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Album Details

• Artist: Armor For Sleep
• Album: A Comprehensive Guide to Touring
• Label: Equal Vision
• Year of Release: 2005
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: hstisgod on 2006-02-03

Media

Armor For Sleep had themselves one hell of a year. After a much talked about SXSW performance and two video releases (Car Underwater and The Truth About Heaven) off What To Do When You Are Dead , it’s obvious that they've made some waves in 2005. Well, here we are at the tail end of December, as they earn yet another chip in the forever spinning record industry jackpot. A DVD release...

A Comprehensive Guide to Touring won't knock you out of your shoes, but it will show you a year in the life of Armor For Sleep. Plenty of entertainment inside the Extra Features department, including videos from both full length releases, photography slideshows, cast n' crew profiles, sneak peaks into life away from tour, and most notably the Where We've Been portion. My only issue with this section is that it should be the main feature.

(a note to ALL LABELS: fans enjoy full video clips, this much should be evident. They're probably bootlegging cuz you're not offering 'em)

If you're in search of the bulk of the live footage, look to “extra features.” These clips briefly, but accurately catch Armor For Sleep at their best with crowds, dynamics, and colors. But what’s up with the Roman numerals that flash real quick at the end, boys?

The main feature is the basic dynamic of a four-way perspective into Armor For Sleep. You'll watch on as the band endures the goods, bads, and everything in between. The 90-minute segment encounters upon drunken lighting techs, stormy skies, glazed mountains, and the sometimes-glazed fan. You'll watch them interact with each other and find out who the real bully's are, and are not.

What most impressed me was the class Armor For Sleep and Equal Vision (Records) show by featuring a slew of new music from related artists. Even more impressive is how it’s basically a roster of Armor For Sleep's favorite bands: a fantasy list, if you will. Not just a bunch of crap being “pushed.” You can certainly tell the band had a hand in most of the artists featured. Recover, Emanuel, and Gatsby’s American Dream join a roster of other EVR artists like Circa Survive and the recently deceased Codeseven.

In your foresight? When the final branch of selections has been exhausted, and you're searching your brain for approval of this purchase, you'll find it with ease. More so than anything, A Comprehensive Guide to Touring is another item to add to a gradually growing catalog of releases. I don’t foresee the band’s pace slowing down or the tours getting any smaller: they're only growing larger by the day. How about a re-title? _A Comprehensive Guide to Uprising_.

http://www.armorforsleep.com http://www.equalvision.com

Armor For Sleep is; Ben Jorgensen PJ Decicco Anthony Dilonno Nash Breen

Want to find out more about the band? Check out my interview with these New Jersey Natives.

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