Story of the Year - The Constant

St. Louis, Missouri's Story of the Year are back with their brand new album, The Constant. The follow up to 2008's The Black Swan finds the quintet continuing to evolve their sound into something that hasn't been heard before and is different from all the other albums out there. Story of The Year continue their evolution on this effort, a nice taste of what they have to offer.

The album starts off with "The Children Sing", a gritty and blasting tune that starts off with an onslaught of guitars and pounding drums blasting at you through the speakers. The track also features a group of children singing the chorus on this song, adding a nice little touch to the track. Lead singer Dan Marsala's vocals pour through the song and compliment the instrumentation very well on this one. "The Ghost of You and I" is a highly melodic and gripping tune that shows the depth this band is capable of creating with a bevy of guitars, drums, and Dan's vocals once again leading the charge. The album's first single, "I'm Alive" is an emotional firestarter and does a great job of capturing the listener and drawing them into the song and enthralling them at the same time.

Moving on, "To The Burial" features an anthemic chorus and pulsating drums that raptures the listening audience to sing along with the band at the same time. My favorite song off the album is "The Dream Is Over", a melodic and energetic tune that starts off at a frenetic pace and never lets up with the top notch bass work of Adam Russell and the fine drumwork of Josh Wills.

As the album heads down the home stretch, "Remember A Time" features some memorable guitar riffs and Dan's edgy vocal chops make this song a standout amongst all the others. "Time Goes On" is a midtempo rocker that blends together a variety of different rhythms into something that is unique and is unlike anything else that they have ever created. Since their 2003 debut Page Avenue, Story of the Year have evolved greatly and haven't been afraid to experiment in different areas. That's one of the elements that makes up a great band: if you don't take creative risks, your music will sound stale and you would therefore be stuck in a creative rut for quite some time.

In retrospect, a solid and well put together effort that finds Story of the Year living in their element and sticking to their guns on this effort. While Story of the Year might not sound like they did several years back, they still have the same drive and determination that fuels their desire to create wonderful music together.

                                                                                                                  Album Score: 3.5/5

Track Listing:

1. The Children Sing
2. The Ghost of You and I
3. I'm Alive
4. To the Burial
5. The Dream Is Over
6. Remember A Time
7. Holding On To You
8. Won Threw Ate
9. Ten Years Down
10. Time Goes On
11. Eye For An Eye