Adeste

It’s extremely rare for a band to get their sound right on their debut album. It’s even rarer when a band does it while still being unsigned. However, this is exactly what Orlando, Florida metalcore band Adeste has done with their debut album In Parables, which follows the story of a young boy’s departure from home and his quest for truth. Ambitious? Of course. Well executed? Definitely. The biggest surprise of 2010? Without a doubt.

While most outfits simply decide to play it safe with their debuts, Adeste is the type of band who truly takes chances; they have decided to make an album that shows off who they are, and to make it even more admirable, they opted to make it a concept record. However, when a band is that ambitious, the chances of failure are pretty high. Luckily this isn’t the case; the band creates a sound of their own while still staying within their genre, and you see In Parables consists of beautiful pianos, technical instrumentation, and soothing vocals that clash with the intensity of screams. However, to truly understand the beauty of In Parables, one must give a close listen and enjoy this tale in album form.

The album begins with the beautiful instrumental intro “Dawning”, which features a melody that will resurface several times throughout the album. The real action then begins with “Foundation”, which features fast guitar work from guitarists Morgan Hopfensperge and Marco Randazzo, and the dueling vocals of frontman Nathan Puhr, Hopfensperge, and Randazzo. The song also brings in the most unique aspect of the band, keyboardist Brian Waters, who provides the beautiful backgrounds of the record (think Underoath with The Receiving End of Sirens playing in the background).

The album gets even better as it goes along. “Seeking” is one of the best songs released in this genre in a long time (very reminiscent of Sky Eats Airplane’s best moments), while “Numbers” gives us some more interesting guitar parts, and “Departure”, probably the catchiest song on In Parables, shines due to its skilful programming. Halfway through In Parables, we are given a breather in the form of interlude “Stasis”. The second half of the record begins with the album’s two heaviest songs, “Waking” and “Structures”. They are followed by one of the best tracks on the album, “Mourning”, which features guest female vocals from Sara Nix (a close friend of the band). Everything culminates with the gorgeous closer “Retribution”, which ends the album by reciting lyrics from previous songs and finally finishes with the same melody that began the album, bringing it all together full circle.

In Parables is one of the year’s best albums and by far one of the most ambitious. It’s no surprise the band took three years to come out with a debut, because what they had under their sleeves was something that most signed bands of their genre can never even fathom achieving. Adeste is the type of band who isn’t complacent with simply writing songs you can mosh to or tracks that will get you to sing along. They are the type of band who wants to create a full experience. From the musicianship to the vocals to the story to the beautiful artwork, Adeste has created a complete record, something that most bands in the scene can’t say they’ve ever done. With In Parables, Adeste has catapulted to the top of my list of bands to watch out for, because with a record this wonderful, it’s pretty obvious that this Orlando band won’t stay unknown for long. - Mind Equals Blown

So when I threw on “In Parables” by Adeste, a six-piece group from the sunlit tourist trap of Orlando, Florida, I was expecting something very particular. Due to their ambiguous name, their surreal, colorful cover art, and their extensive policy of naming their songs with one word that seem to have a loose connection of concept to them (which is apparently, from what I’ve gathered, a story of some sort of journey), I immediately reacted by assuming I was about to pop in something by a fresh-faced new post-rock band ready to take me by storm with my favorite brand of borderline orchestral music. The first track, “Dawning,” furthered my assumption. An intro of sorts with no vocal involvement whatsoever, it features a low, humming keyboard footing that builds up slowly with effects-heavy guitar harmonics and thinner-than-air atmosphere. If I were to describe the song genre-wise, I’d say something to the effect of a smoke cloud of early post-hardcore coalescing serenely with another of modern post-rock. It’s really, really good, and I found myself very anxious to hear what they would do within the next ten tracks.

