Story of the Year, St. Louis' top rock band, isn't worried about succumbing to a sophomore slump. "Page Avenue," the band's 2003 quietly released album, built up a slow buzz on its way to gold status.

Excitement over it prompted a live CD/DVD follow-up: last year's "Live in the Lou"/"Bassassins," which went gold as well. Then came the studio follow-up, last fall's "In the Wake of Determination." The disc came in at No. 19 on the Billboard 200 its first week out, with 42,000 copies sold - its best-ever ranking and sales week. But it quickly spiraled down the charts, possibly because it had a harder edge than the band's previous offerings.

Lead singer Dan Marsala says the band isn't particularly concerned about the commercial reception of the album, which core fans came out early to purchase. Marsala puts the quick drop-off of "In the Wake of Determination" down to lack of radio support for its first single, "We Don't Care Anymore," which didn't get as much exposure as the band's earlier hits "Until the Day I Die" and "Anthem of Our Dying Day."

"We're still having problems at radio," he says. "The whole radio business is weird. Music is rough nowadays. Our band is just bummed on the whole scene. It's the same stuff over and over. Maybe we're guilty of the same thing, but at least we make a conscious effort to try to put content in, for it to make sense."

Marsala concedes that "We Don't Care Anymore" may not have been the best choice for the first single. "People say it doesn't sound like the first CD. Our style did change - we're heavier now. The songs turned out different, the writing process was different, and it's now more representative of the band."

He thinks the single "Take Me Back" could fare better at radio because people can identify with it more easily. The song is about remembering a time "before you had responsibility, before you realized how messed up everything is in the world," Marsala said.

"For us, it's more like the music industry and how it's impossible to play music and have fun and be successful. You always have to compromise everything you want to do artistically to get on the radio and MTV. There's no more fun, because everyone's worried about so much stuff. Sometimes you wish you could just go back and be blissfully ignorant."

Indeed, Marsala says Story of the Year has had to compromise. "A couple of times we did little things we didn't want to do, and we were mad," he said. "But with the new record, we did it exactly how we wanted to do it. We loved the first record, but we did things differently than how we would have done it now."

While "In the Wake of Determination" continues to find its way, Story of the Year is busy on the road, among the headliners on the Taste of Chaos tour with bands including the Deftones and Thrice. Marsala says the tour feels like home because they're performing with acts they've toured with before, including Funeral for a Friend and the St. Louis band Adair.

"They're talented guys," he says of Adair, which is signed to Warcon Records, the label of Taste of Chaos/Warped tour owner Kevin Lyman. "They don't worry too much about outside influences. They play what they want to play, and have fun with it."

Marsala says that he's especially pleased to be performing on a bill with the Deftones. "I'm sure deep down they've influenced everything we do, as well as other bands," he says.

After Taste of Chaos, Story of the Year will continue touring with college and overseas shows. A headlining tour could be in the offing, probably depending on how well the new album goes over. "We do have our fanbase," he says. "And if it stays the same, that's fine, because we can tour forever."


Taste of Chaos

with the Deftones, Thrice, Story of the Year, As I Lay Dying, Funeral for a Friend, Atreyu and Adair

When: 5 p.m. Monday

Where: Family Arena, 2002 Arena Parkway, St. Charles

How much: $27.50

More info: 636-896-4200


kjohnson@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8191