Metaphor for Everything

f the world is indeed set to expire on December 21, 2012 as some have predicted, then Canton rock trio Metaphor for Everything is ready to go out with a bang, having already written the perfect anthem for the occasion.

The band’s latest single, “2012,” tackles the impending apocalypse head-on, satirically dismissing concerns such as the melting of the polar ice caps and the dream of world peace, while boldly proclaiming in the opening lines that “I’ve given up and it feels great.”
Written by Metaphor’s singer/guitarist Brett Greene, “2012” is at once heavy and light — a catchy, fast-paced blend of dark humor and existentialism that is about “giving up on the world because you buy into the apocalyptic vision.”
“The song is really a satire on this collective idea of an apocalypse,” explained Brett, who was voted “Most Original” in the Canton High class of 2002. “It’s [rooted in the] hope that we can start to overcome this obsession with our own mortality and come up with a sustainable, collective way of dealing with our planet and ourselves.”
The popular three-piece outfit, which also includes Brett’s brother Eric (CHS ’04) on drums/vocals and Steve Post (CHS ’01) on bass/vocals, was planning to release “2012” sometime this week on their Myspace and Facebook pages — just in time to build some hype for their show next Friday at the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge.
The June 22 show, dubbed “Countdown to the End of the World,” will be the band’s biggest to date and also their first-ever appearance at the famous Downstairs, which is arguably the most important venue on the Boston music scene. Metaphor for Everything will headline the 18-plus event, which will also feature performances by Run Gazelle Run, Hot Molasses, and The Brother Kite.
“We’ve paid our dues like everybody else,” said Eric, yet another “Most Original” as voted by his CHS classmates. “By the time I joined [Metaphor], we were already getting Friday and Saturday night gigs in the city. We’ve since played a lot of clubs around Boston, including All Asia, the Middle East Upstairs, T.T. the Bears, and the Cask’n Flagon.”
Amazingly, Eric had never even played the drums until one random afternoon a few years ago, when he “hopped on the drum kit and started jamming out” with Brett and Steve, who had just recently started playing together themselves after running into one another at UMass Boston.
The two friends had played together years earlier as part of an avant garde jazz/rock project, but they had not seen each other since shortly after high school. By that time, Steve had not played any kind of rock music in years, having instead gone off to UMass Amherst, where he studied the violin and later the viola.
Although the two had drifted apart, Steve said he had always loved Brett’s songs and they were never too far from his mind. “They’re the kind of songs that you hear once and they’re in your head,” he said. “They had always stuck with me, and I was always convinced that his songs were great.”
The reunited duo auditioned several drummers and even hired a session drummer before “discovering” Eric, whose signature sound seemed to fit the band like a glove.
“I had never really thought of him as a drummer,” admitted Brett of his brother. “It was sort of this psychic conclusion that we all kind of came to.”
The current iteration of the band boasts a unique sound that is not “easily classifiable,” according to Eric. However, they are greatly influenced by classic rock, including bands such as the Beatles, the Grateful Dead, and especially The Band, as well as more modern groups such as Ween and the Flaming Lips.
“We have soft songs; we have loud songs,” explained Eric. “We have slow songs; we have fast songs. No two of our songs sound the same. We really run the gamut.”
They currently feature four original tracks on their myspace page, and Steve did the recording and sound engineering on all of them. Brett said Steve does “amazing” work and described him a - Canton Citizen

f the world is indeed set to expire on December 21, 2012 as some have predicted, then Canton rock trio Metaphor for Everything is ready to go out with a bang, having already written the perfect anthem for the occasion.

