Looking at Everyday Tragedy’s default picture on their Myspace I got the impression that they were an average post-hardcore/metalcore band. Needless to say I based this on the drummer Ryan’s looks (because he was foremost in the picture and it was the first thing I saw) – snakebites, relatively large plugs, tattoos…you name it. But as soon as I started the first track on Blackhole Carousel, what I heard was nothing like what I expected. Was it for the better or for the worse? Let’s see…

The first song, “Stand Up, Wake Up” features rather generic alternative rock-riffs and builds, but it ‘improves’ as soon as “Burn” comes. I want to say ‘improves’ because “Stand Up, Wake Up” felt boring and heard-it-before-ish, thus serving as a bad opener. “Burn”, however, is pretty darn catchy with a positive atmosphere, reminding me of good ol’ Hell Is For Heroes. Even so, it does feature the very same “music from the start, tune down the music for the verse, tune music up again to lead into chorus and repeat” theme encountered in “Stand Up, Wake Up”, and all other tracks for that matter. Forgive me, but it’s pretty laughable. The moment a new song started I began dividing it into sections according to the formula I just mentioned, and it worked flawlessly time after time – and there’s where I pretty much lost interest. Having the exact same structure for all songs is NOT desirable in any way or form. Then again, it all depends on what kind of audience you seek. This would most probably serve well on mainstream radio, but I’m afraid it won’t cut it in this scene.

I don’t want to say that Everyday Tragedy lacks talent or musicianship. All I can say is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and this isn’t beauty to me. It’s much too simple for my taste. I’m fairly certain that they will rise some day, but perhaps not now.

2.5/5