Since
dropping their debut full-length, 2003’s Turn It Around, COMEBACK KID
has been an undeniable staple of the hardcore community. Each subsequent
release has built upon the foundation of its predecessor while
continually experimenting with and incorporating new musical elements
from beyond the confines of modern hardcore. Five seconds into the
band’s latest release, Symptoms + Cures, though, it
’s made clear that this time around, COMEBACK KID has pushed their output to a new plateau.
Originally formed in 2000 by members of Winnipeg, Canada’s underground
music scene, COMEBACK KID has amassed a catalog of four full-length
international releases along with a live CD/DVD. Says vocalist Andrew
Neufeld about the band’s origins: “We wanted to keep the intensity from
our other bands or those we looked up to at the time, but also took
influence from ‘90s skate punk and more melodic acts.” He continues: “We
wanted the music to be heavy, but the vocals were meant to incorporate a
bit more melody than was found in traditional hardcore. Still, I don’t
think we knew how far we could go with it at the time.”
The
band’s sophomore effort, 2005’s Wake The Dead, affirmed their position
atop the heap of modern hardcore bands; however, when writing commenced
for 2007’s Broadcasting…, vocalist and founding member Scott Wade
announced his departure from the group, finding Neufeld abandoning his
axe to take over vocal duties. But Broadcasting… didn’t miss a beat.
With Neufeld more than capably filling Wade’s shoes, CBK delivered a
powerful record that was undeniably COMEBACK KID while incorporating
further-developed musical ideas and a more colorful vocal performance.
Having delivered their pure and passionate brand of hardcore to fans
around the world since 2002, COMEBACK KID released a live CD/DVD package
dubbed Through The Noise in 2008. On top of accurately relaying the
intensity and attitude of a CBK performance through a 17-song set list
comprised of favorites from the band’s three previous releases, it also
included an hour-long documentary entitled Our Distance that shared the
band’s story to date. Since then, the band has dominated stages on
several continents and worked on an array of other projects, musical or
otherwise, all while composing the fourth COMEBACK KID record.
Officially dropping August 31st, 2010, Symptoms + Cures is the latest
offering from the lineup currently consisting of Neufeld on vocals,
founding members Kyle Profeta on drums and Jeremy Hiebert on guitar, as
well as guitarist Casey Hjelmberg and bassist Matt Keil.
The
album is firmly rooted in the brand of hardcore that its three
predecessors helped established, yet incorporates more musical layers
and vocal variance than we’ve heard from the band thus far. “We really
found our mesh with Andrew singing,” says Profeta about the effort. “Our
last album was more of a ‘feeler.’ We were just getting in the mode of
Andrew becoming our front man. With Symptoms + Cures, we’ve really found
our sound with him and we’re all really excited about it.”
Trademark elements of the band’s sound are abundant on Symptoms + Cures –
gang vocals, half-time bridges, and tastefully-placed breakdowns among
them. However, the record also features a more dynamic vocal performance
than we’ve previously heard, weaving a much harsher and urgent vocal
delivery with sing-able passages, not to mention new musical expansions
that stray from the straight-up simplicity of hardcore.
Still,
these new elements only serve to enhance, not overpower, the core of
COMEBACK KID’s sound – and this is assuredly a COMEBACK KID album.
Once the record’s been delivered to the masses, COMEBACK KID will
embark on a world tour, hitting North America, Europe, Asia, and South
America and sharing stages with acts like Madball, Sick Of It All, Four
Year Strong, A Wilhelm Scream, Parkway Drive, Bleeding Through, and
others. Says Neufeld: “It’ll be nice playing with some new bands as well
as some of our hardcore heroes – bands we all really respect.”
While fans will undoubtedly find much to embrace in Symptoms + Cures,
it’s notable that the band members themselves believe this to be the
pinnacle of their cumulative output. “It’s a good feeling that despite
how long we’ve been doing this, we can still get so collectively excited
about our music,” shares Neufeld. “We love doing this. There’s no
better feeling for any of us than being in a room, losing our minds, and
watching others lose their minds to the music.”