The first time I had heard Before Today I actually enjoyed the song, felt like I had heard it before somewhere, but still enjoyed it. That song was, "Pierce The Veil" on an Equal Vision Records compilation put out this past summer. Fast forward a few months and Before Today releases their first full-length debut, A Celebration Of An Ending, and that familiarity heard earlier this summer on that compilation was not unsubstantiated.
A Celebration Of An Ending is the love child of mall pop-punk, screamo, and even a bit of metal here and there. While listening to the short-lived debut album every track sounds like something you have heard before and the fact is, you have. Whether it is the boyish high-pitched melodic vocals (see Saves The Day, Blink 182, New Found Glory, and Lagwagon, etc.) the INCESSANT screaming vocals (see Thursday, Alexisonfire, Dead Poetic, etc.), the constant high-speed rat-at-tat drum parts (see any Tooth and Nail, Fat Wreck, Epitaph pop-punk act) it has all been done before. The truth is Before Today sounds like a 90's skate punk band that decided to throw in some tempo changes, a barrage of screaming vocals, and some clean picking parts here and there for the sake of creativity. Unfortunately this ends up sounding like a slew of erratic influences that never blend well together.
Before Today could be a strong pop-punk act if that was the path that they chose, but it is not. They do have a few catchy songs, and at times sound like a cohesive unit but that's not enough to sustain repeated listens. Before Today attempts to give us a different take on this genre but instead the results sound awkward and generic.
1.5/4
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