Going Down With The Muffin

Anyone familiar with Across Five Aprils will immediately recognize the moniker of A Tragedy In Progress, a throwback to their first album. That’s right, boys and girls, the original members of AFA are back in action. Now, many of you are probably wondering why they didn’t just pick back up Across Five Aprils, as they have since broken up. Frontman Steve Taylor stated that he believed that AFA had continued to build itself into something new after he left, and felt that it deserved to have that. So, under the tribute to their old band, the first lineup of Across Five Aprils adopted the name A Tragedy In Progress and have released their first EP titled “Going Down With The Ship” through Indianola Records.

With only four songs, this release clocks in at about 16 minutes or so, which is a shame, especially after listening to it. “The Loudest Silence” kicks things off with Taylor’s wicked screams, which he pairs with some impressive clean vocals. The guitar work and drumming, while very reminiscent of Across Five Aprils, show a little more polish, though the energy is as high as ever. “Battle Scars” follows up with a little slower, melodic effort, focusing on clean vocals more than the screams. Track three, dubbed “Radio Flyer” (a re-recorded version of Across Five Aprils’ “Around The World On A Radio Flyer”), opens with some catchy melodic guitar work that leads into some wicked metalcore drumming and again pairs the clean and screamed vocals together nicely. ATIP close things out with “Same Faces, Different Places”. With an atmospheric vocal intro, they bring in a poppy but heavy intro that leads into a catchy verse which (surprise-surprise) switches back and forth between the cleans and screams, with perfect guitar work and drums providing a great background for them.

Two other aspects worth mentioning are the production and songwriting. Production is spectacular on this album, and nothing is lost in the mix. Guitars, drums, bass, and vocals all find a perfect layering on this EP. The songwriting is equally as amazing. Across Five Aprils, in my opinion, had an incredible gift for songwriting, and ATIP continues to show it.

Overall, “Going Down With The Ship” is a magnificent sneak peek into the potential A Tragedy In Progress has, but it really is only a sneak peek. It is tragically (see what I did there?) short, and leaves me wanting more every time I listen to it. However, this only makes me more excited for when they finally put out a full length. Definitely pick this one up.