Stolnecker: Seize the Day

Stolnecker are a New York band and Seize the Day is their debut album released in 2010. In the band are Bill Angelini (drums), J. Merkin (vocals) and Mike Capasso (guitars, bass, keyboards).

The album consists of only three tracks but is over fifty-four minutes long with the first track clocking in at a whopping twenty-nine minutes. If you wanted epic, you got it. The band plays heavier, melancholic progressive rock loaded with metallic and post rock elements. The music is guitar oriented with the riffs coming from all angles. There is enough variety in the guitar playing to ensure the music does not become stale and the acoustic guitar is also well used adding an elegance to what is a pretty intense album. Keys are used sparingly and generally stay in the background but do add a textural element and help to flesh out the sound. Merkin has a good voice, well suited to the band's heavier style, mixing his clean voice with some well placed growling when the need arises.

The album's first song is the aforementioned epic "A Song Of Sorrow" starting with acoustic guitar and subtle keyboards. The song gets more intense and the drum work is excellent as Angelini's tasty fills abound. There is a nice balance between acoustic and electric guitars and Merkin's vocals go from clean to growls although at times his voice seems to be too buried in the mix. This song is all about the guitar and it does not disappoint. Not so much in the way of solos but more about edgy riffs creating the song's changing moods.

"All Of My Heart" is a slightly sorrowful tune with pretty acoustic guitar and a great melody while "Seize the Day" has a grungier sound with heavier riffs and more great drumming.

Stolnecker show a lot of promise with Seize the Day and while I really enjoyed it I think the potential is there to produce a great album. Only time will tell…

Track Listing:
1. A Song Of Sorrow (29:07)
2. All Of My Heart (14:17)
3. Seize the Day (11:05)

Added: March 25th 2011
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band's MySpace Page
Hits: 2136
Language: english

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