Ghost Thief
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Living Sacrifice Ghost Thief offers more of what makes Living Sacrifice so great to listen too. From its expert breakdowns to the inspirational lyrics, the band does what it does best and delivers another solid album....
Fight the Silence
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For Today Fight the Silence has a unique backstory in that the idea for it came about when frontman Matt Montgomery saw a video about human trafficking that had a strong emotional imapct on him. He decided to make...
From Water to War
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Nine Lashes From Water to War does a great job in bucking the sophomore slump and delivering a sound that is similar yet different. While the band's debut sounded like any other hard rock album, this one...
4/5 | Posted April-07-2011
This is an interesting album to listen too and understand. Based on face, the lyrics seem to be very dour and dim but if you read between the lines you find the true meaning behind these songs. It seems that the theme of this album is that no matter how grim your life gets, there is always a way to turn it around for the better. Musically, this album feels very much like an album that a mainstream goth band would put out. Everything sounds really grim and depressing but that's just how the band chose to present themselves. Personally, I find it great that a band is finally targeting troubled people with music that most of them would listen to.
This is a great album, even if it does get a little slow at times. Hidden within the dark lyrics lies the main message of hope and life.
4.5/5 | Posted April-07-2011
Trevor McNeaven is turning into a powerhouse. He's got his main project, Thousand Foot Krutch, doing amazingly well and he's also got his side project, FM Static, also doing amazingly well. In this, FM Static's 4th album, the band still remains as fresh as ever.
Coming off of the amazing Dear Diary, My Brain Says Stop, But My Heart Says Go! gives us more of the energy that was present on that album. The first half of the new album is all fun with plenty of oh's being dropped left, right, center, sideways, upside down... you get the idea. The second half of the album is where you'll find the more meaningful and memoriable songs. Songs like "Last Train Home" and "Inside Out" really showcase the more heartfelt side of Trevor and have the same impact as "Take Me As I Am" had 2 years ago.
If you are looking for a fun album to listen too, this is it. The energy that was felt on Dear Diary continues here and it is not disappointing at all. This is a good album that will tide us over until the next Thousand Foot Krutch album comes out.
4.5/5 | Posted March-29-2011
The new Emery album, We Do What We want, is finally here and it is one of their best albums yet.
Emery goes all out on this one. They crank their guitars to eleven and elevate the level of screaming vocals. It almost feels like Devin Shelton never even left the band. This is the hardest style that Emery has done yet, so hard that they signed with Solid State Records (the metal subdivision of Tooth and Nail,) a few months ago which sees the band take full advantage of their new signing. The 8 hard rockin' songs featured indeed live up to all expectations. A perfect blend of screamed and clean vocals plus vicious guitar riffs and breakdowns only serve to highlight the lyrics, which all have a common theme. This is a very personal album that deals with tough spiritual issues like questioning whether God is real or not, challenging authority, and why we do the things we do. These themes really resonate with the album cover which features a bible but instead of having Holy Bible on the front cover, it has been replaced with the album title.
Emery hits another one out of the park with We Do What We Want. This is an album that will appeal to fans and other people. The last two tracks serve as a preview of the band's upcoming acoustic album, which sound amazing. I can't wait to hear if that album will be just as good as those tracks.
4/5 | Posted March-29-2011
This is the most drastic style change I have heard from a band. I'm Only A Man really feels a bit like a Muse album in that there are some good electronic elements mixed in with the traditional guitar riffs. While it's not Emery's best album, I'm Only A Man still has a bunch of memoriable tracks like "The Party Song" and "The Movie Song."
Emery reinventes themselves yet again and the result is a mixed bag. In my mind, the good outweighs the bad. The album is not that bad but the style Emery went for here could take some time to grow on you. I'd recommend getting this album from the Are You Listening compilation because you get the superior two albums as well as this one.
