Label: Century Media Records
Review by Tony Cannella
From California, New Years Day plays infectious alternative hard rock with a punk edge. Their third album “Victim to Villain” comes 6-years after their debut “My Dear”. NYD released their sophomore effort “Headlines & Headstones” in 2010 and now comes their aforementioned third album.
“Victim to Villain” features 11-songs and a manageable playing time of 34-minutes. Musically, New Years Eve takes what Paramore does and turns it up to 11 and beyond. Lead vocalist Ashley Costello has a clean yet hard-edge to her vocals and they are just dripping with attitude. The opener “Do Your Worst” begins with some ominously, lilting piano before the song develops into a pounding, hard rock tune. The hard driving riffs of “I’m No Good” kicks in and this proves to be one of the heavier tracks whilst still managing to be melodic and catchy. The anthemic “Bloody Mary” is excellent and was one of the highlights for me. “Hello Darkness” starts off as a ballad before progressively picking up the tempo and heaviness and evolving into a pounding rock track. “Victim To Villain” maintains a straight forward course for the most part. “Angel Eyes” features Chris Motionless from Motionless in White guesting on vocals and is another solid track. Other highlights include: “Death of the Party”, “Any Last Words”, “Tombstone” and “Last Great Love Story”.
New Years Day certainly has what it takes to take over both the mainstream and underground markets. “Victim to Villain” is a strong release with songs that displays the bands penchant for writing hook-laden songs while still maintaining a raw, dark, hard rock exterior.
Rating – 80/100
Tracklist
- Do Your Worst
- I’m No Good
- Bloody Mary
- Victims
- Hello Darkness
- Death of the Party
- The Arsonist
- Angel Eyes (feat. Chris Motionless)
- Any Last Words
- Tombstone
- Last Great Love Story
Line Up
- Ashley Costello – Vocals
- Nikki Misery – Guitar
- Jake Jones – Guitar
- Anthony Barro – Bass
- Russell Dixon – Drums
Links