The band’s latest single, “2012,” tackles the impending apocalypse head-on, satirically dismissing concerns such as the melting of the polar ice caps and the dream of world peace, while boldly proclaiming in the opening lines that “I’ve given up and it feels great.”
Written by Metaphor’s singer/guitarist Brett Greene, “2012” is at once heavy and light — a catchy, fast-paced blend of dark humor and existentialism that is about “giving up on the world because you buy into the apocalyptic vision.”
“The song is really a satire on this collective idea of an apocalypse,” explained Brett, who was voted “Most Original” in the Canton High class of 2002. “It’s [rooted in the] hope that we can start to overcome this obsession with our own mortality and come up with a sustainable, collective way of dealing with our planet and ourselves.”
The popular three-piece outfit, which also includes Brett’s brother Eric (CHS ’04) on drums/vocals and Steve Post (CHS ’01) on bass/vocals, was planning to release “2012” sometime this week on their Myspace and Facebook pages — just in time to build some hype for their show next Friday at the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge.
The June 22 show, dubbed “Countdown to the End of the World,” will be the band’s biggest to date and also their first-ever appearance at the famous Downstairs, which is arguably the most important venue on the Boston music scene. Metaphor for Everything will headline the 18-plus event, which will also feature performances by Run Gazelle Run, Hot Molasses, and The Brother Kite.
“We’ve paid our dues like everybody else,” said Eric, yet another “Most Original” as voted by his CHS classmates. “By the time I joined [Metaphor], we were already getting Friday and Saturday night gigs in the city. We’ve since played a lot of clubs around Boston, including All Asia, the Middle East Upstairs, T.T. the Bears, and the Cask’n Flagon.”
Amazingly, Eric had never even played the drums until one random afternoon a few years ago, when he “hopped on the drum kit and started jamming out” with Brett and Steve, who had just recently started playing together themselves after running into one another at UMass Boston.
The two friends had played together years earlier as part of an avant garde jazz/rock project, but they had not seen each other since shortly after high school. By that time, Steve had not played any kind of rock music in years, having instead gone off to UMass Amherst, where he studied the violin and later the viola.
Although the two had drifted apart, Steve said he had always loved Brett’s songs and they were never too far from his mind. “They’re the kind of songs that you hear once and they’re in your head,” he said. “They had always stuck with me, and I was always convinced that his songs were great.”
The reunited duo auditioned several drummers and even hired a session drummer before “discovering” Eric, whose signature sound seemed to fit the band like a glove.
“I had never really thought of him as a drummer,” admitted Brett of his brother. “It was sort of this psychic conclusion that we all kind of came to.”
The current iteration of the band boasts a unique sound that is not “easily classifiable,” according to Eric. However, they are greatly influenced by classic rock, including bands such as the Beatles, the Grateful Dead, and especially The Band, as well as more modern groups such as Ween and the Flaming Lips.
“We have soft songs; we have loud songs,” explained Eric. “We have slow songs; we have fast songs. No two of our songs sound the same. We really run the gamut.”
They currently feature four original tracks on their myspace page, and Steve did the recording and sound engineering on all of them. Brett said Steve does “amazing” work and described him a - Canton Citizen

Malaga (Weltexpress) - Targeting an audience both older and younger- an audience that remembers more traditional and “classic” style song writing –with actual substance- and young people who are disillusioned with the top 40 crap, Metaphor for Everything tries to spur on discussion without being overly preachy.
Politics are not their focal point, the point behind their music is for people to enjoy music for music’s sake yet sneakily they’re inviting you to listen closer and really think about what they are saying. They do have important things to say, but don’t we all?
That’s just it; it’s the way they say these things. Giving the audience the respect to come to their own conclusions with the material they are presented with is the best way of being open to discussion and drawing the listeners in. Metaphor for Everything is doing exactly that with their sound.

Metaphor For Everything came to be after a series of attempts with former bands such as Unherd; the guys decided to role with lyrics a little less political and less rebellious.

All the songs of their new EP bring their own meaning, their own vibe which leads the listener to their own interpretations of the lyrics.
However there is one in particular that brings along a feeling of peace and beauty, pain and relief; the song is -Jaco Sunrise. Not only is the music hypnotizing and contagious, the words intense and inviting it also has the ability to take you to places and as you all might have established by my previous writing, this is something I take very seriously: Music isn’t music if it can’t take you places. Jaco Sunrise takes us all the way to Vietnam.

“I went to Vietnam this summer. It was an enlightening experience in many ways. Beautiful country, peaceful people, much to love, but also much to be afraid of. Also in this song I`m trying to get at the heart of a very complex relationship between Vietnam and America. There was extreme beauty and extreme ugliness side by side. The juxtaposition is incredibly powerful. Jaco Sunrise is among other things, about the collective guilt that America has (or should have) for its involvement in that part of the world. But that`s not at the surface it’s barely even a subtext, I mean for the song, for its subject matter, to pull that from people.
Because the feeling is there. For me, it was about going to a place that was completely unknown and giving up all pretence of control,” Brett explains.