Then something completely left field of what I, or probably anyone else who happened to listen to this record without any prior knowledge of the band, expected happened. The second track, “Foundation,” cuts immediately and rudely into the sereneness of its predecessor, but not with something that you would be pleased to get interrupted by. Adeste, in a move that could effortlessly be compared to not only instantly swerving a fast-moving car full of family members one hundred and eighty degrees in the opposite direction without any warning or provocation, but also driving it off a cliff, surviving and pissing on the remains, start playing some seriously corny and generic Rise Records-esque mallcore crap. I was in complete disbelief and disarray as my ears were suddenly forced to adapt to a mechanical pseudo-breakdown and some lame metalcore screech vocals. I’m not exaggerating when I say that in this single song, they go through every modern metalcore cliché in the book – they also add in some whiny clean singing, equally boring two fret riffing, that laughable electronic skipping effect, and an unnecessary synth backbone to the already nauseating breakdowns. I can’t even begin to ponder what would be the correct volume, tone, or dialect in which to ask, “What the FUCK were they thinking?!”

The most criminal thing about the whole ordeal with this record, however, is not that they simply wrote an amazing intro and pissed away their obvious ambient songwriting talent on nothing but an album full of mainstream drivel for fourteen year olds, but that they actually sneakily slip in and sandwich the good stuff between the garbage. At 40 seconds or so of the third jam, “Seeking,” the song suddenly gets awesome. They mellow out from (surprise, surprise) a breakdown and start noodling around on some moody post-hardcore tone that kind of reminds me of the good aspects of early Emery. There’s about a 30 second portion in “Departure” that follows the same suit, as well. There are a couple of instances where the keyboardist’s impressive piano technique is displayed and the guitarists furtively knock off a notable 90’s-emo-gone-distorted chord progression, but they’re brief flashes that aren’t enough to save any semblance of dignity for any of the songs. It’s like they threw them in there just to snobbishly say, “Yeah, fuck you. We can write good music. We just don’t want to.” Hopefully if I check this band out again in a few years they’ll have forgotten about appealing to teeny boppers.
- Stereo Killer

Summary: Adeste has created an album that combines all the right elements, and it makes for an excellent listen.

1 of 1 thought this review was well written

One of the things that can keep a genre alive are bands willing to go beyond what they know and do to create something fresh. With so many groups trying this or that, experimenting with sometimes ridiculous ideas, many just concentrate on the things that make their genre worth listening to. If you’re willing to combine so many aspects to create something new than you just might have the ability to be a stand out group. Adeste was a tough band to spot, after hours of searching on Myspace and adding this band and that band, I just happened to click on these guys and it was really worth the hours of searching.

This post-hardcore group from Orlando, Florida has every bit of talent to become more noticed. They are a band that you can consider fresh, they do everything to define their genre without trying to hard on fitting in with the “in crowd”. Their debut album “In Parables” is easy at times to get lost in, from the couple carefully orchestrated instrumental tracks to the hard hitting screamed verses, all followed by precisely placed vocal lines which all comes together for a wonderful listening experience. Whether your looking for breakdowns or melodic choruses, it’s all here and done fantastically.

That’s one of the things that makes this band stand out to me, the fact that they do everything without overdoing it. They know exactly where to place a breakdown or a nice little synth section, and it always sounds right. The instrumental tracks like album opener ‘Dawning’ and ‘Stasis’ are carefully crafted little tracks, they never hit over the two minute point, yet they are there and sound right. They don’t do it randomly just to relax the listener, it actually is a great little moment to capture the mood and feel of the album. The band also has it’s heavier moments, in the track ‘Departure’, there is a catchy little chant moment that comes back later in the album with a slight little twist.

The best element of this band are their vocals, while screaming vocalist Nathan Purr has a very familiar sounding scream, he has a great range. Whether it’s his highs or his lows, they always sound good and really help out the heavier, faster paced moments of the songs. Both guitar players in the band throw in a little bit of singing, Morgan Hopfensperger and Marco Randazzo, though I can’t tell a real difference between them, both do an amazing job. Their best times are the slower more vocal based moments, where we have some slight guitar and synth in the back with the singing louder than the rest.

