Schoolyard Heroes

It’s great to know that after two fantastic, almost wholly ignored albums Schoolyard Heroes aren’t giving up. In fact, they’re getting better, further smoothing out their mega-mix of super-angular metal riffs, operatic vocals, math rock breaks, poppy hooks and horror imagery (see: "Dude, Where’s My Skin?”). Abominations is easily the band’s best work to date, and for anyone that slept on their earlier work, it’s a great starting point to discovering a truly original band. While the terms "metal riffs” and "pop hooks” may conjure images of some nu-Warped extravaganza, Schoolyard Heroes pull more influence from the Misfits and the theme from Halloween than anywhere else, making for music that’s catchy without being saccharine. "All The Pretty Corpses” finds the band at their most epic, combining all the disparate sonic elements of their sound into one complete-sounding mini-opus, while "Violence Is All The Rage” moves from a super-heavy verse to a poppy disco chorus with the greatest of ease. More accessible than their past releases, here’s hoping that more people don some corpse paint and climb aboard the Schoolyard Heroes bandwagon.