Album Review – Chaos Cartel
A new review, thanks to Kirby from the website Chaos Cartel.
Artist: These Four Walls
Album: Living to Write the End
Reviewer: Kirby Walton
Living to Write the End is the latest offering for New Zealand band These Four Walls and it sure does deliver.
Following up from their 2009 release Down Falls an Empire, Living to Write the End is a clear sign that These Four Walls mean business and are out to take on the world. This album delivers a great mixture of songs and creates a great overall album dynamic. From the hard driving riffs of Talons to the celestial sounding Satellites.
These Four Walls have shown great restraint and vision to their song structures. Songs like Talons and Remedy have opportunities for the band to take it to a even heavier place, but the band opts to put colour and balance first over ego. Steve Gibb’s vocals are crisp and smooth with moments of pure anger.
Overall this album contains ingredients of a seasoned band who are ready to take on the world. It is great to see music like this coming from this side of the Pacific. Since Shihad, These Four Walls show us Aussies that our neighbours from the land of the long white cloud can still deliver the goods, and deliver it hard. Fans of Hoobastank, The Used and Paramore will absolutely drool over this album.
Rating 8/10
Album Review – The Vacant
Here’s another review, from The Vacant
These Four Walls are back with their second full length release, and it’s yet another hit, no doubt! I enjoyed this album far better than their first release, which was titled, DOWN FALLS AN EMPIRE. The first album did feature one of my favorite songs of all time, titled “Lay It Out”, it is a rather catchy ass track, with emotional lyrics and passion not to be missed… definitely want to at least grab a digital download of that track, if nothing else from the first release of These Four Walls. The latest effort, titled LIVING TO WRITE THE END, is one fantastic piece of fine work. The first single released was titled, “Passenger”. The song, which was also made available as an acoustic version release, shows raw emotion, and excellent vocals by their lead vocalist. The band is composed of Steve Gibb, Gray Vickers, Chris Treeby, Brad Vickers. Brad Vickers is also the general manager of the band. This band has opened for many, many well known artists that have made their ways across the pond to play live, and it’s been a well deserved venture, for certain. I truly am a fan, have been honestly since DOWN FALLS AN EMPIRE. I own both physical copies, and play them on rotation regularly. I recommend you pick them up from one of the links below, and find a true passion from a band, you may or may not have heard about. They are excellent, and lyrically and melodically excel. The favorite song for me, from the LIVING TO WRITE THE END effort, has got to be the song, “Talons”. The surprise screaming vocals toward the end, after the hooks in the song, are incredible, and you just want to crank the fucker right up!! I hope you find as much enjoy ment from this band as I did and do, rock on my friends and followers!! Enjoy this fantastic band!!
These Four Walls Australian Tour, March 2013
These Four Walls are pleased to announce that they will be supporting Australian band Electric Horse on their ‘Venomous’ album release tour in March 2013.
5 shows have been announced so far and more may be added later. The dates so far are:
Thursday 14 March – The Evelyn Hotel, Melbourne, VIC
Friday 15 March – Ferntree Gully Hotel, VIC
Saturday 16 March – The Enigma Bar, Adelaide, SA
Saturday 23 March – Tempo Hotel, Brisbane, QLD
Friday 29 March – Blad Faced Stag, Sydney, NSW
These Four Walls supporting The Feelers – Auckland Anniversary Weekend
These Four Walls will be supporting The Feelers for three shows over Auckland Anniversary weekend at some classic kiwi summer spots.
The dates are:
Friday 25 January – Ascension Wine Estate, Matakana
Saturday 26 January – Brewer’s Bar, Mount Maunganui
Sunday 27 January – The Commercial Hotel, Whakatane
Tickets are available now from www.eventfinder.co.nz
Doors 7pm
These Four Walls on stage 8pm
The Feelers 9pm
To commemorate the recent release of their live acoustic DVD; “The Feelers, The Naked Sessions”, the band will be performing a half-hour acoustic set of some of their most loved songs. So The Feelers will support The Feelers and the public get to vote on the playlist!
Tracks such as the usually aggressive “Larger Than Life”, and the pop classic “Venus” will be performed with a new fervour, in an ambient setting, with the band adopting the use of mandolins, twelve string acoustics and slide guitars.
A short break will allow the audience time to quench their thirst and the bands’ crew to reset the stage for the lads return for another 90 minutes of guitar-fuelled rock, playing the hits New Zealanders have come to know and love over the last fifteen years.
Having already supported international acts such as Nickelback, Disturbed and Karnivool, These Four Walls deliver an impressive support act that incorporates their powerful, heavy riffing with soaring melodies and a tight, energetic performance.
These Four Walls supporting Nickelback, Vector Arena – 30 November 2012
These Four Walls are please to be supporting Nickelback when they return to New Zealand for one show on 30 November, 2012. CLICK HERE to read the full press release.
NICKELBACK, one of the biggest rock bands in the world, known for their powerful and spectacular live performances, will descend on New Zealand shores this Friday, November 30 for their first concert here in three years at Auckland’s Vector Arena.
Live Nation is now pleased to announce New Zealand rock act These Four Walls will join Nickelback as special guests. These Four Walls opened for Nickelback in 2009 and more recently supported US acts Disturbed, Trivium and As I Lay Dying during their May 2011 New Zealand arena shows.
These Four Walls second album ‘Living to Write the End’ released in October featuring the hit rock tune ‘Passenger’ debuted top 20 on the National album chart has been garnering some solid praise from music critics.