Instrumentally, the guitarists do an amazing job, I just wish they had a little more technicality in some moments. Through most of the songs they remain simple, but have their few moments where they can toss in a little riff or two, but there are so many more moments where they could’ve taken advantage of their talent. Drummer Jeff McMaster is average, but good. Yet again, he has the ability to do so much better at times but never really captures it. Another great element of this band is their synth playing, and Brian Waters knows just how to do it. He never takes over, but always does a great job at improving the song with a few little touches here and there.

“In Parables” is an album you have to hear, and since it’s one of the few bands I’ve found lately that have captured me as much as they have, they are certainly up there in my favorites list. In my opinion, find the lyrics and listen along, it’s an album that will make you wish all post-hardcore groups could create music like them. I know I sound like I might be giving this band a little too much credit, but I really want to see this band do bigger things, and without support and fans they wouldn’t be where they are now. - Sputnik Music

Adeste is a six-member band out of Orlando, Florida and was formed in February 2007. They are labeled as a screamo/hardcore/ambient band. In 2008, they started working on their debut project, In Parables. The project was finally completed in the summer of 2010. While taking a little longer than expected, the wait was worthwhile when, upon listening you can tell a lot of time and energy went into this album. In Parables will finally be releasing November 22, 2010.

In Parables is a concept album that tells a story from beginning to end. Now concept albums are always an interesting idea that can be pretty enjoyable when pulled off right. Then on the flip side, pretty disappointing when not done too effectively. In this case I was really intrigued with the concept in this album and loved how it turned out. This album tells the story of a boy on a search for truth and what trials and difficulties he faces along the way. You can tell how much went into the songwriting of this album by the way the songs craft a true epic.

Lead vocalist Nathan Puhr serves up some rather impressive screaming. His screams are pretty consistent through out the album and for the most part keep the same tone, yet they are solid. He has a nice pitch and varies his scream up just enough to keep the listener interested. To backup the screaming, are some decent clean vocals, sported by the bands two guitarists. Another plus is they aren’t the typical high and whiny vocals that tend to be a trademark of every metal band’s clean vocalist. Instead of the annoying switch from screaming to clean vocals, that a lot of bands tend to lean towards, the screaming definitely makes up a majority of the vocals. But the clean vocals are added in at strategic times and help strengthen the songs with their placement, instead of weakening them

There is a lot going on in each and every one of these tracks. Each member shows their talent pertaining to their respective instrument. All these songs are made up of so many different musical parts, speeds, and atmospheres that they create a truly intriguing experience in each track. Adeste demonstrates such a level of skill and precision from each band member, and a noticeable delicate touch that was administered over these tracks; to make them as great as they could be. The band makes each song such a complete experience with all the different changes in the style of playing. This makes each track something exciting and you definitely won’t see these songs sounding the same track-to-track.

The drummer for Adeste, Jeff McMaster, throws in some awesome drum fills and he shows great control by being able to pound away on the more aggressive parts and roll along smoothly on the quieter segments. A pleasant surprise in this album is that you can actually make out the bass at times. This has become quite rare to hear from any form of metal, in general, so it’s pretty darn sweet to hear, courtesy of Jason McMaster. Particularly in the track “Numbers,” there is a nice part where the bass and drums alternate back and forth for a short segment and sounds pretty neat.

Guitarists Morgan Hopfensperger and Marco Randazzo are the driving force on a number of these tracks, becoming the main musical focus in most cases. These guys have some pummeling and aggressive riffs at numerous points through this album. Yet at the same time they add in a real smooth sound when tracks focus more on ambient sound effects. They also add in a lot of intricate guitar parts and just help make the music something deep, that you can dive into. The guitars give a lot of life into this album and at least in my opinion are a major highlight from this band.

It is worth taking the time to talk about the ambient sounds/synth effects throughout the album, provided by keyboardist Brian Waters. They either serve as a backdrop or get there fair share of attention throughout the course of the album. In many cases these effects and the keys become the backbone of the music by giving a solid sound for the rest of the instruments to work off of. These sounds mesh well with the guitars and give an added texture to the music. They also break up the heavy sound by providing a number of quieter moments. The real ambient moments are really pleasant and soothing. I also think it is really neat that the keys and synth effects are placed in certain spots to make a contrast of heavy and calm.

