Welcome to the Boolin Tunes Staff Spotlight, a special segment on the site in which we dive deep into a classic or simply personally beloved album to shine a light on releases that we feel deserve a second glance.
Guitar-driven metal music in the strange year of 2006 evokes an imagine of a certain scene. For many, that era induces significant nostalgia for a line of Christianity-fueled, long-haired bands, of which Burden of a Day is no exception. Their debut album, for instance, Pilots & Paper Planes swims in a sea of similar releases. However, few bands were able to come up with something of this level of quality and staying power.
We set our sights on something
That’s just beyond our reach
It’s not what we expected
We will bleed
Opener “For Tomorrow We Die” kicks off the album with a showcase of what is to be expected throughout: strong guitar leads, heavy passages, sing (and scream)-along choruses, all of which your general core audience are already intimately familiar with. Burden of a Day, however, wields their tools with the confidence of a much older band. This trait proves most notable during a transition between tracks:
A convincing baton pass like this one takes significant skill, but the band is up to the challenge, giving rise to one of the most compelling segment of the album. “”Oh The Humanity” (A Prologue To Tragedy)” has the chops to stand alone, but with this prelude, “Ashes to Ashes” serves as the album’s highlight.
With a song in our hearts and breath in our lungs
Our eyes burn with vision
They also manage to avoid some of the most notorious pitfalls afflicting a band like this one: preaching. Instead, the band presents optimistic and evocative lyrics without sounding annoying – a remarkable accomplishment in 2006.
I can’t let you go that way
Look into his eyes and tell him he’s not wanted
Look into his eyes and tell him he is not your friend
All things considered, Pilots & Paper Planes does not stand alone, and clearly shares similarities with the band’s post-hardcore peers. However, it does stand above and beyond most similar releases from the scene. As is common in this genre, they only went on to release two further albums, and broke up in 2010. However, for those who know, they’ll remember Burden of a Day and what they contributed, despite their short time together.
Otherwise, I hope to see you again next week for another retrospective from our team.