Explosions In The Sky

Though the "quiet to loud" thing has been done so many times, there's something about Austin, Texas's Explosions In The Sky that make you forgive and praise them for what they do. Their debut album, Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Live Forever, is a vast record of tragedy and hope, emphasised by incessant melodies, crashing guitars and pounding drums. The songs are long but they need to be, what with all of the epic emotion and depth put into them. A song like "A Poor Man's Memory" is more like a journey, starting, stopping and continuing in a different direction. The eerie artwork also gives the album a feeling of apocalyptic unease, with the airplane, angels and haunting captions. It's rare that a band so tuneful can be so destructive, but Explosions In The Sky has the ability to obliterate your stereo system, whether it's through the ear-splitting bursts of volume or the almost deafening silence.