Sirens & Sailors

We live in a world where artists that express creativity and skill are overshadowed by those with commercial appeal and mainstream heart throbs. We here at TNR have the slogan “Setting Trends and Destroying the Masses”, and that is exactly what we hope to do. We’re building a city of metal. So beware Justin Bieber. Beware Nickelback. One day metal will reign. It will cover music like the seas cover the earth. In the vast ocean of metal, Sirens & Sailors are the latest metalcore act to emerge from the crevices. This nautical band’s debut Still Breathing will travel through the depths. It will shake Atlantis and will knock Poseidon off his feet.

In Greek mythology, a Siren was a bird-like woman that would attempt to seduce sailors into ship-wrecking onto rocks with their enchanting voices. The sailor you see tied down in their artwork is assumed to be the man you hear emerging from the stormy waters, fleeing from the eerie cries of those Sirens in the opening track, “It Has Begun”. All of this relates to Sirens & Sailors story of pain and difficulty, their ability to break out of adversity, and to be “Still Breathing”.

Kyle Bihrle’s high shrieks and low growls echo through your ears, and his emotion and honesty can easily be sensed. The occasional uses of clean vocals add to this. In “Someday Never Comes”, the clean vocals side with the flailing guitar to create an atmosphere that is simply haunting. Their brutality is not lacking either; The heaviest song on the album, “Birthday Party for Puppies”, demonstrates this: bone crushing breakdowns, blast beats, and an impressive growl at the end. “Still Breathing” is perhaps the most impressive song, especially due to the creative use of a sound effects incorporated with the beat of the song.

To continue breaking this album down song by song would be difficult, considering the diversity of each song and the multiple genres that can be found. The overall tone that this album has, however, is something that I cannot ignore. It is a very creative and unique atmosphere that these guys have been able to create. The album closer “Jaunt!” perfects this with its uplifting singing and touching instrumental closer, that ends with a simple yet strong harmonic.

Still Breathing has a couple of fillers, such as “Tough Luck”, which features a bluesy guitar that just does not seem to flow with the rest of the album. This is not to say that they are bad songs; to me they just took away from the flow. There are places where you can sense immaturity in interim’s used in a couple songs, and they don’t redefine any genres. Nonetheless, What Sirens & Sailors HAS done is create a debut album that is emotionally uplifting, an atmosphere that is intriguing, and the best part is that it will cause you to bang your head. This is a release is definitely worth checking out, and this definitely a band to keep your eyes on in the future. - The New Review

Rochester, NY’s Sired & Sailors are ‘a breath of fresh air’ according to their MySpace bio, and for as hackneyed and tired sounding, not to mention a tad bit ostentatious, a statement as that is, you can’t fault the boys for being right. With their latest full length Still Breathing, the Steel City quintet proves they are just that – a breath of fresh air – in spades, through their tried and true, not-quite-so-blueprint metalcore sounds.

Still Breathing is a jolt to the system, a heady reminder of why those of us who jam out to this type of controlled chaos were drawn to the now oft-maligned genre initially, and for that these guys should be commended. Though the album starts out somewhat uneventfully ("Someday Never Comes"), it isn’t long before Sirens and Sailors begin to fire on all cylinders, full speed ahead. From here on in, all bets are off as Still Breathing chugs on like a concrete slab, firing off one tasty guitar riff after another, tossing in perfectly implemented gang vocals to add a bit of an old-school vibe to the affair ("Tough Luck," "Birthday Parties for Puppies"), and for those that err on the melodic side of things, the record offers those moments for you as well ("Our Design," "Now That Its Over"). But perhaps the best is truly saved for last here, as the closing tandem of the penultimate title track and "Jaunt!" cap off Still Breathing with enough vim and vigor to make you want to start things all over again for another go around.

This record is an emphatic statement for Sirens and Sailors, but more so its evidence that these guys are ready to ply their trade at the next level.

Grade: B+

Go Download: "Now That It’s Over" - StarPulse.com

During his band’s performance at this year’s RageFest, Sirens and Sailors’ guitarist Jimm Lindsley was ready to bring the pain, albeit inadvertently.

In the middle of an intense song, the 29-year-old planted his foot on a stage monitor. Unfortunately, a young female fan’s hand was there first.

Lindsley, who performs without his prescription glasses, was unaware of the situation until the girl started screaming. The guitarist then moved his foot, leaned over and apologized to the fan, who assured Lindsley that her discomfort was no big deal.

“She just smiled and said, ‘It’s cool,’ and went back to rocking out,” recalls Lindsley. “It was the greatest thing ever.”

