Pinch Me...Screaming With Sirens Jolts You Back To Life With On Target Anger

These kids today, huh? Such blinding anger. It's refreshing to hear it being put to use in a positive way. Visited the john already? Excellent. If you haven't you'll miss the guns blazing assault perpetrated on your impressionable ears by "Kick Me", a venomous blast of hard rock inferno baiting by Ohio postcore band Sleeping With Sirens. There's not much subtlety on display here. What does come out of this furious power push is repeated claims of how misunderstood vocalist Kellin Quinn is. He does make his point, hammer it into the ground, and yelp long after we the curious onlookers have pried our gazes away from the scene of the accident. "You don't know shit about me!!" That's the battle cry for tons of disenfranchised youth. Still rings true today, or so it is my understanding. But not only "shit". Nope, "shit, shit, shit". That would shit cubed to you science geeks out there. What goes nicely with a young dude letting his imprisoned soul hang out bleeding for everyone's amusement? How about pounding home the rant with drums that sound like some unwise so and so attacked its girlfriend plus guitars that slap you around until you're begging for the mercy you have to believe you're not worthy enough to merit receiving? Gabe Barham's a mad maniac of a male. He pounds away behind the kit as if he was playing on a last place team in the pro game with only pride on the line to play for. When there's nothing left to lose you tend to loosen your play up a notch or three. Gabe wears fast and loose very well. The anguish Kellin harbors comes through extremely clear in Gabe's stick scampering. I'm taken aback by how "Kick Me" doesn't resemble a two minute thirty one second outing. Maybe the culprit is how much dynamite they pack into such a confined space. Every instrument gets supplied generously. Vocals pierce your sensitive places. Guitar shrieks up and down your spine. Bass pounds up and down the legs barely holding you up. Drums hammer away at your defenses, leaving scant resistance in their wake. Justin Hills gives his bass a stellar workout. The attitude portion of "Kick Me" is largely a creation of Justin's twisted imagination. Here's to a guy coloring outside the lines. Since this foursome hails from Orlando we can imagine Justin's been on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Walt Disney World a time or three. How else to explain his fearless way with bass harmony. Kellin doesn't toss out the you don't understand me trump card because he's playing victim for all he and it are worth. Stanza five proves he's up to the challenge of making his detractors eat dirt matching them clod for clod. He warns them: "By all means put me through hell and I'll make you see I'll be worst enemy. Backbone and rock have a long history of going great together. "Kick Me" extends the legacy. Kellin cements a vow not to play the arbitrary rules game he didn't make to start with. "Hang the jury" he exclaims. Giving the bastards a dirt nap is on his agenda as well. Sleeping With Sirens doesn't play like a band built for speed. It gets its crunch from a regular diet of intensity. The boys follow that diet to the letter. Their primary care physicians would be proud of their due diligence. I'm thrilled to make the acquaintance of "Kick Me". Never has being slapped across the face by USDA prime rock roast felt so captivating. Screaming With Sirens refuses to be cast aside and, with this brand of electricity at its disposal why would you want to commit that sin.