Usually I'm not big on buying indie underground cd's, which is the category Fall Like Fire would fall into. Simply for the fact that for my money, I like to get a nice slickly packaged and produced product. Sometimes however it's nice to get a chance to listen to these bands and see what the underground has to offer. I'm quite spoiled on record store music. So that might hurt this review a little. But other than a few minor things, that would be my main complaint with this cd. The production lacks, having some production/mixing experience myself might make me a little more picky than the average listener, but the music seems to all be coming down the middle. It's not a full big fat wall of sound, it doesn't do the guitars justice. The music itself is pretty intense. Mainstay plays a nice brand of death metal mixed with some chaotic hardcore sounding stuff. What floats around in stereo are effects and various vocals, like in "Cataclysmic Carnage" for example. one second there's a high scream on the right and then the low death growls down left, then center. This kind of throws me.. I noticed a few spots where they could tighten up instrumentally but otherwise the rest of it is great. The final track is a beautiful melodic acoustic piece played by a single guitar. It has great atmosphere to it. Finally, from a lyrical perspective, these guys are straight up for Christ with topics ranging from identifying the stumbling blocks in our walk with God, to hypocrisy, and abortion. Fairly typical, but you know right there that these guys have their heads on straight. Might I mention this is a very short cd at only 4 songs, one of which is an instrumental. I'd be interested to hear how Mainstay matures and what they come out with in the future.
6.5/10
