Review: Four Year Strong’s Career-Affirming “Go Down In History”

–Written by Michael Hogan

Every city has their hometown heroes – those bands they’re going to cheer on no matter where they go, be it the other side of the world or that shitty VFW down the street. They’re so meaningful to so many different people that the very idea of them brings a city together, rallying behind them in support of every show, every new album, every single.

When I lived in Boston, we were incredibly lucky to have a huge and diverse music scene. Everything from post-hardcore and metal to pop-punk and hardcore was equally represented. Hell, we can even lay claim to some extremely talented progressive and post-rock bands. There were the kids that wouldn’t miss a Therefore I Am show, there were those that followed Vanna throughout their endless lineup changes, and everyone knew someone who was still mourning the loss of The Receiving End of Sirens. Amongst all cacophony, there was one thing everyone could agree on: Four Year Strong.

They’re a little bit pop-punk. A little bit hardcore. And for the metal kids, they have Dan O’Connor – otherwise known as ‘that dude that played in Bury Your Dead.’ That’s not really a unique identifier in any way since half of Boston has played in Bury Your Dead at some point, but I digress.

I’ve never seen a band possess the ability to unite so many different sub-scenes, especially in they name of slightly-heavier-than-usual pop punk, but they sure as hell did it. They were the undisputed ambassadors of Boston’s music scene – even though they were technically from down the road in Worcester.

And of course, it wasn’t long before the rest of the world started catching on. After the release of Rise of Die Trying, there was no stopping Four Year Strong; they were taking over one light-hearted breakdown at a time. They even made their way to a major label for their next release, Enemy Of The World. But fame is a fickle bitch, and their last album, In Some Way, Shape, or Form, never quite lived up to expectations. Seemingly overnight, the band fell from the public radar. They were still around, but despite an opening slot on tour with Blink 182, and a summer-long stint on Warped Tour 2012, they seemed to be fading away, even leading to rumors of a breakup.

Fast forward to 2014. Four Year Strong are on Warped Tour again, garnering huge support from a still-loyal fanbase. And what do you do when you blaze back into relevance? Release new music, which is exactly what they did. Go Down in History is everything that In Some Way, Shape, or Form couldn’t be for whatever reason. This EP is the final maturation of the band after the departure of synth player Josh Lyford. They finally found the sound they were looking for, and if this album and its already critical response are any indicator FYS are about to be on the fast track to the top once more.

Go Down in History captures the heavy but fun vibes of earlier releases and melds them with some of the more mature tones hinted at on Enemy of the World. They’ve finally ditched the electro-crutch, leaving behind the at-times-too-poppy synth leads for some of the catchiest guitar riffs and vocal melodies I’ve ever heard. They’ve finally worked out the perfect level of heft to their music; the breakdowns never stray into chuggings tuned a few steps too high, but instead are high-energy beatdowns that you would never guess are coming from guitars tuned just out of standard.

If this is a look at the future of Four Year Strong, Boston historians may someday throw this in the same conversation as the 2004 Red Sox. We cheer on our local guys here, and this EP isn’t anything that will soon be forgotten. And as long as Boston still exists, we won’t let anyone else forget it either.

Watch the official music video for “Go Down In History” below, and purchase Go Down In History directly from the band here.