We've teamed up with Epitaph Records for an exclusive vinyl variant of Every Time I Die's 2009 album New Junk Aesthetic! Our pressing is on 140g "Milky Clear w/ Gold Splatter vinyl," and limited to 500 copies; pre-order yours while they last.
In our Every Time I Die album guide, we wrote about New Junk Aesthetic:
Every Time I Die found themselves at a crossroads in 2009. They'd fulfilled their contract with Ferret Records and needed a new home (and there was at least some interest from major labels), drummer Mike "Ratboy" Novak quit the band due to "personal conflicts," and the metalcore craze had been dying down. But as old doors were closing, new ones were opening. They found the perfect new home at Epitaph Records, and after cycling through bassists, they finally locked one down with Josh Newton (formerly of Shiner, From Autumn To Ashes, and more). Throughout all of this, ETID persevered, stuck to their guns, and made another great record: New Junk Aesthetic.
Working once again with Steve Evetts, ETID finished recording the album with Ratboy before his departure (but released it afterwards), and they continued to flesh out the ideas they'd begun crafting earlier that decade. ETID's discography is hard to rank because they don't really have low points, but if NJA feels like a lower point, it's only because it was ETID's first album that didn't feel like a significant evolution from the last. It honed and perfected their sound more than it evolved it, which in the long run is never a bad thing, and ETID came out with some of the best songs of their career in the process. It found them continuing to develop their pop sensibilities ("Wanderlust"), continuing to dish out iconic one-liners ("We are the death of the party/We are the life of the funeral"), continuing to work in a more unpredictable/experimental side ("Turtles All the Way Down"), and continuing to kick major ass. The guest vocalists on this album are as well-curated as ever, with tracks featuring The Dillinger Escape Plan's Greg Puciato, Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, and The Bronx's Matt Caughthran, and it's the song with Matt -- album closer "The Sweet Life" -- that just might be New Junk Aesthetic's secret weapon. It's a total rarity that, according to Setlist.fm, the band only performed three times in 2010 before breaking it out at their last-ever show with help from Matt himself, and it's the perfect balance between the young, hungry band that made Last Night In Town and the genre and scene defying band ETID had become. A revved-up, metalpunk rager, it comes with the same winking references to other song's lyrics that ETID had on their debut (in this case, "Break My Stride"), and Keith and Matt sound like they're challenging each other to go harder and harder as the song progresses. It's heavy, it's catchy, it's erratic -- it's everything you want from this band.
Pre-order New Junk Aesthetic and shop for more Every Time I Die vinyl in the BV store.