Stereo Six: Chasing Airplanes Divy Up Some of Their Favourite Records

Things are looking up for Chasing Airplanes, with a new album released and a tour on the way. That tour is coming up in the new year, along with Fatal Flames. With simmering breakdowns, a large dose of melody, and some synths added in for good measure, Chasing Airplanes are etching out a place for themselves amongst their metalcore peers. The Tampa Bay quartet only just released their debut EP, Gnosis, last year.

Carrying the momentum they built with that release forward, Kaleidoscopes is technically proficient and accessible. There are also impressive moments of thoughtful storytelling, a bonus to the rich and riveting soundscapes. The record has some obvious nods to Invent Animate and Fit For A King. The instrumentation is clever and proficient, with many effective and original layering used throughout the eight new tracks.

Joining us today are the members of Chasing Airplanes for our latest Stereo Six. They each take turns describing some records that greatly influenced the recording of Kaleidoscopes.

1. Underoath – Define the Great Line (2006, Tooth & Nail)

“While They’re Only Chasing Safety is an album that introduced several of us to a heavier genre, it was Define the Great Line that solidified it. The hard-hitting breaks and powerful choruses made this album extremely accessible for fans of multiple genres. The album was so good at building tension through chaos and then synchronizing all of the layers to create huge, powerful sections. Jake Hodges summarized it best by saying, ‘Listening to this record, I learned how combining multiple genres and styles can create a much more accessible, and interesting listening experience.’” – Kyle Budd

2. August Burns Red – Constellations (2009, Solid State)

“In my opinion, this still holds up as one of the best metalcore albums. Every song on the album holds its own, but it’s also a great album to listen to front-to-back (seeing them do it live was even more amazing). Every song has a distinct rhythmic progression, but they also have that unmistakable ABR sound. I love how all the songs are complex, but not so complicated that you need a PhD to understand what’s happening.” – Kyle Budd

Artwork for the albums Chasing Airplanes list in this Stereo Six

3. Bring Me The Horizon – Sempiternal (2013, RCA, Epitaph)

“This album was the peak of Bring Me The Horizon, in my opinion. It combined heavy breakdowns with a symphonic element that was way ahead of its time. A lot of bands do it now, but it was more groundbreaking at the time. Bring The Horizon were amongst the architects of that.” – Kyle Jeffcoat

4. August Burns Red – Leveler (2011, Solid State)

“This was the album that inspired me to buy a double kick pedal and start learning my first metal drum techniques. Before this, I listened to heavy genres, but this album opened my eyes to music with more complex drum patterns.” – Tyler Murin

5. Silent Planet – The Night God Slept (2014, Solid State)

“This album shaped the way I drum to this genre of music. When it released, I instantly connected with this style of metalcore drumming fused with straightforward punk-inspired beats with crash cymbal accents.” –  Tyler Murin

6. The Midnight – Days of Thunder (2014, The Midnight Music)

“This was the first synthwave album I really got into. The song ‘Gloria’ was recommended on Spotify for some reason, and it led me down this huge synthwave rabbit hole. This type of thing was one of the first musical things Jake and I bonded over outside of metal. This album still holds up today as a top-notch synthwave album.” – Kyle Jeffcoat

Chasing Airplanes ‘Kaleidoscopes’ album artwork