The majority of In Parables is loud, chaotic, and heavy, but with the ambient sounds in place, it balances the sound out from being anything too intense. There are also a few instrumental tracks that help break up the chaos and give the listener a chance to float away with the soothing sounds. The instrumental in the middle of the album, “Stasis,” is placed particularly well; with it being right in the center of the album giving us a nice break in the journey.

As amazing as the music is, the story crafted in this album has to be my favorite aspect. There is a lot of depth to these lyrics and it is some impressive song writing. I like how the band can make an engaging story, yet at the same time this story is relatable to each and every one of us. Every human, whether they focus on it or not is looking for truth; which makes this tale relatable to anyone, since everyone is longing for answers and an ultimate truth. This story shows the quest for truth and all of the experiences and trials that occur along that road. Most of the road is long and challenging but the key is that the journey is worth it in the end and redemption is found. This story is weaved in tightly and flows seamlessly track-to-track. Even if you don’t care for the music, the story itself is interesting enough to look into.

Even though I enjoyed each song individually, its best to listen to the album as a whole to fully appreciate the tracks and understand the full story. There is one song in particular though that stood out to me, which was the final track “Redemption.” This song does a great job of wrapping up the adventure and brings everything to a nice close. The last few lines stood out to me:


Far off the path that I began I found love but I was forced to watch it drown/ Revenge compelled me to burn my past alive and give into my demise/ But my father tells me no, “son continue on this road.”/ Down this path we proceed/ Keeping faith in our reach

Overall: I didn’t know what to expect upon receiving this CD from the band. I had heard a couple songs off a stream and they sounded good. But I did not expect to like it this much. Adeste has truly crafted a beautiful story and some equally impressive music. For the bands first album I’m blown away with how great this sounds production-wise and just the level of talent all these band members possess. Adeste’s sound is fine tuned, passionate, and one enjoyable journey from start to finish. While not perfect, In Parables is definitely solid and worth checking out. This is a band I intend to keep a close eye on in the future and I’m very excited to see where that will take them. - Indie Vision Music

Is the scene just not cutting it for you? Do you enjoy a good metalcore or post-hardcore album, even though the genres as they now exist are continually crucified due to the lengths labels like Rise and their bands will go to profit at the expense of musical integrity? If so, you're a lot like me. I ventured into Adeste's thread in the self-promotion forum without high expectations, considering their RIYL was similar to countless bands in their genre. Thankfully, looks can be very deceiving. I was floored halfway through, and this was one of the rare times where an album captivated me after a single listen. So, I'm gracing it with my first review.

In Parables embarks with "Dawning", a gentle, hypnotizing lullaby, which might confuse you into thinking Adeste are a post-rock band and that I completely BS’ed their RIYL. "Foundations" begins with a bang; a driving opening guitar line followed by a dark, elegant piano melody similar to what Falling Up's Dawn Escapes is known for. Enter the ferocious snarling created by the group’s combined vocals, coupled with the bleeps, bloops, and breakdowns characteristic of Sky Eats Airplane. This sound remains consistent for the album’s entirety, permeating "Seeking" and "Numbers"; the latter being the obvious single thanks to the superbly catchy intro. It's also at this point where you begin to hear the strong presence of The Receiving End of Sirens throughout the album. Theatrical, atmospheric guitars coupled with clean vocals evocative of Between the Heart and the Synapse abound.

A charismatic and anthemic interlude awaits with “Stasis”, reminiscent of a less dark, more charming version of Of Machines' "Sailing Alone around the Room". "Waking" begins with bloops that could have been pulled straight from Sky Eats Airplane's Everything Perfect on the Wrong Day, leading into rolling percussion accompanied by fierce screams, then shifting to the start of a recurring melodic déjà vu. "Mourning" opens with a good minute and a half’s worth of something I’d expect from The Dear Hunter, continuing with further lovely guitar builds and chanted gang vocals. The best part waits at the end, with beautiful acoustic guitar backed by a soft piano melody. "Redemption" brings all the best elements of the album together into an epic and climactic closure, lifting you to the heavens toward the end with emotive screams and a guitar-backed piano melody layered behind soaring vocal harmonies.

