Meet Dead Sara, the Band Who Will Conquer 2012

Upon compiling my list of nominees for Year in Rock, I always come across a handful of bands I'd somehow missed the boat on from earlier in the year, hurriedly familiarize myself with said bands and, in some cases, throw them into an open spot on the list.  Sometimes, that throw-in turns out being the band I go beyond merely liking and fall ass over teakettle in love with.  It happened most memorably with Mastodon in 2004; I picked up Leviathan on a whim and ended up rethinking metal's entire hierarchy.  The reason I tell you this is because in October, I fell ass over teakettle in love with Dead Sara.

So, how the hell did they not make the cut for Year in Rock 2011?

To answer that question is to admit that, even though I fancy myself to be a somewhat modern fellow what with my interweb bulletins and all, I'm still stuck in some of my old ways.  You see, even though Dead Sara released two videos last year in anticipation of their debut album's planned October release, said album got stuck in limbo when major label suitors came a-calling.  Basically, word got around pretty quickly that Dead Sara was onto something special.  One listen to the album is all it takes to be a believer; first tipped off by Antiquiet about its existence before finding a copy online through shameful means, I listened and fell hard.  But, because the album didn't see release in 2011, I deemed it ineligible for Year in Rock.  But don't worry; it'll be here in full force for 2012.

Emily Armstrong's vocals are amazing on this record; she recognizes the barrier between sweet, soulful crooning and tortured, hellish wails.  Then, she obliterates that barrier with one confident scream.  Her performance runs that gamut and is flawlessly executed.  In doing so, Armstrong delivers an awe-inspiring experience that often has more balls than most male-fronted bands.

Endlessly listenable without compromising heaviness or catering to modern trends, Dead Sara's debut album is what might have happened if, after Zach de la Rocha left, the band changed their name to Rage Against the Time Machine and jettisoned themselves back to 1967 to make an album with Janis Joplin.  Okay, that may have been a little over the top.  Point is, Dead Sara could have stuck to the Evanescence Expressway to stardom, but opted instead to make music that sounds awesome and taps raw emotion for its power instead of Pro Tools.  A rare commodity in our times. Check out these Viper Room performances and see if you fall too; I'll start you off gently with Sorry For It All, but be warned; if you give up after that one song, you've made a terrible mistake.







Weatherman is the album's officially official (and mind-numbingly awesome) first single, and it was just announced that the debut album will finally see release April 10 on Pocket Kid/Universal.  After that, they'll be the featured band on the Vans Warped Tour, which is as good a jumping point as any for world domination in 2012.