This is a very interesting and challenging album to review due to the complexity of the music and the different styles that are played. This six song debut is powerful and technical, and brings the style of hardcore-metal and contemporary to a screeching collision. Only once have I ever heard such a combination of vocals used together, and that was from a secular band called "Crayola Death", which I'm sure that no one has heard of, unless you are from Pittsburgh and have been to the "The Attic". Anyway this band is far from any band that I have ever heard. The demo starts out with acoustic groovy clean guitars and a vocalist who sounds more like the singer for "Jars of Clay", and then all of a sudden he breaks into this scratchy-crawly type of vocals, which is in accordance with some mean sounding guitars. These hardcore parts are great and really solidify the album. In the second song, "Dispose", the vocals start out with singing and heavy guitars reminiscing "Tool", and continuing through a huge musicians break before blasting into this unreal "Korn" sounding clip. This band has so many styles incorporated into each song that it is impossible to clarify them as one type of band, and I like that. In today's music bands get labeled as a certain type and then become afraid to change and try something different. Well in this case they are every type of music so they have nowhere to expand. I mean with classic guitar sections, "Solitude...Surrand", and hardcore sections in all songs, along with hardcore preaching from each lyric line to our Lord, Jesus Christ. Yes this band is Christian, and like them I too am not afraid to LABEL myself as such. As I have mentioned from the outset, heavy music can be Christian, its the lyrics not the music that makes it what it is.
The members of this band obviously have strong backgrounds in rhythm and time signatures, otherwise they could never get through the fast changes and difficult patterns of rhythm. The drummer is unreal, playing a more laid back/groove style that is not lacking in technicality. This man can play. The beat in "Solitude....Surrand", just blows me away with the groove feel and then moving to driving double-bass kicks. The guitarist really shows his presence in "trend/trait", where he shows off his licks proving to me that his imagination is constantly flowing. God has truly blessed him as a guitarist. Also, in "trend/trait", the vocalist shows off his stuff with both singing and screaming (I guess you can say that they are two separate entities). The bass player really just kinda blends into the mix which makes for a very solid rhythm section. I really like it, not too much, not too little.
As a whole, I really do like this band. They are really different, and it will take a couple of listens to really fall in love with them, but it's well worth the time once you really hear what's going on in each song. At first, I really didn't like them, but to give this band a fair review I kept listening to them. After the second time, I was hooked.
8/10
Other Staff Member Ratings
Fletch: 8.5/10
D_Lister: 7/10
Other coverage for this album
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