Pop punk and emo music seems to have had a huge revival in recent years, making elder emos all over the world feel nostalgic about the past. Memories of crowded basement shows and tales of seeing their favourite bands in their early days have become common topics of conversation. "The Past" by To Kill A Monster perfectly summarises these feelings of nostalgia, reminiscing about hanging out with your friends and how much we would all take a trip back in time if we could.
Joey Lawson, lead vocalist, explains, “‘The Past’ is all about just taking it back to being dumb and carefree with your friends. Celebrate the memories we made together and appreciate what we had no matter how short it was lived. A toast to all the friends new and old.”
With a solid back catalogue behind them, the band delivers another outstanding release, featuring crashing drums, roaring guitars and clever lyrics that hit the nail on the head with how we all feel when thinking about our formative years. Released this Friday, this lively track is the kind of track that you’d play on repeat until you knew all the words so that you can belt them out at the top of your voice.
The opening line, “If I could go back, just to listen to the laughter after each stupid joke”, is one we can all relate to – fond memories of friends flood back as you remember shared jokes or those who never failed to make you laugh until your stomach ached. Growing older may have meant that those relationships changed or faded into history, but the memories still live on.
Continuing with the high tempo beat, the energy never wavers as the song races towards the chorus, “Here’s to the past, yeah I’ll drink to that”, again reflecting on happy memories from our past (and maybe some memories we’d like to forget!).
Towards the end of the track, To Kill A Monster step things up a notch with a slightly heavier breakdown before contrasting this by slowing things right down. At this point, the lyrics repeat the usual chorus, however, the last line has changed, “Cheers, cheers, here’s to all those years… here’s a toast to you my friends, and everyone we lost since then”. I can only imagine how emotional this could get during a live concert with everyone singing along and thinking about their own loved ones.
If you see yourself as a bit of an elder emo, or constantly have bands like Story Of The Year, Alexis on Fire, or The Used blasting from your playlist, then be sure to give this latest release from To Kill A Monster a listen.
