Most of you have probably heard Stavesacre before. They have been around for quite a while now, been on many national tours, and sold quite a few records. Many refer to them as hardcore, some even say emo, but I don't think those two labels are appropriate at all. This band is a hard rock band, and a good one at that. Their other releases never blew me away, I thought they were pretty good, but nothing really too special. Speakeasy on the other hand just about blew me away. This is one great album. The production sounds great, Mark's vocals are more penetrating and passionate than they have ever been, and boy can these guys play their instruments. Not only is the music great, but the lyrics are incredibly impressive as well. No gimmicks here, just straight up passion, truth, and rock. No two songs sound alike and the degree of creativity is definitely high for a rock album. With the other Stavesacre material none of the songs really stood out to me, with this one so many of them do. If this band had a major label behind them and the "Christian" rock tag taken away from them, I think we would be hearing them on all the modern and hard rock stations across the U.S. Unfortunately there is a lot more to commercial radio than just simply having great songs. If this album doesn't get them more attention then nothing is going to.
B+
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #81Reviewed by Doug Van PeltWhen a group makes music that strikes a chord with its listeners, an anxious anticipation overtakes the audience every couple of years, as they wait for a new collection of songs. The wait is finally over for Stavesacre fans . . . and this fan is grateful. This gratitude took a while to develop, though. Friction the band's debut, was an "instant like" for me. The follow-up, Absolutes, took awhile…Decapolis 2000Reviewed by ConradI have a hard time categorizing these guys. I'll just say Forceful Angular Rock. I don't know what that means either, but it seems to fit. It's hard and not typical in any way. This album has a lot more vocal melody then I've heard of them in the past. Each instrument is going non stop. Drums are super creative - Sam might just be the best drummer I've ever heard. Guitars and bass are moving…Decapolis 2000Reviewed by TimThis cd is really good. I don't particularly like this band, but this album is just plain rock, and I do like that. Everything (the melodies and arrangement) is above average. My only complaint is that some of the songs run together. BBandoppler 1999Reviewed by Earl Campbell / Jason Dodd / Graham Buck / BruceOpening Review by Earl Campbell Go ahead and open up your email program right now, and get ready to write some hate mail. I am about to pan Stavesacre! Oh, the horror... Hey, just send your venom to Treble, he is the one letting me print this... Anyway, ok tuff guys, here's the deal. This album is weak. One can only speculate on why, maybe an overreaction to being compared to Tool so much, maybe…Art for the Ears 1999Reviewed by Marco PovervestMy first impression of the third record of Stavesacre is that it's different, moving further away from the hardcore roots of these guys. It's not only in the compositions that this is evident, you can hear it in Mark Salomon's singing too. Instead of screaming he tends to sing a whole lot more than before, like you might expect on a modern rock album. But this ain't modern rock either. It still…The Phantom Tollbooth 1999Reviewed by Michial FarmerSpeakeasy, Stavesacre's latest album, sounds pretty much identical to everything they've done in the past. 9/10ths of the album has that Tool vs. Helmet sound that's worked for them so well in the past, and there's a characteristic slow song in the vein of "Burning Clean." Mark Salomon and company tread very little new water here. The good news is that it still sounds fresh and new. Stavesacre…The Phantom Tollbooth 1999Reviewed by Josh MarihughStavesacre's rather unique blend of melodic alternacore begins to sound the same on this, the band's third album. Too much of a good thing, however, can still be a good thing, as this disc fully illustrates. While the band has yet to create a cut to top their classic "At the Moment," a few tracks here come close. "Freefall (From Hand to Hand)" paints a beautiful picture of just what happens when…The Phantom Tollbooth 1999Reviewed by Joe RockstrohStavesacre hasn't really changed for this album, despite an HM article where Mark Salomon inferred that this album would be different from its predecessors. Sure, there's a touch more melody, a hint more emo, and the guitars are thicker due to new second guitarist Ryan Denny, but other than that, this is Absolutes repackaged. There's also a lack of the high drama vocal peaks of Salomon that he…Similar sounding releases
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1998Project 86Project 86
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2001TraindodgeOn a Lake of Dead Trees
2005Kids in the WayApparitions of MelodyMore from Stavesacre
2001Stavesacre / Denison Marrs
2001Collective
2002Stavesacre
2002Live From Deep Ellum
1996Friction
1997Absolutes
