Embrace The End

By Charlie Hanks

Spending the past year in a hectic whirlwind, Sacramento’s passionate hardcore golden boys, Embrace The End, have instead embraced their talents.

Their sophomore release “Ley Lines” is intelligent, yet aggressive with well-written lyrics and thundering breakdowns — the perfect equation for a great album.

Their front man, Jesse Alford, shared some stories with me about their recent misadventures and the development of this new album:

Fringe: What has the last year been like with the release of the new album and touring?

Jesse: It’s been a bit hectic at times, but rewarding nonetheless. Last year Abacus Recordings went under and our guitar player and founding member Joel Adams got in a drunken bicycle accident that forced him to quit. So we were far from being functional as a band and had no label to boot. Spencer came through with the riffs, though, and we busted our asses and sent a few demo tracks to Century Media. They were into it so we signed a new contract with them and wrote and recorded “Ley Lines.” I would also like to mention that it’s our finest offering to date. After that, the usual — travel around in a van and s–t on stages across the country for a few months. We’ve been fortunate and toured with awesome bands this year so far: Animosity, Heaven Shall Burn, The Ghost Inside, First Blood, For the Fallen Dreams, Arsonists Get All the Girls, Conducting From the Grave, Broadcast the Nightmare, Carnifex. The list goes on…we’ve been chilling home for most of summer, though.

F: Any crazy stories from the road?

J: We were going into Canada while we were out with Carnifex, Conducting From the Grave, and Arsonists Get All the Girls. The border patrol searched our van and they found our guitar player Topher’s taser. We had all zapped each other’s nips and balls already. I say this not to broadcast our homo-erotic antics but to establish how harmless this “weapon” actually is. Anyway, the cops had recently killed a couple of people up there with police-issued tasers and it was a huge issue. So, they seized our van, threatened to take us all to jail; it was crazy. They eventually agreed to only ticket one of us (Topher) and fined him $500 (which had to be in cash). Ha, and they still denied us entry. This was right after I had to bury my dank nags and ‘lil pipe in upstate New York before our encounter with the fascist Canadians. A treasure map was made though with dotted lines and skulls and all that… the works. I’m still gonna go back for ‘em.

F: After eight years and so many changes with your line-up, how is the energy in the band now compared to when you started?

J: We’re great now. I feel it.

F: Stepping away from Sacramento so often to tour, what differences do you see in the other scenes?

J: Everywhere has sh—y kids. Everywhere has s–t shows. There are also nights that make it all worthwhile. Sometimes I’m really questioning my life, watching some kid swoop his bangs and adjust his new era hat waiting for the next mosh part…later that night a person will tell me that one of our songs helped him change his life or got him through hard times.

Southern Christian Deathcore shows are the worst. Toronto and Montreal are croosh party. Left coast is the best coast.

F: What feelings do you have about the Sacramento scene right now?

J: Sacramento needs an all-age venue, a venue that is actually in Sacramento. Aside from that, Sac always pumps out the sweet bands.

F: Describe the Ley Lines and the process of getting it done.

J: Ley Lines are the electro-magnetic routes through time and space that connect our beings with planetary impulses. Getting it done is all we do.

F: Do you feel that your sound is a mixture of the East coast influences and the West coast influences?

J: Could be. Bart is from Maryland and was going to Baltimore hardcore shows in the ’90s. He came from the more posi-oriented scene (Kid Dynamite, Lifetime). The fist hardcore tape I ever got was Madball, Vision of Disorder, Candiria, One King Down. That s–t was my jam. But, yes, it wasn’t until I got into Diseptikons and going to Hoods and All Bets Off shows that I even knew we had hardcore bands on this coast. I think the most influential hardcore band from the West coast is probably Papa Roach. (I sense a bit of sarcasm there.)

F: What is the goal for the next year?

J: We’ll be doing a short tour here and there, but nothing too vigorous. Regional weekend warrior rocking. Oh, and we’ve started writing for a new record, as well. We will stay busy, I promise.