We’ve mentioned it plenty of times here, but most of the bands playing an atmospheric bent of post-hardcore/metalcore today have Hopesfall to thank for pioneering that sound. Their groundbreaking album The Satellite Years, released on October 15th, 2002, still hasn’t aged a bit. It’s a work of art that expertly ebbs and flows between quiet and very loud moments, and tracks like “Escape Pod For Intangibles” and the majestic closer “The Bending” are as much about big guitar riffs as they are melody and mood.
To be fair, though, Hopesfall have made a living cultivating songs that are as much about explosive riffs and outbursts as they are quiet, gentle, and calming moments. Few bands can say they blended shoegaze, melodic hardcore, and the sharpest of metalcore influences coalescing into something truly special, and on The Satellite Years, Hopesfall did just that. In a word, it’s magic.
It’s also not a stretch to say that it’s grown in stature in the years since its initial release. Given the popularity of metalcore, post-hardcore, and even alt-rock bands with some sort of shoegaze or space rock influence (Loathe, Holding Absence, Fleshwater, Blanket, Holy Fawn, Teenage Wrist, Narrow Head, and at least a few dozen more), at least some of them can trace their influences back all the way to this record, and perhaps even bands like Hum and Deftones (the former of which’s Matt Talbott actually produced TSY). Blood runs deep, as it were. Even bands like Erra and Misery Signals have been influenced by this album in some form, which gives you an idea of the kind of wide-range Hopesfall were onto here.
