Armageddon Party Track-By-Track Breakdown

1) Armageddon (Poem)

The first track on the album was actually one of the last recorded. Wanting to introduce the album with an "apocalyptic" vibe, Aaron wrote this poem in the middle of the 5-day recording session, and added the accompanying music at his home studio,  Gotham Gold Music Productions, shortly after. As both Aaron and Angelo share a love for poetry and have released their own poetry over the years, they both agreed to add one poetry track each on this record, relevant to the album, during the recording sessions.

2) Armageddon Party

This one felt like a banger from the first demo recording. This was the first song of a 4 song demo given to Angelo when discussing the idea of him producing the next Butterbrain record. Angelo not only agreed to produce the album but insisted on adding an “MC vocal” over the track, which was the exact missing ingredient it needed. Hence the producer and band bonds were forged and the connection was off and running. This one appropriately became the title track of the new record. It aspires to capture the vibe of a modern-day, punk rock version of Prince’s “1999”- a party song with an apocalyptic message.

3) Roots

This was the other song with Angelo’s writing footprints all over it. It was mostly a collaboration between Angelo and Butterbrain vocalist Sally May, written during our quick weekend pre-production session. This track brought a whole different sound to the album with its raw roots/reggae/ska vibrations. We always look for a way to feature our heavy-hitting vocalist Sally May, and this was her chance to shine on this record. Fun fact - besides vocals and tenor sax, Angelo also plays drums on this one and local Rockaway Beach legend Simon Chardiet steps in on guest guitars, as well.

4) Halfway To Jupiter

Another one of the tracks on the original 4-song demo, this one also features Sally May on vocals, as well as the sweet horn stylings, lead by trumpet/vocalist Brendan Stiles. An interstellar breakup song, if you will. Some ska-oriented ear candy.

5) Hold Tight

Another from the original 4 song demo, this one is a straight-ahead punk rock joint. The lyrics reflect the angst and frustration with the state of affairs in our current political climate. Our 3 vocalists specifically wrote their verses (one each), so as to speak in their own voice. “Hold Tight” has a universal message that should resonate with most in the chant-a-long chorus, “Hold tight -  The system is breaking down!!”

6) Pressure

This one was a collaboration between guitarist Juan Rodriguez (music) and Aaron Collins (lyrics). It was the last song on our 4 song demo. We loved the idea brought in by Juan, and we embraced tackling another different genre- bringing a Latin/horn driven flavor to the repertoire.

7) Altarboy

This song was on the back burner for a while, just sitting in Aaron’s brain.  When we worked on it with Angelo during pre-production,  it started flowing naturally and we just had to record it for the record. Angelo gave it a Bowie-esque feel, adding a cool element to the pop-punk style that it was missing. He also blows a killer sax solo on this one.

8) Hateless Love

This was Angelo’s poetry contribution to the album. After Aaron’s apocalyptic poetry intro, we asked Angelo for something more upbeat. The idea was for a transition into the more happy/fun vibe that existed towards the later part of the album. Again, the songs were already recorded prior to adding the poems to the album, so we wanted to place this poem towards the end. Angelo also recorded this separately at his home studio in LA and recorded the accompanying music.

9) Sunnyside Up

One of the last songs recorded for the album, it was one of the ones we worked on during that pre-production weekend. It was a true collaboration between Angelo and the main Butterbrain writers - Aaron, Sally, and Brendan. A little different than the rest of the tracks on the album (Beatles-esque) and a little more upbeat than the rest, we thought it felt natural and decided to include it on the album. Fun fact - Angelo plays drums on this one too.

10) Jailbreak

One of the ideas tossed around during that pre-production weekend, Aaron took the reins on this one and turned it into a fun “chant-a-long” track. Looking for a different vibe than the rest, he recruited local Rockaway Beach legend Simon Chardiet again - this time on upright bass. As well as guest guitarist Ben Shapiro (Murphys Law) on the multiple guitar solos.

11) Intro

In addition to adding the poems at the end of the recording process, the band also went back into the studio to record this Bad Brains cover song after the rest of the album was finished. Upon Angelo leaving NY, we felt something was missing from the album We had thrown around the idea of recording a few cover songs, but we overlooked one that we perform live regularly and is dear to us. So,  2 weeks after the passing of Sally’s son and Aaron’s hip surgery - realizing we had made a mistake, the band went back in to record this Bad Brains cover.

12) I Against I

As most true punk rockers or fans of the Bad Brains should know - it would be sacrilegious to record “I Against I” without the (technically separate) “Intro”. So of course, you get “I Against I” WITH “Intro” from Butterbrain. We wouldn’t have it any other way.