memories fade
Fuck hope, signed me''

There's a really good balance of fast, more punk rock songs like "Walk Away" and pop-punk songs like "These Alterations." One thing that draws your attention is how good the guitar work is here. Even on the poppiest track, there's always a little solo or an interesting riff and it's different on each song.

This is not your typical pop-punk record -- the songs are all good, with some better than others, and musically, it's always interesting. The ballad ''The Ebbing of the Tide'' might be a little boring at the beginning but the end is epic as hell.
This is what pop-punk should be. It's catchy, it's fast, the guitars are great and the vocals fit the music perfectly. The lyrics are personal but never clichéd or whiny. So if you're looking for non-commercial pop-punk and you like harder things like Dag Nasty and Bouncing Souls, give this band a listen; you won't regret it.

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aubin (April 6, 2009)

Quite liked this. Solid record.

kellenmacklin (April 2, 2009)

I liked Boy Sets Fire. They had some awesome songs.

I will listen to this soon.

icapped2pac (April 2, 2009)

I got pwned by Nathan Gray. That's pretty cool.

llmp (April 2, 2009)

Songs don't sound bad at all on their Myspace. This review, though....definitely needed some more work done on it, or something.

Blackjaw_x (April 1, 2009)

This album's alright, better than boysetsfire, but I'm still 'meh' on both. And no offense, but I found your review pretty awful.

nathangray (April 1, 2009)

thanks for the kind review, and all the positive stuff said about the new cd...oh, by the way icapped2pac..its ok, i was never i big bsf fire either.

icapped2pac (April 1, 2009)

I ordered the How Dare You CD from their label and they sent me this instead. I never even took it out of the shrink wrap after listening to the myspace tracks and not feeling them at all. I was never a BSF fire either, so maybe it makes sense. Definitely not horrible though.

bxbomber (April 1, 2009)

Where you anger wheres your fucking rage..i miss bsf but this sounds good.

sweetsuperior (April 1, 2009)

does anyone else think nathan sounds like the guy from no use for a name (tony sly?) on this record?

that said, solid effort. great set at HOH too...

ddb43 (April 1, 2009)

I was never a big fan of BSF, but this is pretty solid. Very catchy.

xote (April 1, 2009)

Too much comparrison to BSF in this review.

Good band.

mikexdude (April 1, 2009)

That last paragraph is taunting my OCD.

You_Are_A_Loser (March 31, 2009)

Amazing album, and really nice guys.

sporadicpunk (March 31, 2009)

I love this record. This band is also incredible live. I really appreciate the lyrics. The only complaint is it's a little too polished sounding for my taste. But oh well, they make up for it.

P-Suvass (March 31, 2009)

Great album. Nuff said you fuckface's

kid_im_a_mess (March 31, 2009)

love this.

hayman (March 31, 2009)

Sounds like this will be a good one, will try and buy it today.

danperrone (March 31, 2009)

fantastic album...destined to become one of my favorites of the year. it definitely appeals to fans of "org-core" here. great dudes also.

miniblindbandit (March 31, 2009)

sooo much better than the demo.

TheRedDeath (March 31, 2009)

This album is decent. I love Nathan's voice so i was really bummed when BSF broke up.
It's definitely no After the Eulogy, but there's some good stuff here that's reminiscent of Misery Index's poppier moments.