The Top Five Bands to know before summer

Published: Friday, April 18, 2008

Updated: Monday, August 31, 2009

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A Flair For the Dramatic - As Pierce the Veil's freshman album, though technically the band's album, A Flair for the Dramatics is bound to turn heads.

As this series continues into its second week, we move from the deeply melodic music of Evaline to a band sure to inspire circle pits and sing-a-longs.

The second band to know: Pierce the Veil

The brainchild of brothers Vic and Mike Fuentes, Pierce the Veil is a progressive post-rock foursome that are sure to fill venues wherever they tour - this band is bound to be the next big thing. Pierce the Veil is signed to Equal Vision Records (the same label that elevated Chiodos, Circa Survive and Fear Before the March of Flames to the top of the alternative music scene), have toured with From First to Last, Scary Kids Scaring Kids and Chiodos and are slated to play this summer's Van's Warped Tour and The Bamboozle Left.

Pierce the Veil - Vic (vocals, guitar), Mike (drums), Jaime Preciado (bass) and Tony Perry (guitar) - deftly combined their eclectic influences into their striking 2007 debut A Flair for the Dramatic. A work of post-modern musical art, this album lives up to its name.

From the furious, metal-inspired "Currents Convulsive" to the schizophrenic "She Sings in the Morning" and the lyrically heartrending quasi-ballad "The Balcony Scene," A Flair for the Dramatic leaves nothing out. Pierce the Veil captures its listeners in a way that other bands can only dream of doing.

The music of Pierce the Veil may seem eerily familiar to members of the alternative music scene because this band once existed under another name - Before Today, which released the album A Celebration of an Ending in 2004. After a lineup change in 2006 the Fuentes brothers sought new members and renamed the band after a Before Today song.

If by this point someone is not convinced that Pierce the Veil is an essential summer band, check out their cover of the 1983 Michael Jackson hit "Beat It." They do it better than anyone before them, including tween favorites Fall Out Boy and it is sure to become a staple in anyones summer music repertoire. Visit the band's MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/piercetheveil) to have a listen.