Getting Spooky with Schoolyard Heroes

Hello and welcome to Rancid Reviews!

I’m back again for my second piece, and oh man, this is going to be fun!

So, do you guys like horror? I know I do. I mean, maybe I'm not huge on horror movies, but I love horror themes in music. If you do like horror, then this is the review for you! If not, well look. I know it’s March so it’s a bit early for Halloween, but it's never too early or too late to get into the creepy spirit, wherever you might fall on the fright scale. So let’s get this review underway, and let’s get spooky! Today I want to talk about one of the more underrated bands. One which despite being less known than others deserves more credit for its passion, creativity, and awesome sounding music. Yes folks, today I’m talking about Schoolyard Heroes.

 ‘But wait. Who are Schoolyard Heroes?’ I hear you exclaim. Well, I’ll give you a short bio. Schoolyard Heroes was a four-piece Horror-Punk band from Seattle who formed in 1999 and parted ways in 2009. You may have noticed them kicking arse with their energetic live shows while touring alongside notable acts, such as Vendetta Red, Aiden, and Bayside. Their lead singer also featured vocals for a couple of tracks on the album ‘In The Unlikely Event’ by The Fall Of Troy. Despite struggling to claw their way out of the substream, the band gained a marginal cult following and released three respectable studio albums during their career. They’re probably best known for writing some of the most creepy yet catchy music, with lyrics and imagery that are so dark and violent, many people once feared they were Satanists who were trying to corrupt young fans.

 Whether they are in fact Satanists or not, it just seems like these guys were a bunch of kids having a spooky fun time. I do actually wonder if the group was formed during the member’s late high school years, due to their start being mostly independent and perhaps lacking in experience. Despite this however, the band more than makes up for their youth with an experimental nature, showcasing a raw, unadulterated output in their music. Schoolyard Heroes is a stew pot of quirky diversity. The best examples of this include lead singer Ryann Donnelly’s delicious pop-inspired vocals, as well as bass lines and guitar riffs influenced by Progressive Rock, Math Rock, and Post-Hardcore. To put it simply, this band combines genres in all of the best ways and you should all love them and listen to them right now!

 But I’ll be honest with you. I love Schoolyard Heroes, but their energised, flesh peeling sound might not be to everyone’s tastes. And that’s completely understandable. My relationship with this band has also been a bit up and down over the years. My personal introduction to them came when I was 17 years old during my Spotify years. It really was just a lucky fluke I found them, but I soon came to fall in love with many tracks from their first album. I’d end up listening to them on and off for a few years after because honestly there were times when their sound was a bit too much for me. In fact, it’s only recently after graduation that I’ve gotten into them again. They’re actually a great band to listen to for letting off steam and creating some creepy artwork. But if you’re still a little unsure, that’s absolutely fine. Maybe a brief summary of their discography would put you at ease.

Their debut album ‘The Funeral Sciences’ was released in 2003 and marked a good start for the band. Despite having a bit of a bias here, as this is probably my favourite album by Schoolyard Heroes, this is what I call a strong collection of music. Every song has some level of this fun and bombastic energy to it that I really dig, while also being able to make room for more serious moments. I honestly don’t think there’s a single song on this album that I hate, but personal favourites would be ‘Dawn Of The Dead’ and ‘The Mechanical Man Vs The Robot From Outer Space’. The former has the grooviest, creepy bass line you will ever hear, and is just impossible not to dance or mosh to, while the latter is a combustible mix of insane spirit and speed with a campy pop cadence to it. One negative thing that you may notice with this album is that the recording quality is less than perfect, but every first album has its problems and I still think LoFi Punk fans will like it. You’ll probably also enjoy this if you too are in high school, as despite the lyrics being influenced by old B-Movies, they have an introspective quality to them that teenagers will relate to. All in all, this is a good album to start you off if you want to take a Schoolyard Heroes journey.

