This is what a band should sound like when they mature.
Demonstrating a clear stylistic departure from Whole Life Crisis, The
Arsons’ sophomore effort (and Mad At The World debut), Bridges Down,
marks a brilliant turning point in the bands’ career. While Whole Life
Crisis saw the Arsons attempting to reconcile a myriad of influences,
Bridges Down is a powerful testament not only of how The Arsons have
shed their skin, but also of how they successfully re-routed their
energy into truly making passion and sincerity sounds of their own.
Succinctly put, this transition marks a point in the Arsons’ career
where they’ve stopped trying to capture a sound, and simply become one.
The revitalized sound embodied on Bridges Down reflects the
uncompromising spirit of the Arsons. Shortly after the release of Whole
Life Crisis, The Arsons were faced with the departure of original
drummer Vinnie Value (Warzone, No Redeeming Social Value, Grey Area,
Kill Your Idols). In addition, then guitarist Ernie Parada suffered a
major leg injury, and the future of the Arsons was uncertain. Unable to
find a suitable drummer, but unwilling to give up a show with good
friends The Bouncing Souls, Ernie found himself trading in his guitar
for a set of drums, and there he stayed. For the first time since his
days in Token Entry, Bridges Down features Ernie banging the drums.
This however, left the band in need of a guitar player, and Jason, whom
Ernie played with in Grey Area, was recruited to permanently solidify
the lineup. With all gears in motion, armed with a tighter sound, the
band was once again whole, and set out to write and record Bridges Down.
In a sense, the Arsons were reborn, and their unbridled charisma now
proves to fill the void in the scene left by the dissolution of acts
such as Kid Dynamite.
It’s no secret that bands like this don’t come around very often. A
quick throw to the past spotlights the band as a veritable ‘Who’s Who’
of New York Punk Rock and Hardcore. Ernie (drums), played in Gilligan's
Revenge, Token Entry, Black Train Jack, and Grey Area. Ernie also
filled in for a wealth of bands, including the Gorilla Biscuits and
Krackdown. Jason (guitar), played in such notable acts as Warzone and
Grey Area. Marc (voice), played alongside Ernie in John Henry and In
Your Face. Alex is just now making his mark.
While The Arsons descend from an impeccable pedigree inextricably tied
to the birth of the New York movement in Hardcore and Punk Rock, Bridges
Down slaps its listener with nothing short of a compassionate
revolution in punk rock that ensures that The Arsons will never merely
be thought of as “ex-members of…” In short, Bridges Down is what Walk
Together, Rock Together was to The Crew (7 Seconds), what Social
Distortion was to Prison Bound (Social Distortion), and what Hello
Bastards was to Background (Lifetime).
