Boy Sets Fire
Live for Today
(Wind-Up Entertainment)

Live for Today marks the beginning of a new era for the long-standing hardcore outfit Boy Sets Fire. The six-song (3 studio/3 live) teaser is the band's recording debut under the umbrella of Wind-Up Records (yes, that's Creed's label), and provides a sampler-platter of the material that one should expect to hear on their upcoming full-length (scheduled for release early next year on the same label). The six tracks include 4 brand new, un-released songs, as well as two pre-released tracks that appear on the band's previous effort, After the Eulogy, originally released on Victory Records.

Each new track on Live for Today individually displays a different element of the Boy Sets Fire sound. The first track, "Release the Dogs," is reminiscent of many of the harder tracks on After the Eulogy, and produces some of the fiercest vocals from BSF singer Nathan Gray to date. "Bathory's Sainthood" displays some recent progression in a new-metal power ballad, while "Curtain Call" and "Handful of Redemption" make up the most melodic of the new batch. The production of this record is impeccable, and the performance matches the same standard, with every member flawlessly locked-in synchronically to every drumbeat and guitar strum. The result is beautifully crafted hardcore that musically pleases the listener while simultaneously raising the bar for the genre.
Despite 9/11 aftermath, as well as newfound mainstream success, Boy Sets Fire continue to spit out Marxist fueled messages with a newly developed anti-war sentiment. Their intensity has not weakened, and emotion bleeds from all of the six tracks, stressing immediacy and calling for action.
All in all, Live for Today couples the best the band has to offer from the past, with progression that will come to define the band in the future. With this release, Boy Sets Fire have again opened new doors for hardcore, and their effort will not go unrecognized.

-----------kory