It's interesting to watch the way that music fans pick and choose the bands that stay with them for life, and the ones that get kicked off to the side. A big argument I've heard from people in case of Sleeping With Sirens are the following statements: "their fans are too crazy" and "they're such a scene band".
It's true that Sleeping WIth Sirens have a very dedicated fan base, yet that should be something that is celebrated, not reprimanded. If you really have a problem with the girls in the pit clawing their way up to the front to get a view of the band, you can always stand a bit further back or go sit down in the balcony. Sleeping With Sirens are a band that, while they had strong beginnings and some awkward growing pains, have completely surpassed the expectations of myself and many members of the alternative and post-hardcore communities.
That argument that "they're such a scene band" came from people who only heard the first record they had released, 2010's With Ears To See and Eyes To Hear. A number of the tracks on that album followed a rather formulaic "metalcore" pattern that was found on a lot of bands signed to their label, Rise Records, at the time of release. Their sophomore follow-up, Let's Cheers To This, started to veer away from this style a bit more, catapulting the band to a meteoric success and sold out theater tours around the world. Their third effort, Feel, started to showcase their ambition, but even I felt that was an odd period of time for the band. The tours I saw them on weren't that great surrounding the promotion of the album, and I felt that there was something in their music that just wasn't quite there.
Enter Madness. With the announcement that the band would be moving to a new home, Epitaph Records, a new single was introduced: "Kick Me". It threw me for a fucking loop. I kept going back and listening to it throughout the next few days. Sleeping With Sirens had finally found a heavier rock sound that didn't rely on chugging metalcore breakdowns, played to the strengths of their musical abilities, and showcased vocalist Quinn's voice in the perfect way. Upon hearing the full album and seeing them perform several times in support of this album, I can with full confidence say that is a band that deserves your attention.
The band will be stopping in San Francisco, CA tonight (November 28) for their highly anticipated "End The Madness!" tour with openers State Champs, Tonight Alive, and Waterparks (tickets can be found here.) If you're in the area, I urge you to come out to the show and give these guys a chance. I can say with confidence that you will not be disappointed. They're not the same band that they used to be, and their growth in songwriting and performance is shown in an exemplary way.
Sleeping With Sirens
www.sleepingwithsirens.net
www.facebook.com/sleepingwithsirens
@SWStheband
This has been another Shameless Promotion.