REACH THE SKY “Open Roads and Broken Dreams MCD”
I remember picking up this EP for the first time right after I saw REACH THE SKY play the defunct Phantasmagoria in Wheaton, Maryland on a wicked Sunday mantinee in 1999. This Boston based group came down here and played a stellar set to a mostly stunned, and quiet audience. Phantasmagoria’s terrific sound system really helped REACH THE SKY come alive, and I’ve been hooked on them ever since. This MCD, “Open Roads and Broken Dreams” was put our originally on East Coast Empire Records and has been out of print for sometime, so now it’s back and with two bonus songs previously hard or impossible to find. The way this band has progressed since this EP is incredible – transforming themselves from being a fairly standard melodic, old-school hardcore band, into their own original sounding, sing-along friendly entity. However, these guys were pretty darn awesome in their first incarnation. “Catch the Last Train” has been a live staple of REACH THE SKY from the beginning and hearing this song remastered is rather blissful. The same goes for the original version of my favorite REACH THE SKY song, “World Stands Still.” The remastering on this EP gives these songs a breathe of fresh life again and emphasizes some of the this band’s heavier, breakdown laden moments. I had to control myself on multiple occasions from starting my own one-man circle part in my room. The bonus material contains the previously unheard song, “April Showers,” and the band’s cover of RITES OF SPRING song, “Spring.” Supported by new, eye-catching artwork, this eight-song, 20 minute MCD is a must have for any true fan of modern hardcore.
Deathwish Inc.