4.5/5 | Posted March-29-2011
The Question is a great example of how Emery can change their style in between albums. From the emo/pseudo-metal vibe of The Weak's End the band has made their sound a bit more tame and radio-friendly. But so far, this is my second favorite album. Every song has it's great momentum, the balance between sung and screamed vocals is tighter than the first album, and the great moments in each song are more memoriable this time around. Every song differs from one another even though they all seem to connect through short musical interludes.
Emery asks the question, "where were you when I was..." (The track names complete the question.) but my question to you is, "why haven't you gotten this album yet?" (Assuming you don't have it, but if you do then "why not listen to it again?"
4/5 | Posted March-29-2011
Emery's debut album, The Weak's End, is a great debut for the band and really showcases what would become signatures of the band that are done to this day. I liked how each song had it's moment of brillance and the great balancing of screamed voacls and clean vocals. I didn't like how each song started to sound the same after a while. But aside from that, this is a great debut from a band that would only get better throughout each year.
4.5/5 | Posted March-16-2011
What a time it is turning out to be for fans of Haste The Day. The band just recently played their final show. It's a good thing that they left us with a fantastic final album.
Attack of the Wolf King manages to appeal to new and old fans alike. New fans will be blown away by how well the sound bounces off each other and forms a really well written piece of music. Brutal guitars, killer bass and drum beats, and well difined lyrics screamed by Stephen Keech are what truly makes this album very special. Haste the Day also manages to break away from the cliched "epic" sounding song that seems to be on most metal albums. Here, none of the songs feel very epic, although there is a hint of it in the last track "My Name Is Darkness."
Attack of the Wolf King is a great sendoff to the fans that anyone, old or new, can enjoy time and time again.
4.5/5 | Posted February-08-2011
After being underwhelmed by their previous album, Live Life Loud, I can say, with a big smile on my face, that Hawk Nelson's new album, Crazy Love, is a vast improvement. I was instantly happy when they announced that this album would be similar to their debut, Letters to the President. While Live Life Loud did have some songs that I liked, pretty much this entire album I like. This is a fun album. Every song has its own charm to it. I even had a good laugh during "LAX." (It's only a minute, but it's one of the most weird insane minutes I've ever heard.) In amidst the fun, poppy sounds there can be found deep meaningful lyrics that express just how much the band has been blessed. I think that this album is a thank you from the band to us and I can only respond with your welcome and keep doing what you're doing.
If you want something fun and meaningful to listen to, Crazy Love is it.
It's like Twilight, except they don't sparkle and it's better written. | Posted February-04-2011
As the back of the book states, "This story is for everyone, but not everyone is for this story." After reading I completely agree. This is Ted's most controversial book yet as it contains scenes that some people might consider offensive. But this is what I like about Ted's writing style. He is not afraid to push the boundaries of what people consider to be of good taste. This makes him one of the most interesting Christian authors out there.
As for the book, it is a great read. Especially for someone who has read the Books of History Chronicles as this book ties into those books. But you don't have to read those books to understand what happens in the story. It deals with trademark Dekker themes like the battle of good and evil and eloquently written scenes of love. If you can get past the overt sexuality that resides in the book, you'll find a great story that really makes you think about how you would go about loving someone.
5/5 | Posted February-02-2011
Red returns with a new album that shows off how much they have grown musically since their debut 5 years ago. As always, this album has a concept just like the other ones. This time they tackle the theme of finding identity. Using the motif of faces, the band tells us through 11 tracks that we do not need to conform to what the world tells us to do, and you should just live life to the fullest your own way. It's this great message, as well as the other messages in their previous albums, that makes Red one of my favorite bands. Musically, it's Red. Epic strings mixed with brutal guitars and drums. The band seemed to find their groove on their last album and have tweaked it ever so slightly for this album to make it sound amazing. There are so many great anthem songs to be found on here like "Faceless" and "Who We Are." The ballads also feel genuinely special and really serve to emphasize the overall message that the band is talking about. Until We Have Faces is a great album through and through and is already an early front-runner for album of the year.
SIDENOTE: The cover art kind of reminds me of Pink Floyd's The Wall.
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