Indeed, when it comes to a Sirens and Sailors show, pain is love. And during the past five years, there’s been plenty of adoration to go around.

Thanks to its epic live show, a strong work ethic and intense passion, Sirens and Sailors has become one of the most respected acts in town. That admiration is likely to grow when the band releases its ferocious debut album, Still Breathing, at The Club at Water Street on Saturday, Nov. 13.

“This is full circle of everything we’ve gone through, good or bad,” says lead singer Kyle Bihrle, 24. “The songs encompass the past three or four years of us being a band. I think we’re way more determined now than we’ve ever been.”

Bihrle started Sirens and Sailors in 2005 with current lead guitarist Todd Golder, 22, and bassist Jon Turner, 26. The band tried out a few lineups before adding Lindsley in 2007 and drummer Doug Court, 20, a year later.

Sirens’ mix of metal and hardcore with intricate song structures makes the group as progressive, if not more so, than popular national acts like Every Time I Die or August Burns Red. When it came time to finally put Sirens’ music on a full-length album, band members reached out to close friend and Red Booth Recording producer Brian Moore.

“We fully believe in everything he does, and he fully believes in us,” says Lindsley.

In fact, Moore believed in the band so much that he’s donated hundreds of hours of studio time, choosing to work as a sponsor for the album with a clear goal in mind: “To make the CD they’ve wanted to make for years,” Moore says.

The end result is faster and heavier than anything Sirens and Sailors has done. The foundation of Still Breathing is Court’s technical drumming with massive guitars that roar in at will. And Bihrle’s epic growl — a commanding instrument — has grown even more menacing on tracks like “Dead or Alive” and “Now That It’s Over.”

The band spent the first four days of recording by playing the songs straight through in the studio. The hope was to capture Sirens’ live sound, which is no small task.

“They’re probably one of the best bands I have ever shared the stage with, both on a national and local level,” says 23-year-old Adrian Blackwell, lead singer of local band Call Me the Patriot.

During Sirens’ performance at this past summer’s Warped Tour, the band drew one of the biggest audiences on Warped’s Ernie Ball Stage. About halfway through Sirens’ set, a fan did a summersault into the front row, nailing another spectator in the back of the head. After checking to see if he was bleeding, the man looked up at the stage and yelled out one word — “Awesome!”

Amid all the thunderstorm-like chaos of their live performances, the members of Sirens and Sailors share a surprisingly harmonious vibe. Nothing they do is choreographed. Yet, their movements often appear in sync. They even smile in unison sometimes. And as ferocious as they seem onstage, the band members are far more low-key off of it.

Lindsley spends his free time chilling with friends.

“Nothing beats a good night of beer pong at my house,” he says.

Court is a self-proclaimed dork who participates in Halo tournaments.

“Anyone out there who plays Xbox, I play more than you,” he proclaims.

Then there’s Bihrle, the group’s most complex and mysterious member. He works at a car wash, which gives him flexible hours and time to come up with lyrics. He’s also a huge movie buff and a fan of Greek mythology (where the name Sirens and Sailors comes from).

When he performs, Bihrle admits he becomes a different person — one who gives everything he has to the crowd.

During a recent tour, he threw out his neck while singing. The next night, he was onstage giving it his all. That’s because for Bihrle the pain is love, but the love always comes first.

“Yeah, we’re energetic for a live show, but the people there are returning the energy,” he says emphatically. “We don’t say they’re our fans. They’re our friends. They’re coming to support something that we do, and we can’t begin to explain the amount of gratitude we have.” - The Insider - Troy L. Smith

Scary Metal Band of the Year: Sirens and Sailors (www.myspace.com/sirensandsailorsny) - The Insider

Rochester hardcore/metal band Sirens and Sailors played their first show with new drummer Doug Court last year at Rage Fest and will return to headline this year's event at Water Street Music Hall on Friday, Aug. 28, for what singer Kyle Bihrle calls a sort of "anniversary show."

"We're just really looking forward to it," says Bihrle, 23. "We get to play the big side at Water Street, which is always fun, and we get to see all our friends. We'll play a longer set than usual. We usually play six songs; we're gonna play maybe eight or nine songs this time, since we haven't played Rochester in so long."

Sirens and Sailors — made up of Court, Bihrle, lead guitarist Todd Golder, rhythm guitarist Jim Lindsley and bassist Jon Turner — recently returned from their first tour, which made stops along the East Coast and in the Midwest, with Knights of the Abyss and several other bands.