The group has come a long way since their bedroom jamming sessions; which is why the name Metaphor For Everything struck me as a rather interesting choice. Turns out these guys have been tackling Nietzsche.

“His essay "On Truth and Lying in a non-moral sense" very much inspired me. In it, he talks about how words are simply metaphors, arbitrary in themselves, which seek to get at that which we can never perfectly arrive at, oblivion. Reading Nietzsche (and not all of his work by any means) accomplishes what great writing is meant to do for me, it makes me able to voice what I`ve known all along but could never say as a songwriter, I know that language can only bring people part of the way, but they have to open a door that can`t be opened with reason. That`s what the music is for, “says Brett.

Metaphor For Everything have touched on subjects usually marked as “Best Left Alone”, bringing suicidal thoughts and tendencies into the spotlight in a emotional yet crudely sarcastic fashion; in a manner that will not leave you wishing for the hot bath and the razor blade but will make you contemplate the beauties of life and the message they are trying to deliver.
“Love Note” shows the musicians maturity by means of the carefully considered atmosphere they have managed to build into this track ; the song starts out in a calm and serene approach before moving into a place less sure, less relaxed instead full of fears and emotions accompanied by a fueled guitar solo. With this song they have succeeded to draw the listener in to their thoughts and nightmares in a way many other bands are still unable to accomplish.
Somehow these guys will have you jumping up and down and letting out all of your weeks frustrations whilst reaching for the lighter to sway along to their heart felt songs, thus I can say without a doubt that Metaphor For Everything have managed to create a sound for all. A sound for all those who are pissed off with the world and its issues, for all those who are asking themselves questions that have yet remained unanswered and for all those who are looking to sit back, relax and let the tunes and lyrics take their mind from their every day confrontations: This band will open new doors for you.

As you can see a lot of thought has been put into the new band name, their lyrics and their overall music; and this is exactly the impression Metaphor For Everything will leave you with, a band that wants to touch up on more than endless whining and complaining about cheating girlfriends, getting was - Weltexpress

Metaphor for Everything - "Giaco Sunrise" [sic]


Joyfully scatterbrained song that starts with a repeating downward motif, but quickly morphs into something more... progressive sounding. The guitar continues the feel of different motifs, settling into little harmonic nooks and crannies in the song. Just when you think you're going to land someplace completely new and different, we're back in the original guitar motif.

Metaphor for Everything hasn't just arranged this song well - we daresay they have orchestrated it, such is its smooth flow into new musical movements. Metaphor for Everything cycles through various feels - repetitive sections blossom into a free-wheeling spillage of music and rhythm that comes together just so.

Metaphor for Everything seems to have it all - the ability to musically scat at one point and then land into a solid, locked-in chorus at another point - in the same song. They manage to cram musical nerdery (come on, let's face it) and solid melodic songwriting into once piece. Perhaps their band name is appropriate after all.

<www.bostonbandcrush.com> 12/29/09 - Boston Band Crush (www.bostonbandcrush.com)

Metaphor for Everything - "Giaco Sunrise" [sic]


Joyfully scatterbrained song that starts with a repeating downward motif, but quickly morphs into something more... progressive sounding. The guitar continues the feel of different motifs, settling into little harmonic nooks and crannies in the song. Just when you think you're going to land someplace completely new and different, we're back in the original guitar motif.

Metaphor for Everything hasn't just arranged this song well - we daresay they have orchestrated it, such is its smooth flow into new musical movements. Metaphor for Everything cycles through various feels - repetitive sections blossom into a free-wheeling spillage of music and rhythm that comes together just so.

Metaphor for Everything seems to have it all - the ability to musically scat at one point and then land into a solid, locked-in chorus at another point - in the same song. They manage to cram musical nerdery (come on, let's face it) and solid melodic songwriting into once piece. Perhaps their band name is appropriate after all.

<www.bostonbandcrush.com> 12/29/09 - Boston Band Crush (www.bostonbandcrush.com)