Evergreen Terrace - Wolfbiker Review

Posted by Mitch Michaels on 02.15.2008

Evergreen Terrace makes their Metal Blade debut with a punishing set of hardcore anthems…

My Story
A screaming vocalist has become a trend in popular music these days, as the screamer once reserved for the most hardcore of punk has been thrust into the mainstream, often providing part-time vocals in crappy Mainstream Rock hits. Evergreen Terrace is NOT a crappy mainstream rock band. They’re very much and underground, DIY hardcore outfit. But they too utilize both a screamer and a melodic voice when it comes to their vocal tracks. It’s worked well thus far, but how will it fare on their Metal Blade debut?

Their Story
Evergreen Terrace, named for the street that The Simpsons (and Ned Flanders!) live on, formed in Jacksonville , Florida at the tail end of the last millennium. The founders of the band include vocalist Andrew Carey, guitarist/vocalist Craig Chaney, guitarist Josh James, bassist Jason Southwell and drummer Christopher Brown. The five-piece, all influenced by a blend of hardcore punk and metal, quickly recorded a demo EP, Broken, which became a hot item on the local scene. A second EP was followed by the self-released debut album, Losing All Hope Is Freedom, which saw issue on fledgling Indianola Records in 2001. The album featured the band’s now signature metalcore style, plus an interesting cover choice in U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday”.

Their second album, Buried Alive By Time, appeared on Eulogy Records in 2002. The maniacal metal of that album featured the band opening up more, as Chaney began lending clean, melodic vocals to go with Carey’s hardcore screaming. A covers album, Writer’s Block, followed in 2004, finding ET tackling everyone from Operation Ivy to Tears For Fears to Spongebob. The band self-released a set of one-offs and demos that year too, and returned to original studio material with 2005’s Sincerity Is An Easy Disguise In This Business. Following that release, drummer Christopher Brown was replaced by Kyle Mims.

To say that Evergreen Terrace is prolific is nearly an understatement. Within only six years, the band had released four studio albums and several other EP’s and projects. The metalcore community was taking notice, too, as the band saw their touring partners slowly gaining in notoriety. This came to a head in 2007, when the band was included on the vaunted Sounds Of The Underground tour. Positive reviews from those shows led to a deal with Metal Blade Records, who issued the band’s fifth album, Wolfbiker, in mid-2007.

The band finished up the year on tour with Strung Out and I Am Ghost. In 2008, they toured with metal act As I Lay Dying. They currently have dates scheduled through March. For more info, check out their MySpace.

The Album
On July 24, 2007, Metal Blade Records released Wolfbiker, the fifth studio album by Evergreen Terrace and the follow-up to 2005’s Sincerity Is An Easy Disguise In This Business. It is also their first album for Metal Blade and their first with drummer Kyle Mims.



The Band: 7.5
Craig Chaney: guitar, vocals
Andrew Carey: vocals
Josh James: guitar, backing vocals
Jason Southwell: bass
Kyle Mims: drums

Most hardcore bands are usually set apart by the musicianship of their band members, as, c’mon, isn’t hollering just hollering? While this is definitely true for Evergreen Terrace - Southwell and Mims make for a brutal, punishing rhythm section, while Craig Chaney’s chops on guitar are no less than searing throughout – it’s more their dynamic blend of screaming and melody that makes them stand above their peers.

Andrew Carey is without a doubt a great hardcore vocalist. His throat shredding scream is packed full of angst and contempt, perfect for the “loner” mentality of this band and this album. But it’s Chaney’s melodic balance that turn this from a 30-minute exercise of headbanging and into some very catchy, attention grabbing music.

Fans will no doubt be happy with this set, as Evergreen Terrace continues to stamp their seal of excellence on album after album. You can’t help but feel that their jump to high profile Metal Blade has influenced this new round of songs, though, as there is no doubt a few more metal riffs and breakdowns than the band had tried on before. Somehow, though, Evergreen Terrace has found a completely respectable way to translate fist pumping, adrenaline-fueled sing-a-longs into the hardcore vernacular, and that’s a true feat.

The Songs: 7.5
1. Bad Energy Troll
2. High Tide Or No Tide
3. Wolfbiker
4. Chaney Can’t Quite Shred Like Helmet’s Page Hamilton
5. Where There Is Fire We Will Carry Gasoline
6. Rip This!
7. Starter
8. To The First Baptist Church Of Jacksonville
9. Rolling Thunder Mental Illness
10. The Damned

Wolfbiker tears furiously out of the gate, with the blistering, growling punk of “Bad Energy Troll” and “High Tide Or No Tide”. That leads into the title track, a blend of a melodic chorus and a militant-sounding screamed verse that melds together to create a true hardcore call to arms.

Looking at Evergreen Terrace’s songtitles, you would think that they were a joke band. Not only is their name a reference to “The Simpsons”, but they’ve borrowed titles from everywhere from Fight Club to “Family Guy”. The titles are just as strange here, as is proven by the hilariously named “Chaney Can’t Quite Shred Like Helmet’s Page Hamilton”. ET proves that there’s much more to them than some clever title ideas, though, as “Chaney Can’t…” turns out to be a highlight of the album, an amazing anthem with some of the album’s best lyrics: “We give and we take/We bend and we break/But that’s just the life we’ve chosen/This sinking ship will not be abandoned.”

The album ends well, too, with the menacing “To The First Baptist Church Of Jacksonville” (“You want it/You got it/Pray that it’ll wash away”) and the punk interlude of “Rolling Thunder Mental Illness” leading to “The Damned”. As the album’s last and longest song, “The Damned” takes some time to groove, but never releases its hold from your throat. By the time it’s over, you’ll be dying for another spin.

The 411: Wolfbiker is Evergreen Terrace’s Metal Blade debut, and while the band continues to explore their sonic signature of melodic and screamed vocals, they’ve brought everything that has took them this far to this new album. Wolfbiker doesn’t lack for great riffs or catchy choruses, and the album is driven right through your rib cage by ET’s punishing rhythm section. This is the best middleground between true hardcore and metal that you’ll ever find.

Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]