ARTIST: Ryan's Hope
TITLE: Apocalypse In Increments
LABEL: Punknews Records
GENRE: Punk
BITRATE: 231kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 33min total
RELEASE DATE: 2006-04-11
RIP DATE: 2006-03-02

Track List

01. End Is Here                     1:55
02. My Motivation: Your Demise      2:39
03. The Carpathian                  2:40
04. Reiteration                     2:54
05. Haven't Got The Time            2:46
06. Exorcism                        2:52
07. My Decision                     1:20
08. When Life Steals Life           2:31
09. Killing Through Song            2:07
10. Majority                        3:00
11. By The Sword                    2:55
12. This Time                       2:21
13. The Ranks                       3:29

Release Notes:

“Submission is nowhere in our plan,” declares guitarist/vocalist Terry Morrow on
“End Is Here,” the opener of Ryan’s Hope’s new album Apocalypse In Increments,
and it couldn’t be truer for the Chicago trio. Formed in 2002 as a pop-punk band
of metalheads sick of that scene, the group have grown into so much more:
They’re a songwriting machine pumping out melodic punk-metal gems. This band
will not let up until everyone knows their name.

The word has been spreading, and Alternative Press is doing their part,
handpicking them to play a stint on Warped Tour in 2003 and putting them in
their “100 Bands You Need to Know” list for 2006. Skratch, AMP and Jaded In
Chicago have featured the band, and the internet has been abuzz as well. The
staff at Punknews.org had taken notice—the band’s debut full-length, the Double
Zero Records-released The Trials Of Recession, made one writer’s best-album
list, and editor Scott Heisel crowned them “Best Unsigned Band of 2004”. So when
Punknews Records started up, the pairing made perfect sense.

Snapcase, Metallica, black metal like Emperor and Dimmu Borgir, spooky punk like
Misfits and AFI—that’s what these guys grew up on. Yet, they also love the pop
hook of bands like Ramones, the Living End and Smoking Popes. Morrow, bassist
Nick McLenighan and drummer Greg Alltop had done the hardcore thing for years,
so in early 2002, the trio choose to go in a more melodic direction. While they
honed their pop skills, they never forgot their hard roots—and all the speed,
breakdowns and blistering solos that came with it. But one April night, the
members were struck by tragedy—Ryan McCarroll, a friend and early supporter of
the new group, was killed in a car accident; the band choose to name their new
group in his honor. Morrow explains: “We each faced great sadness and grief with
losing Ryan, and relied heavily on each other in dealing with our loss, and our
reliance ultimately became focused on our music.” And the band have used their
music as catharsis, over the course of two self-released EPs and The Trials Of
Recession. But with Apocalypse In Increments, the band take their biggest
musical step forward yet.

The new album finds Ryan’s Hope sounding more focused than ever. Returning to
producer Dan Precision (ex-88 Fingers Louie, Rise Against, Break The Silence),
the trio sculpted a disc that is thick and powerful, but never overdone. “The
Carpathian” takes everything Ryan’s Hope are experts at and runs it through a
juicer in an easily digestible two minutes and 40 seconds. Drink it down:
Metallic guitar riffage impresses while McLenighan’s bass and Alltop’s drums
thump as one, and quickly switch it up to a blistering beat. The chorus opens
up into stomping staccato down-strokes. “Someday I’ll come alive and poison the
world with my desire,” Morrow wails.

Everybody plays a part in the songwriting on Team Hope. They are all guitarists
and bring riffs to practice where they hash them out and extend them. Morrow
testifies: “We work as a complete unit and always end up with a song that we
each stand behind 100 percent.” Most songs end up pretty raucous, but sometimes
the Hope leans more towards their pop side such as in “My Motivation: Your
Demise,” which Morrow wrote simply off of a vocal line. Here and throughout,
the hooks are always powerful and never wimpy or whiny, and on the other end of
the spectrum, Ryan’s Hope completely shun the hoarse voice-cracking screaming
that is a crutch for so many hardcore-based bands today. Another standout is
“My Decision,” where the influence of fellow Chicagoans Smoking Popes shines
through as Morrow goes solo. A galloping progression lends itself to a smooth
melody, but soon the intense “When Life Steals Life” takes over. Then you’ve
got closing track “The Ranks,” a near bipolar outing, alternating between
upbeat pop-punk and chugging breakdowns during the chorus, and then the song
ends the album with fierce gang vocals.

Hitting you hard but leaving you humming afterward, expect Apocalypse In
Increments to please all kinds of fans of punk and heavy music. If you’re not
tapping your feet and playing air guitar by the end of this 33-minute monster,
the volume on your stereo simply isn’t loud enough. Crank it up, close your
eyes, and remember when punk rock meant something—Ryan’s Hope remember, too.