Hail the Villain - "My Reward"

[Devin]

Third single from Population: Declining. The band are shooting a video for it today.

[lockebox]

Either this or "16 Cradles" would have been fine. Hopefully top 30.

[Jorge_Str [Som3on3]]

it was the obvious choice, i was expecting this to be released as the 2nd single, but Runaway did a great job, probably this will do almost the same

[Devin]

Peak Predictions:

#32 Active
#1 Alt
N/A on Alt

[lockebox]

Apr 7, 2011 13:46:29 GMT -5 Devin said:

Peak Predictions:

#32 Active
#1 Alt
N/A on Alt

#1 on Alt? Haha well, if Adele can go top 30. Oh, it never gets old.

[pen]

Called it. Love this song.

[Devin]

I have a feeling that this will go around #32 like my prediction and if there is a fourth single it will hit Top 40 too. Sorta like active rock's Paper Tongues without the half-decent pop hit ("Get Higher" hit Top 60 on pop).

[lockebox]

[Jorge_Str [Som3on3]]

YEAH! That is a sick video alright!

[Devin]

All their videos seem pretty greusome.. but I strangely like it.

[Devin]

This came on their Facebook page an hour ago:

After seven years as singer for Hail The Villain, Bryan Crouch has quit the band.

Joseph Stamp, Chad Taylor, and Flavio Cirillo continue to create music with Darryl Romphf, producer and co-writer of their debut album 'Population: Declining'.

More updates will be made in the New Year.

So much for Hail the Villain. :'(

[jvandyck87]

Unless you feel their singer was a huge part of why you liked them, I think they could probably rebound for this. I'd say his voice probably has less recognition than their name does. As long as they get a guy who sounds even remotely like him, they'll be okay (that's assuming he wasn't their main songwriter).

[pen]

Nov 11, 2011 20:30:20 GMT -5 jvandyck87 said:

Unless you feel their singer was a huge part of why you liked them, I think they could probably rebound for this. I'd say his voice probably has less recognition than their name does. As long as they get a guy who sounds even remotely like him, they'll be okay (that's assuming he wasn't their main songwriter).

I think they really need to grab someone who sounds remotely like him because I disagree with everything else in your post.

[Devin]

^ Exactly. I am pretty sure Crouch was the main songwriter too. I wonder if they'll find any success in their next album, which, according to the post on Facebook, will be happening sometime next year. I guess they also need a new singer by then also for promotion/touring/recording.

[jvandyck87]

I just don't think there are so many people who know about them that getting a new singer would hurt their success at radio. If their songs sound similar and the new guy sounds similar, I don't think his voice had that instant recognizability for the casual active rock radio listener unless they really loved Hail The Villain. As for the people who did, if the new singer sounds similar enough and the songwriting remains up to par for them, I imagine those fans will still be on board. I'm not so sure what part you guys disagree.

I think the main question is, will the same money and promotion be put behind them with the new lineup. If the new singer is as good and the same people/resources go into it, I see no reason why they couldn't score a top 20 on active with an aimed-for-the-format lead single.

[pen]

Nov 12, 2011 5:35:15 GMT -5 jvandyck87 said:

I just don't think there are so many people who know about them that getting a new singer would hurt their success at radio. If their songs sound similar and the new guy sounds similar, I don't think his voice had that instant recognizability for the casual active rock radio listener unless they really loved Hail The Villain. As for the people who did, if the new singer sounds similar enough and the songwriting remains up to par for them, I imagine those fans will still be on board. I'm not so sure what part you guys disagree.

I think what I disagree with most is the fact that you seem to be dismissing Crouch's contribution to their success in the first place. Everyone I've spoken with who likes Hail The Villain likes their vocals and is disappointed by this news. Yes, they may be able to soldier on with a new vocalist, especially if he sounds similar to Crouch, but it's still something that could present a jarring change, especially if a new vocalist doesn't sound like Crouch. I think you're selling Crouch's role in the band short, and that's what I disagree with. Can they still be big in the mainstream? Sure, every band has that potential, but that's not the point.

[lockebox]

After seven years as singer for Hail The Villain, Bryan Crouch has quit the band.

Joseph Stamp, Chad Taylor, and Flavio Cirillo continue to create music with Darryl Romphf, producer and co-writer of their debut album 'Population: Declining'.

More updates will be made in the New Year.

That's disappointing to hear, but I'm not surprised as I remember hearing a while back that he had seriously damaged one of his vocal chords, so I'm assuming the damage is too severe for him to continue giving 100% to the band. I actually thought he had heap loads of charm and charisma. They may struggle to find a modern rock singer as potent as he was. I do think he was an integral part of their songwriting and creative ideas, aswell.

[jvandyck87]

Nov 12, 2011 6:21:22 GMT -5 pen said:

Nov 12, 2011 5:35:15 GMT -5 jvandyck87 said:

I just don't think there are so many people who know about them that getting a new singer would hurt their success at radio. If their songs sound similar and the new guy sounds similar, I don't think his voice had that instant recognizability for the casual active rock radio listener unless they really loved Hail The Villain. As for the people who did, if the new singer sounds similar enough and the songwriting remains up to par for them, I imagine those fans will still be on board. I'm not so sure what part you guys disagree.

I think what I disagree with most is the fact that you seem to be dismissing Crouch's contribution to their success in the first place. Everyone I've spoken with who likes Hail The Villain likes their vocals and is disappointed by this news. Yes, they may be able to soldier on with a new vocalist, especially if he sounds similar to Crouch, but it's still something that could present a jarring change, especially if a new vocalist doesn't sound like Crouch. I think you're selling Crouch's role in the band short, and that's what I disagree with. Can they still be big in the mainstream? Sure, every band has that potential, but that's not the point.

I don't think I'm selling his role short. First of all, I acknowledged that I don't know all of his contributions to the band and said that this evaluation was only based on them losing his voice. Second, he said "so much for Hail The Villain." There's a difference between losing an important member and basically writing them off as done. I feel like that's selling everyone else in the band short, especially if they are more creatively involved than he is. As I said, that's the piece that I don't know enough about. But usually when any other member besides the singer leaves a band, casual fans sorta give the "that's too bad" shoulder shrug, but when the singer leaves it's like, "OH NO, THEY'RE FINISHED." And while I may not be giving his voice enough credit, my point is that if he wasn't a big part of their sound creatively, then finding somebody similar enough in vocal timbre to him should allow them to keep most of their momentum. But everything I said is contingent on that assumption, and if he was one of the primary songwriters or the primary songwriter, then you guys are right, they're in trouble. That's what I was getting at all along.

[pen]

Okay. That's cool. You sounded like you were being a hater. But I know you're not a hater, are you hater?

Sorry, I've been watching Epic Meal Time.