We had a chance to speak with Bihrle about that tour, the first full-length album and plans for an upcoming national tour.

How was your first tour?
It was a very exciting tour for all of us. We went out as a new band to everyone that we met, and we pretty much just made a lot of new friends, played a lot of great shows and made a lot of great memories from it.

Where did you spend your nights?
We spent every night in our van for the first week, and all of us didn't get to shower for that whole first week. And down in the South it was obviously really hot in the van, and we were burning our asses off in there. One night we got lucky and got to stay in this mansion in Washington, D.C., and we got a full meal cooked for us ... and we all got a shower. We also stayed in a doublewide trailer in the middle of nowhere, in Georgia or somewhere like that, and we had to sleep on the floor, and there were mice running around ... and stuff like that. But it was all in good fun; you can't really be picky.

If your career could model any band's, which band would it be?
I'm not saying we want to be huge — it wouldn't hurt — but bands like Every Time I Die that just have amazing respect from their city, Buffalo. Everywhere they go they seem to bring the party, and, really, that's what it's about. We're not a bunch of asshole dudes you can't come up and talk to; we're all very open-minded people, and we love talking to everyone.

Sirens and Sailors is working on a full-length album, correct?
It should be out early next year, probably around springtime. We don't know for definite, but we have a timeline that we're following. We're still writing.

I saw that the band will soon be announcing dates for its first national tour.
We're still waiting on all the details, but we will be going nationwide in the fall. It should be for at least a month and a half. We'll be going pretty much all around the U.S. We weren't ready to come home from the last tour; we were ready to go for more, so we've all been itching to get out again. - The Insider/Metromix

Vans Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman need not worry.

In this, its 15th year, Lyman’s festival may not pull as many superstar acts as it used to (Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Katy Perry, etc.), but it still packed enough fire power to bring out a sea of skinny jeans, short shorts and bad haircuts to Darien Lake Performing Arts Center Wednesday.

This year’s event — which drew a noticeably bigger crowd than last year — started off slow. Much hyped acts like Reel Big Fish and The Pretty Reckless played in front of disappointing crowds as the venue’s gates opened at 11 a.m.

The Pretty Reckless’ performance didn’t help matters. Frontwoman Taylor Momsen (famous for her role as Jesse Humphrey on The CW’s Gossip Girl) rocked out as if someone had slipped her some Ambien. It wasn’t until the last two songs that the 16-year-old woke up, shouting out profanities and begging the crowd to make some noise. They didn’t oblige.

Things picked up later in the afternoon. The local music scene was represented well — both Rochester’s Polar Bear Club and Buffalo’s Every Time I Die drew large crowds. And Rochester band Sirens and Sailors’ ferocious metal sound stood out on the festival’s otherwise dismal Ernie Ball Stage.

Other strong sets came from party head-banger Andrew W.K. and We The Kings, who generated massive screams during a cover of Jimmy East World’s “The Middle.” And the award for most intriguing performance of the day goes to crabcore band Attack Attack! which performed in a crouched down, crab-like position during its entire set.

Another major highpoint belonged to Sum 41. The veteran punk-rock band had virtually disappeared after the early 2000s. However, its Warped Tour performance showcased a band every bit as energetic and in your face as the one that ruled MTV’s airwaves with hits like “Fat Lip” and “In Too Deep.”

Still, there was no surprise as to the band that truly separated itself from the pack at this year’s show. The All-American Rejects hit the main stage at 3:45 p.m. like a bolt of lighting. The biggest difference between last year’s show and this year’s was the Rejects, who seemed delighted to embrace their role as de facto headliners.

The platinum-selling rockers didn’t disappoint, running through hits like “Dirty Little Secrets” and “Gives You Hell” with a carefree, frat-boy mentality. And even when lead-singer Tyson Ritter forgot the words to the band’s earliest hit “Swing Swing,” the crowd had his back.

“This song is so old,” he yelled. The fans didn’t care. Decked out in a white suit, Ritter grabbed his crotch repeatedly, made fun of the VIP section and dropped the f-bomb more than dozen times. It was the kind of “it” factor lacking from last year’s festival, that made this year’s memorable.

Lyman can thank his lucky stars. - The Democrat & Chronicle

“Cattle Skulls Shotgun Shells,” by Sirens and Sailors (2007)
“Whether you enjoy metal or not, Sirens and Sailors writes great songs. Their music is theatrical and technical, combining the best of both worlds. ‘Cattle Skulls and Shotgun Shells’ has a great theme that creates visuals that seem to come straight out of a movie or play. Not to mention that every member of that band is super-talented.”
- The Insider