“Living to Write the End is a fantastic collection of thirteen twenty-first century post-punk songs. These Four Walls are the messengers delivering a package of beautiful melancholy, wrapped in severely addictive rock.” Muzik.net.nz
“The 13 tracks of this album are an exhibition of These Four Walls’ musical depth and song writing ability. Steve Gibb’s vocal melodies have moments of sheer beauty contrasted against moments of brutality. The balance between softer and heavier music is not only perfect, but it’s laid out on the record brilliantly.” Groove Guide
Nickelback has been touring relentlessly this year completing a fifty-four city trek throughout North America, followed by a string of European, and currently mid-way through a national Australian tour before reaching New Zealand next week.
The band will be performing hits and chart-topping singles drawing from their seven-album arsenal.
Nickelback last toured Australia and New Zealand in 2009, with the extremely successful ‘Dark Horse Tour’. In total, the ‘Dark Horse Tour’ saw Nickelback performing before nearly two million fans with more than 120 shows around the world including stops here, Australia, Japan, Dubai, the United Kingdom, Germany and North America.
Released in November 2011, the band’s latest album ‘Here And Now’ – the biggest international release in Nickelback’s history – debuted Top 10 in the RIANZ album chart and is now certified Gold. The album is home to singles ‘Bottoms Up’, ‘When We Stand Together,’ ‘Lullaby’ and ‘Trying Not To Love You’.
Nickelback has achieved a prestigious place in music history having sold nearly 50 million worldwide – 150,000 in New Zealand alone – staking a claim for one of the biggest and most enduringly successful rock acts in history.
AUCKLAND, VECTOR ARENA, FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30
Tickets available through Ticketmaster: phone 0800 111 999 or www.ticketmaster.co.nz
Album Review – Groove Guide
Here is another cool album review, courtesy of Sebastian MacKay at Groove Guide:
It has been an awesome few months for NZ rock and metal. These Four Walls’ new album, Living To Write The End, is a great mix of heavy songs with driving riffs and ear drum shattering screams (‘Talons’ and’ Beautiful’) and softer more melodic songs (‘Eyes’ and ‘Satellite’).
The 13 tracks of this album are an exhibition of These Four Walls’ musical depth and song writing ability. Steve Gibb’s vocal melodies have moments of sheer beauty contrasted against moments of brutality. The balance between softer and heavier music is not only perfect, but it’s laid out on the record brilliantly.
From ‘Talons’ to ‘Burning Rope’ Living To Write The End takes you on a journey. It will pull your heart strings, it will make you make jump up and down and lull you into a state of peace.
Album Review – muzic.net.nz
Thanks to Janise at www.muzic.net.nz for the great review!
The walls will be reverberating once Living to Write the End hits your stereo. The second album from alternative rockers These Four Walls will be exploding your aural senses and detonating every fibre of your being. And you will enjoy this scene of self-destruction. Living to Write the Endis a fantastic collection of thirteen twenty-first century post-punk songs. These Four Walls are the messengers delivering a package of beautiful melancholy, wrapped in severely addictive rock.
It launches into ‘Talons’, with quick guitars and drums making the heart race. Singer Steve Gibb has slick vocals, rich and gorgeous and divinely melodised throughout the album. He slides between heartfelt harmonies and the intensity of his screams with ease. The lead single ‘Passenger’ has already been making waves across the scene, and I highly recommend checking out their acoustic version on Youtube. If you have any doubts about the talent of this band this version of the song will certainly lay them to rest.
‘The True Sound of Running’ is pulsating rock at its finest, with stunning guitars that drive the power of the song. Living to Write the End swings across poetic lyrics whether in the tormented ‘Saints and Sinners’ and ‘Settle Up’ or the new romanticism of ‘Eyes’ and the sentimental ‘Satellite.’ ‘Dead Air’ is haunting, and the screams of ‘Beautiful’ are profound. The album is produced with rock precision. Every inch of the music is finely crafted and it works seamlessly. You can hear this in the stunning track ‘Rain,’ a concoction of the coldness yet comforting sensations of the downpour. ’From Cover to Cover’ and ‘Burning Rope’ make a drop-dead gorgeous conclusion to the album as two expressive rock ballads.
I am not ashamed to say it- I loved the rock that emerged from early this century. If you like Seether and AFI, Chevelle and Blindside, The Butterfly Effect, Spineshank and Taproot, you will not be able to get enough of this album. Thank heavens this melodic angst is making its way back to us. There is still the little punk inside me, that angry little girl afraid of the world, who is thrilled she can be consoled with luscious alternative rock a decade after its hey-day. Living to Write the End is world-class. This band has a universal flavour, and I hope they truly make their mark in the international alternative scene. These Four Walls will certainly not be constrained. The band are here to rock out and tear these walls down.
-Janise
Living to Write the End hits No.1 at JB Hi-Fi stores
Living to Write the End is available in stores and online now! The album debuted at No.1 in JB Hi-Fi stores. Thanks to everyone who has bought a copy so far, we are truly grateful for all of your support and we hope you love the album as much as we do. CLICK HERE to find out where you can get a copy of the album.
Living to Write the End Pre-orders now available
We’ve arranged a great deal for anyone who pre-orders the album before 12 October 2012 through JB Hi-Fi in New Zealand. The first 500 orders will receive a limited release Special Edition of the album, with a bonus disc containing 4 extra tracks. You’ll also get to download one of the tracks from the album in advance of the release date, and with JB Hi-Fi, shipping within New Zealand is FREE.
And if that wasn’t enough, everyone who pre-orders through JB Hi-Fi goes into the draw to win a Schecter Omen 6 Solo guitar valued at $619 NZD.
CLICK HERE to pre-order the album from JB Hi-Fi
Album Preview Night
If you’re in Auckland, you can attend a special album preview night at the Bluestone Room on Tuesday 2 October, where you can meet and hang out with the band, and hear the brand new Living to Write the End album in its entirety over a week before anyone else.
Space is limited! Jump on the Facebook Event page to make sure you get in – https://www.facebook.com/events/470582789629885/