The best part about In Parables as a whole is that it's a concept album. The most interesting parts of the album occur because of repetition. There are several instances where specific phrases and melodies are repeated or fused between tracks, intended for both the recollection and foreshadowing of events in the story. It suits the album quite well as a poetic device, despite critics surmising that the repetition is a sign of the musicianship lacking ingenuity.

My complaints against the album are few. It could use a little more intricacy in the guitars with less pronounced breakdowns. They seem to take away, though marginally, from the originality that Adeste has presented with this album. Additionally, the screams aren’t entirely perfect, and “Structure” and “Retribution” could’ve used more of the instrumentally interesting spots present in the rest of the album. The production is also slightly underwhelming and would benefit from adding a little more gloss to Adeste's sound, but that’s no real problem for anyone who’s not a perfectionist.

Adeste has successfully exhaled a creative second wind back into the lungs of a style often wholly dismissed by anyone who sees their taste as being superior to that of a scenester’s. Three years of hard work independent of label funds have shaped In Parables to contain exactly the differences that should be embraced by bands in the post-hardcore/metalcore scene while still relating to it. It abandons the formulaic approach—overdone chugga chugga breakdowns, out of place synthesizer, and auto-tuned, excessively high-pitched vocals, all glazed over with the artificial sheen of overproduction—and replaces it with uncommonly entrancing instrumentation and lyrics with a cohesive message, while still maintaining intensity. It should only be a brief matter of time before Adeste are offered a signing after this great debut, but they’d be prudent to continue the dedication they've had to their music while creating it. Adeste have become living proof that the scene isn’t necessarily a terrible thing to associate with. - Absolute Punk

Vocalist/Guitarist Morgan Hopfensperger recently gave me some of his time for an interview, in which we discuss the band’s formation, the story behind their debut album In Parables, and the future of his band Adeste.

First off, could you give us your name and role in the band?

Perhaps all of the band members should collaborate on the answers to this interview, but whatever. I can’t fall asleep and I’m excited to answer some questions about the album. This is Morgan, and I play (rhythm) guitar and vocals (mostly singing, a little bit of screaming) in Adeste.

How did Adeste first come together?

Adeste formed in February of 2007 in West Palm Beach, FL. A few of us went to college together and were pretty much the only people there who were interested in this style of music, so we decided to start playing together. After recording our first EP, our lead guitarist had obligations back at home (in Orlando), so he had to take off. So we had about a year where we had absolutely nothing to do except think about what we wanted to do next once we got back on our feet. We tried to fill his position, but no one seemed to be able to do what he does. In May of 2008, I graduated from college, and we moved up to Orlando to get back with our guitarist and start writing In Parables.

Where does the name Adeste come from?

Adeste is a Latin word. Loosely translated, it means “be present”.

What was it like putting an album together without the support of a label?

Putting together a full length album without the support of a label is really hard. For starters, you get what you pay for. If you want to record for cheap, you’re going to get a cheap-sounding record. If you want to do it right, you have to invest – just like any other investment. All of the members of this band either go to school or work full time. With no label support, funding this project was all on us. We like it that way though. We were able to do it exactly how we wanted to do it, without any obligation to, or restrictions from a record label. In Parables was funded by our members, out of pocket, because we believed in the importance of doing it right. Now we have an album that we did all by ourselves, which just makes us all the more proud of it!

In Parables hasn’t been out for long, but you guys are already getting quite a decent amount of hype online. What do you think has caused this sudden burst in popularity?

As for the hype we have been getting online, we couldn’t be more happy – or more surprised. Sure when we released the album, we promoted from our personal Facebook pages to our friends and all, but most of them don’t even like the style of music we play. Somehow, In Parables has gotten an overwhelmingly good response online. I think that this genre has become so saturated, within the last few years, with mediocre music that fans are itching for something DIFFERENT. I’m not saying that In Parables is the most innovative thing to have ever come out, but I think it’s unique in terms of this genre. I think people have been waiting for an album like this. Also, people really seem to connect with the concept of the album. In short, I think fans of this genre have been waiting for somthing original to come out.

