Silverstein

Bursting with ragged angst and energy and raw, earnest emotion, Canadian alternative outfit Silverstein started out on the emo-punk scene in 2000 mixing screaming vocals with anthemic, melodic peaks, decades later remaining a popular force of raging post-hardcore bliss. Inspired by local punk bands in their home town of Burlington, Ontario, front man Shane Told put the band together with guitarist Josh Bradford and drummer Paul Koehler, naming themselves after author and songwriter Shel Silverstein. Bass player Billy Hamilton and second guitarist Neil Boshart later completed the line-up and Told turned his personal diary entries into soul-bearing lyrics against a backdrop of snarling, spikey riffs and pace-shifting breakdowns on their debut album 'When Broken Is Easily Fixed' in 2003. Their deal with Chicago alternative label Victory Records led to support slots with Fall Out Boy and Aiden, and they became firm favourites on The Warped Tour, as the album 'Discovering the Waterfront' built a loyal following and 'Arrivals & Departures' reached number 25 on the US Albums Chart. Based around a fictional story of a ship sailing away for new worlds but ending in mutiny, 2009's 'A Shipwreck in the Sand' was an ambitious, all-consuming concept album, but they revitalised themselves and returned to their pop-punk roots on 'Short Songs' which featured sharp, punchy tracks that were all less than 90 seconds long. Boshart was replaced by the band's guitar tech Paul Marc Rosseau in 2012, and they returned to build thundering, epic, conceptual, showstoppers on 'This Is How the Wind Shifts' in 2013 and signed to Rise Records for 'I Am Alive in Everything I Touch' in 2015. While continually evolving, they became more sonically adventurous than many of their peers and remained a band dealing in emotional rock rollercoasters which united emo, punk and metal crowds across the US underground circuit.

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