On The Might Of Princes

On The Might Of Princes were a four-piece post-hardcore band from Long Island, New York that formed in 1998 and broke up in 2004. They've done a handful of reunion shows since then, but officially called it quits in 2013, the same year guitarist/vocalist Jason Rosenthal (also a member of The Brass) died. They released three albums in their time together, in addition to a demo cassette. The first of their two albums were re-released in 2007, which contained a handful of bonus tracks that I included below.

If On The Might Of Princes had to be described in one word, it would be dynamic. Quiet, whispered sections could build up into crushing climaxes of distorion and melody, heavy riffs could appear in the same song as gentle arpeggios, and screamed, sung, or whatever in between vocals top off the instrumentals. OTMOP were masters of odd time signatures, off-kilter chord shapes, low-end bass lines, and a definite tightness in their sound, even when each instrument seems to be a separate head on the same body. Long story short, they're a solid band that brought post-hardcore to popularity around the turn of the century, though were never quite as big as a band like At The Drive-In. Where You Are And Where You Want To Be is generally regarded as On The Might Of Princes' magnum opus, so that's where I'd suggest to start, though their other two albums are solid as well. Enjoy.

Demo (1998)

1. A Fond Farewell

2. Astoria

3. Anywhere in Europe

4. Drunk & Missing Vital Parts

5. A Shadow Taller Than You

6. An Allusion To Italy

7. Waterwings

The Making Of A Conversation (1999)

1. Astoria

2. At Half Mast

3. Juliana/Taking The Long Way Home

4. The Snow Watchers

5. Anywhere In Europe

6. The Absentee Ballot

7. Waterwings

8. A Fond Farewell

9. A Shadow Taller Than You

10. A Thousand Words

11. Caboose

12. Drunk And Missing Vital Parts (Bonus Track)

13. An Allusion To Italy (Version) (Bonus Track)

14. Poison Of Youth (Bonus Track)

Where You Are And Where You Want To Be (2001)

1. The Water Vs. The Anchor

2. And The Hat Stays On

3. If I Knew Numbers (The Stalemate)

4. Caboose

5. Old Wives Tale

6. An Allusion To Italy

7. As Long As She Doesn't Smoke

8. 13 Cheers For Beers And Bullshit

9. You Can Only Be So Careful

10. For Meg

11. Hell Or High Water (Bonus Track)

12. And The Hat Stays On (Version) (Bonus Track)

13. The Water Vs. The Anchor (Live) (Bonus Track)

Sirens (2003)

1. No Sign Of The Messiah (Part II)

2. Go Fuck Yrself

3. The Swell And The Breaking

4. You Whistle, I'll Shoot

5. Here Come The Sirens

6. My Hands: Landmines, Landfills

7. They Made Me Do it

8. Spit Survival

9. Carry Go, Bring Come

10. Cloak & Dagger

11. They Have Teeth

12. OTMOP 10-tet (Hidden Track)