Matchbook Romance Reunites for GK! Holiday Festival

A Very GK! Holiday Festival

This weekend, A Very GK! Holiday Festival is coming to New York for it’s final show this year in Poughkeepsie. In October, the Alternative Press announced that Matchbook Romance will reunite to headline the GK! Holiday Festival for the New York Date. Matchbook Romance released two albums, “Stories and Alibis” in 2003 and “Monsters” in 2006 (Billboard). Among the band’s major hits were “Monsters,” and “Promise,” both were featured on MTV and VH1. In the past, they’ve toured with big names such as Yellowcard, Fall Out Boy, and Chiodos and have been members of the Take Action Tour. Originally from Poughkeepsie, New York, it made sense for Matchbook Romance to come back from hiatus for this show, it will be their first live performance in over 3 years.

August Burns Red goes Christmas

Blabbermouth.net

The holidays always provide an opportunity for artists to capitalize on merchandise sales by offering limited edition products, bundles, discounts, and other promotions. A great way to seize the season is to release a Christmas cover song album just as August Burns Red released “Sleddin’ Hill” this year. The album features 13 tracks by the Christian metal band, each one taking a familiar holiday song. “Sleddin’ Hill” redefines Christmas songs to include a double bass pedal, fast tempos, and technical guitar solos.

The first track of the album, “Flurries,” sets the tone for what is to come. August Burns Red uses the song to show the listener that although this is a Christmas album, it does not mean that there is going to only be sleigh bells and soft melodies. The song starts of with characteristic sleigh bells to set the mood and gradually progresses to a faster tempo adding in harder drums and guitar melodies. Throughout the entire song, August Burns Red effectively uses breakdowns and tempo changes to keep the listener guessing what is coming next. August Burns Red did a fantastic job of incorporating traditional Christmas elements with their well-known sound, especially in this song. The entire album can be streamed on Youtube.