In Parables is what could be considered a concept album. Where did the idea for the album come from?

The concept for the album came about during our year-long hiatus. The members of this band are all very close friends, and are familiar with each other’s life stories. We wanted to make an album that took parts of each individual’s story, and roll them all up into one epic journey. The album is a collection of personal experiences from each person in the band, tied into one story. So I guess it’s somewhat autobiographical, but we wanted it to teach a lesson. We want to tell people to form their beliefs on their own, and search for their truths – not just take what they were taught for face value. The lesson is that no matter who you are or what you’ve done, there is always redemption, and you are always loved.


In Parables has a unique sound that mixes hardcore with ambient elements. What has influenced you and inspired you to eventually come out with a product such as In Parables?

We wanted In Parables to convey a story – lyrically and musically. Every good story has ups and downs - exciting parts with action, and slow parts with reflection and contemplation. We wanted the music to reflect that dynamic. Albums that are super fast and hard all the way through are exhausting. Albums that are really chill all the way through are boring. We have so many musical influences, and want to blend everything we like together. We really want to create the music that WE would want to hear, so combining all of our influences and musical tastes is key. Some of my favorite bands are Underoath, Explosions in the Sky, The Album Leaf, Emery, and Muse. The other guys in the band have similar taste. We want to play everything, but we’re only in one band, so we just have to combine everything we love into one sound.

For those who have not heard In Parables, how would you personally describe the album?

For someone who hasn’t heard In Parables, I would describe it as a hardcore musical. It sounds like the score for an intense film. I’ve been told by people that, even though they have never liked hardcore, they like In Parables. Perhaps I would suggest they listen to it once all the way through and really pay attention. If they don’t like it, that’s cool. We still love you. But hopefully you’ll appreciate its uniqueness.

Coming from Orlando which has such a bustling local scene, what have the reactions from your peers been in regards to In Parables?

Everyone in Orlando is awesome. The music scene here is great. The fans are supportive, people come out to shows, sing along, hang out with us afterward, and are just generally amazing. The other bands in the area aren’t in competition with each other. They work together, which is a nice change of pace. That was the main reason we moved to Orlando. I can’t say enough good things about the people of Orlando. When we lived in West Palm Beach, we were lucky if we played to 15 people at a show. In Orlando, sometimes we have trouble fitting everyone inside the building. This is an amazing town.

With an album finally out, what are Adeste’s plans in 2011?

2011 is looking good for Adeste. Right now, we’re finishing up a documentary about the making of In Parables, and will be sending our press kits to some record labels. I guess we’ll see. This is a tough business. If we get noticed, we’re ready to get out there. If not, we’re proud of the album we made, and we’ll keep pressing on. We’re just going to spend 2011 pursuing every opportunity that presents itself.

Before we wrap up the interview, is there anything you would like to add?

The only thing I would like to add is that we do this for fans, not ourselves. We just want to share our message and give people joy. However many people we are able to reach is worth it to us. Whoever you are, whatever you do, Adeste loves you. No matter what kind of success we may or may not see, we will always talk to you, answer your questions give you a big hug, and do whatever we can to brighten your day. We’re so thankful that people like the music we make, and we are here for you! - Mind Equals Blown

Adeste

(Screamo/Experimental/Hardcore)
Adeste - Orlando, Florida

I saw Adeste open for Hand to Hand this weekend. These guys are RIDICULOUS! They may look all happy-go-lucky in this promo pic, but make no mistake, Adeste’s music is hard, aggressive and (dare I say) epic. There is also a lot of technicality to the music. You can tell they practice their asses off until they get it right. If I had to compare them to a band, I would say Underoath, but there are only slight similarities. There were a lot of things about their show that made this band stand out, but the one thing I do remember was that the synth player had what looked like a deer head attached to his keyboard stand, antlers and all. I wish I could say more about these guys but I have only seen one show and I have yet to listen to their whole record. But, if hard aggressive (and progressive) music is what you’re into, you should give these guys a listen. - The Music Elitist