THE CD: The Art of Misdirection ARTIST: Shadow of a Martyr SOUNDS LIKE: Catchy/melodic post punk with ready-to-break out sound CHOICE TRACKS: All of them really, none suck! Shadow of a Martyr’s five-song CD “The Art of Misdirection” is post-punk at its local finest. The Clarksburg-based band (Jesse Bush: vocals; Dan Couture: guitar/vocals; Charlie Brown: guitar; Matt Bosley: bass; Chris Audia: drums) has been around for about 1.5 years roughly, and that’s promising for these guys to put out this kind of music after such a relatively short time together. The songs feature more intricate punk-flavored metal structures, with enough melodic quality to give them an approachable sound. For the most part Bush’s personal lyrics are about themes not unrelated to those that desperate people feel, sung passionately. Couture and Brown (a new addition) combine to give the band nice depth and texture in the guitar department, and Audia is no slouch as a drummer. The drummer also writes lyrics too, so that’s cool. The CD opens with the soul searching, uptempo number “Forgotten” (the only song now not on their Myspace profile, www.myspace.com/shadowofamartyr) and this song lets you know SOAM can put out. Technically sound riffage is on display as Bush sings frantically “Will I be remembered for nothing?” The song breaks down into a heavy bridge, with a more metal feel; then, into a lighter-producing slow metal jam with nice bass runs. Like Ozzy would say: “LET ME SEE YOUR CIGARETTE LIGHTERS!!!” Yeah, that’s the stuff. Bush turns the song into a near death experience with the words “With time running out, I’m not fading away, fading away all alone/when my time is over, you’ll know who I am/don’t you know who I am?” Man that’s heavy stuff. The song has the perfect ending to an opening song on a rock CD: guitars ringing out to run into the next song. I’m not sure who exactly is forgotten, or who the martyrs are, but these guys rock! The songs “Night Terror” and “To Begin Again” were honored in December by none other than Garageband.com, for Metal Track and Modern Rock Track, respectively. “Forgotten” was given Best Guitars for the week of 12/11/06 in Modern Rock. All this, and they play most of their shows at Morgan Gym in Jane Lew! What’s wrong with this picture? “Night Terror” is the first song on their Myspace profile, so you’ve probably already heard it. If you’re like me, you likes you some “WHOAHS” sung underneath the vocals on your punk. “To Begin Again” has them in spades, along with nice tempo changes. Bush sings on the chorus “Don’t bother to see what happens/when you leave you’re gone: you’re dead to me. Fall asleep and die/Follow me inside. Don’t bother to see…What I’ve become/don’t even think to look my way/Hide behind these lies…” I had an At The Drive-In CD a few years back, and this song reminds me of something off that CD for some reason. That means SOAM is good. “The Memory” is a rockin’ punk-metal hybrid with heartfelt lyrics that Bush is singing to someone during the chorus: “Why did you go? Was it because of me?” Then: “I’ll see you again in time/you left us all here behind.” Most of these songs, despite their structures, feature sing-along choruses for the fans. “Untitled” was recently posted on their profile for fans to hear. This song, like the others, has solos and near-extended jams kicked out, without having a tortured feel to them. Despite the title, the song actually has some meaning, as Bush sings “Pray for sorrow/beg tomorrow/brings me better days…Take this pain wrapped inside my head away.” I don’t know what they’ll call what comes after post punk; post-post punk maybe? But if it’s as good as some of the bands I’ve heard, like SOAM on the local level, then it proves civilization IS moving forward! They don’t look like they’re playing many “bar-based” venues, or many venues period, so you should definitely go listen to this CD. They’re planning on recording a full length in Florida in June, so look for that, too. --- Nick2