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“It’s weird. See it’s funny because we have been doing this for so long. When we started, this shit was not cool. EVERYONE told us mixing the two genres wouldn’t work. Hell, a lot of people still feel that way. We’ve just always played what we wanted to hear, and to be honest people weren’t doing it back then. We loved pop punk, we loved hardcore bands, and we couldn’t decide what to be. So we said fuck it. Let’s do them both.”

- Jeremy McKinnon on ADTR’s musical style

Growing up in Ocala, Florida, each member of the current ADTR lineup worked in different bands during their high school life. After getting on a tour, playing over 250 shows and making a name for themselves, the band was signed to Indianola Records and released their debut album, And Their Name Was Treason.

Step One: Realization

Going back and listening to And Their Name Was Treason compared to the band’s latest releases shows quite a change. Though Jeremy McKinnon still sports amazing vocals, the band had a much heavier sound. Working with a darker sound and the raw recording helped the overall dark sound of the first album. At this point though, the band showed what they can do. Though breakdowns were plenty, the pure catchiness of some songs from the album really helped them mold into their true sound. Many fans of ADTR haven’t even heard ATNWT, which is sad because how can you call yourself a true fan if you didn’t even know the band had a first album. Hm.

Songs like A Second Glance and You Should’ve Killed Me When You Had the Chance showed extreme catchiness and fun, featuring awesome choruses and easy to sing along chants. At the same time though, tracks like 1958, Heartless and Casablanca Sucked Anyways managed to be heavy and ridiculous fast. The perfect songs to play live and get the pit going. One of the bands best songs ever though, You Had Me at Hello captured the hearts of listeners and became one of the best acoustic songs I’ve ever heard. Making an even bigger name for themselves from this album caught the attention of Victory Records, and with a new drummer and new record label, it was time for the band to explode bigger and faster.

Step Two: Heart

Entering Zing Studio’s with new drummer Alex Shellnut was the next big step for A Day to Remember, and they were soon on the path to create their second full length, For Those Who Have Heart. Boasting a bigger sound and better recording, the band grew lyrically and musically. After endless headlining tours and even playing Warped Tour, the band grew in popularity and then the explosion began.

Suddenly, everybody knew A Day to Remember, endless merch sales and sold out shows all over the world, ADTR blew up in terms of popularity. After the release of FTWHH, the band re-entered the studio with Andrew Wade at Wade Studios and re-released their second album with a few newly recorded tracks, a cover song and even a few new tracks.

The thing that brought fans into FTWHH is the fact that it’s so much fun to listen to. With group chants, awesome hard hitting breakdowns and a poppier sound, the band created an unforgettable album that til this day, I still manage to find myself jamming to all the time.

Step Three: Home

Entering Wade Studios to record their third full length album, Homesick, the band grew through a few difficulties along the way. Losing guitar player Tom Denney to an arm injury and staying away from home even longer to record pushed the band members to their limits. In the end though, it was all worth it for Homesick came out as a fun and catchy listen, even though wear and tear began to show quickly. While the album is so much fun to listen to, the album featured so much filler and repetitiveness that it showed lack of creativity, which makes me fear for any upcoming albums.

Jeremy McKinnon, the vocalist, described Homesick as the bands most personal album to date, and explains how each and every single song captures the heartfelt feelings of being away from home for so long on tour.

Step Four: The future is ours…

On July 10th, 2010, the band announced that they are back in the studio recording their fourth full length album, though no details have been released yet, it’s supposedly going to go back to the bands original sound. Hopefully, the band doesn’t fall over the edge here, because they’ve come a long way and can keep moving that way if they stick together and not forget their roots.

“Hey mom/I wrote you some soft songs/ and tell dad I’m just fine/we have to choose/we’ve made our move/and now we gotta go/ why’s this make me so nervous” – Homesick

What’s your theory on the new ADTR album? Will this be the bands downfall or will they rise up and prove themselves worthy one more time? Argue. Please.