Their second album ‘Fantastic Wounds’ was recorded not too long after ‘The Funeral Sciences’ and is the first to have a music video for one of their songs, 'They Live'. Supposedly during the recording process, the band spent much of their free time watching old horror shows and eating junk food. This is, of course, an awesome way for a Horror-Punk band to spend its time… It kind of makes me want to order some pizza…

But anyway. ‘Fantastic Wounds’ is probably the least accessible album in the band’s discography. It lacks some of the camp and flair that the first album thrives in, but there’s a lot to be said for it as a sonic experience. This album tends to lean more towards a heavier style, utilising metal and Mathcore influences along with high pitched, rough screams by Ryann and the band's bassist Jonah Bergman. While this album will probably be a treat for fans of heavier music, I personally didn’t enjoy it as much. Apart from maybe ‘Body Shots’ and ‘Serial Killer’s Know How To Party’ I can’t really recommend many tracks that stood out for me. But I wouldn’t say no to listening to it again. The advice I would give to anyone trying this out is to listen to it more than once. It’ll grow on you.

Schoolyard Heroes’ third and final release ‘Abomination’ is probably the band’s strongest album. This is a conceptual piece telling a story of an apocalyptic world where murder, horror, and fright exist in every song. The album balances out theatrical gore and the macabre with a Gothic Pop-Punk style that should be played at every Halloween disco. While ‘Abomination’ lacks some of the personality of ‘The Funeral Sciences’ and the heaviness of ‘Fantastic Wounds’, this release makes a strong case for itself as a varied and open soundtrack, as well as a perfect example of the band’s growing maturity. Perhaps the best songs on the album, in my opinion, would include ‘Dude, where’s my skin?’ and ‘The Plastic Surgery Hall Of Fame’ (Both of which have their own music videos), as well as ‘Cemetery Girls’ and ‘Razor Blade Kisses’. Each of these songs demonstrate the best of Schoolyard Heroes flair, each having their own individual flavourings of eerie wildness, poisonously catchy lyrics, and a frantic vibe that a modern-day Jack the Ripper would want as his theme music. This is probably an album that fans of My Chemical Romance and The Nightmare Before Christmas would kill for, but I'd recommend it to anyone.

So in my opinion, this band has three very strong studio albums, which isn't too bad for a career that lasted only a decade. Sadly, Schoolyard Heroes' climb to ultimate mainstream success would eventually be abandoned. I don’t think I’ll ever know the real reason why the band broke up, but it’s easy for me to think of some possibilities. The main one being that maybe these four kids just grew out of their band, and honestly, this can happen to the best of groups. Things change. People change too. But maybe it was a good thing that they stopped when they did. Schoolyard Heroes is a perfect example of a band with unbridled, unrestrained tenacity and talent, and maybe that was how it needed to stay. I’ve always thought that it’s important to know when it’s time to end a project that you love, because as you grow and change, your art does too, and often it grows into something that doesn’t resemble what it was. Sometimes, where your art is concerned, you have to kill what you love to protect it.

Still, I can’t help but wonder what would have happened to Schoolyard Heroes if they’d carried on. Who knows! Maybe we’d be looking at a female-fronted My Chemical Romance type band? But either way, it doesn’t really matter to me. I still adore this band, and I think after listening to all their work and researching them, I now appreciate them even more. This was a group of people who were completely, unconditionally unashamed to be themselves. They received both praise and criticism on their journey, but that came from the fact that they were doing everything they wanted to do. Best of all, they did it together. It wasn’t just a one-woman show or a band that started falling apart because of fighting. This was a group of people who wrote music, watched horror movies, played video games and ate junk food together. That sounds like real friendship to me, and I think in some ways, that's what this band is all about. It’s not just blood and guts and murder. It’s passion and individuality. It's a love of who you are and what you do. It's love in general. And if this band could even convince one person of those kinds of ideals, that must mean they did something right.

So, for being the best Horror-Punk band I’ve heard so far, I give Schoolyard Heroes a strong 8/10.
I give ‘The Funeral Sciences’ a 9/10, ‘Fantastic Wounds’ 7/10, and ‘Abomination’ 8/10. Honestly, friends, if you're a Horror-Punk fan or if you're just looking for something a little bit different, then go and check them out. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Just before I wrap things up, I’d like to give a shout out to ‘Music Crush Monday’ Podcast, hosted by Kevin and Steve. Please go and listen to their show. These are two awesome guys who talk about and play awesome music. I look forward to talking to you guys more, and hearing your next episode!

But now, with everything all said and done, I’m off to go and get some pizza and listen to ‘Dawn Of The Dead’ again.