Story of the Year
The Black Swan

After the success of the second powerful album “In the Wake of Determination”, which received great acclaim even beyond Uncle Sam's land (42,000 copies sold in just the first week), and the release of the CD/DVD “Live in the Lou Bassassins”, Story of The Year already had nine new tracks to include in their next work, set to arrive in the spring of 2008.

When Mavericks Records, the major home to the aforementioned works and the debut album “Page Avenue,” was merged into a new label that decided not to continue collaborating with the St. Louis band, Story of The Year signed with the independent and promising Epitaph Records.

This is how the third studio work “The Black Swan” was born. The title refers to the book by Nassim Nicholas Taleb “The Black Swan: The Impact of The Highly Improbable”, and, needless to say, features a huge black swan on a fiery red background on the cover. Some of the songs were recorded at Foxy Studios, with the well-known collaboration of John Feldmann; the remaining tracks were brought to life with the help of Michael “Elvis” Baskette (Alter Bridge, Tremonti, Slash), who was also the producer.

Power and melody alternate in the tracklist with the band’s typical style. Dan Marsala’s voice, the frontman and songwriter, harmoniously transitions from scream to catchier vocalizations with speed and relevance. The album’s lyrics refer to the insignificance of the human race and condemn wars and violence, highlighting their futility. A strong tone of condemnation is particularly evident in “Wake Up,” “Tell Me (P.A.C.),” “Cannonball,” “Message to the World,” and in the closing “Welcome to Our New War,” preceded by the explicit and significant interlude “Pale Blue Dot.” With “Apathy is a Deathwish,” the accusation shifts to the resignation of those who suffer violence, emphasizing how apathy is the main weapon of mass destruction. The opening “Choose Your Fate,” sung almost entirely in scream, is a track openly directed against the policies of George W. Bush Jr. The rage is poured into the lyrics by Marsala’s scream, and references to previous works are evident, especially regarding the power of the riffs during the choruses.

“Angel in the Swamp” approaches pure pop punk and is a kind of dedication to a fan of the band, who sent a message to Dan Marsala recounting having suffered domestic violence and confiding in finding a sort of lifeline in the band’s music. The reflective trail turns into pure melody with the ballad “Terrified.” After fear and isolation, there's a thought of returning to life, always fighting the ghosts of a useless war.

Are you still alive? Are you scared inside?

Providence is blind when you're terrified

Are you still alive? Are you scared inside?

When we've reached the end of the road

I will carry us home

“We're Not Gonna Make It” addresses the theme of racism. The lyrics are an infusion of courage from the words of a couple experiencing an important biracial relationship, intending to make it for life and wholly accepted by their respective families. The title track “The Black Swan” and “The Antidote”, although not closing the album, seem to offer solutions to the problems. The charge is sounded, relying on tireless resistance.

The theme of this album might seem populist and predictable, but it is not at all the case, which can be understood when listening to it carefully. In that spring of 2008, the full brunt of the American economic crisis and the long trail of death wrought by Hurricane Katrina, and even earlier by the September 11 attacks, had not yet ceased to fuel rage, nor the desire for justice and retaliation.

These days “The Black Swan” turns fifteen, and what it tells us remains tremendously current. Unfortunately, it will continue to be so in the years to come, perhaps with newfound awareness by everyone.

Precisely for the quality of the songwriting and the purity of the sound from a band that has become a symbol and a reference point for its genre, this album deserves a high rating.