TobyMac was basically the guy that got me into Christian music. Yes, my first CD was Steven Curtis Chapman's Speechless, but I did not really have a passion for Christian music - or any music, for that matter - until I bought TobyMac's album Renovating Diverse City. That album is basically what got me into music. With that said, Eye On It is quite a disappointment. Yeah I know it hit number one on the Billboard Top 200, but it just does not appeal to me. It is not TobyMac. The TobyMac that I loved to listen to back in the day was more of what I would describe as a mixture between hip hop and rock and a bunch of other awesome stuff. Eye On It is pop, just like everything else playing on the mainstream radio today.

I gave "Me Without You" a very optimistic review when it was released as a single like a month or two ago, hoping the majority of the album would not be like it. I still believe it is a pretty good song, but when it is mixed in with so many other songs that have that same pop sound it gets really old, really fast. I do not mind pop music at all (just take a look at my review of Britt Nicole's latest album, Gold), but pop is not what Toby does best. Crunk rock hip hop is what he does best. I would love to see him go back to the days of Portable Sounds; that is what I view as his best work to date. His last album, Tonight, had some really good songs, but that was when he started going down the road of soft pop songs made for the radio. Writing this I feel like the guy who is completely against any change in an artist's sound and writes huge reviews on iTunes and Amazon about how horrible the album is because it does not sound like the stuff the the band has done in the past. But with TobyMac he has built his sound from his days with DC Talk, so for like the past 25 years he has made his sound better and better with each release and now he has decided to change it up and do what everyone else is doing. There are too many pop artists out there; he had something no one else had before he started making pop music, and with this release he threw that out the window.

So, with that said, there are still some very good songs on this album that I find some enjoyment in, with one of them being the title track. The song does not quite fit the mold of a typical pop song, but is more of a mix between pop and techno; so basically it has a pretty sweet beat. The first time I heard the song I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it and how much I got into it. The track is super catchy, and easily one of my favorites on the album. "Steal My Show" is a little slower than the rest of the album, but it feels way too soft for TobyMac. When I hear the song it just does not fit him at all; it definitely does not sound right to me. However, I really love the lyrics. The song basically has the same concept of Lecrae's "Background," since both of them talk about sitting back and letting God take over our lives and control what we do, which is something I have a feeling we could all work on.

"Forgiveness" has got to be my favorite track on the album. Lecrae seems to always do a fantastic job with almost any song he is on, and this track is no exception. I have to admit Toby did a pretty good job rapping on this track too, something it seems he has not done in a really long time. The next song with a guest artists, "Unstoppable" with Blanca from Group 1 Crew, is another pretty sweet song that picks the speed up a little bit. The song definitely sounds a little more like Group 1 Crew's dance, funk music, which Toby pulls off pretty well. Blanca's background vocals also add a lot to the song, so I definitely love that he got her sing on the track. The final song with guest vocals, also happens to be the final song of the album, "Favorite Song," with Jamie Grace. If you do not think TobyMac has gone soft, just listen to this song and you will change your mind. The beat is what you would expect from a feel-good pop song: very upbeat and happy sounding. So, even though I am not a huge fan of the song, Toby was very smart to put Grace on the song because even though the style does not really suit him, it is her forte. She rescues the song in my opinion.

My hopes for this album were that TobyMac would go back to his roots a little more and do stuff like Portable Sounds and Welcome To Diverse City, but alas he did not. This album is almost entirely pop music, which after awhile gets kind of old. I can understand him trying to appeal to the younger generation and trying to make more radio friendly songs, but I almost feel like he compromised way too much on this record. Tonight had a pretty good balance of his older style and his new pop style, and it did pretty well; so, I almost wish he had at least stuck to the balance he had on that record. I do not want to completely bash the Eye On It, because if you like pop music, then more than likely you are going to enjoy this record; but the sound just does not fit him at all. Maybe you will think I am just crazy, whining about the past and how he does not sound as good as he used to, but to me this album just does not show how great of an artist TobyMac truly is. Toby is one of the greats of Christian music, and I will continually support him, so it is with great sadness that I say this album is a disappointment to me.

Favorite Song: Forgiveness (Feat. Lecrae)

One thing I have grown to love from Lecrae is his awesome intro tracks, from "Rehab Intro" to "Check In" to "Overdose" to "Co-Sign;" he has always done a fantastic job of crafting a stellar intro track, so why would Gravity be any different? "The Drop" starts off the album with killer violins that lead into a pretty sick beat. Right off the bat Lecrae - once again - dispelled the thought that he might be going soft in his lyrics to try and appeal more to the mainstream audience. That is absolutely false, and after you listen to the first couple lines of "The Drop" I have a feeling you will feel the same as I do. Time after time Lecrae has put his fans at ease by writing biblical, Christ-centered lyrics, and yet critics and skeptics alike always wonder if he will go soft on his next record. He has not given me any reason to think this will ever happen, so therefore I am not worried one bit.

"Gravity" features the soothing vocals of JR, one of Christian hip hop's most well-known and greatest singers. The title track is honestly a little slower than I expected, which Lecrae accomplished by slowing it down in the chorus with JR's vocals. It is still a good song, just slower than I expected. The next track, "Walk With Me," is a little more old-school; the beat has some pretty sweet organs in the back, and is definitely reminiscent of good ol' hip hop. The song deals with the struggles of this world, but knowing we have hope and reassurance in Christ. Oh and Lecrae was a genius to bring in Novel to do the chorus, because he absolutely killed it.

"Free From it All" has the catchiest chorus on the album, which is sung by Mathai; I get it stuck in my head every time I listen to it. The song talks about being free from all the struggles on this world and not letting what this world does to you get you down because we are free from this world because of Christ. On a side note, if you want to hear stellar production, this is probably the best song to check out; it sounds impeccable. The following track, "Falling Down," is also a great example of stellar production as well though. The beat is easily my favorite off the album; in fact, the whole song is easily my favorite on Gravity. Trip Lee opens up the song with a killer verse, and Swoope and Lecrae follow that up with great verses as well; I believe each of the three artists are at the top of their game on this song, and these may be some of their best verses they have ever done. The three of them talk about how everything in this world will fade away eventually, none of the fame, wealth, sex - none of it - will last.

Thi'sl and Lecrae seem to be a lethal combination. First we had "Anger Management," then "APB" earlier this year and now "Fakin.'" Thi'sl brings the hood sound to Lecrae's songs, something Lecrae's more polished voice cannot really achieve on its own. This song goes out to everyone faking like they are all high and mighty and tougher than anyone else, it basically just calls them out. Then we go from gangster rap to Jamaican rap with the song "Violence," produced by Tyshane, who you probably know from Lecrae's "Black Rose." The minute I heard the first beat I could hear Tyshane's imprint on the song. My big prediction for this year is that Tyshane is going to be the next big producer in Christian hip hop; he is going to be the next Alex Medina or Alex Faith. "Violence" is a pretty sweet song, and it added a whole nother element to the album by doing a completely different style than on the rest of the Gravity.

I was a little leery about Big K.R.I.T. being on "Mayday," just because he is not exactly a Christian rapper. But going back to my trust in Lecrae, I trusted that he knew what he was doing in putting K.R.I.T. on the song; and, once again, Lecrae did not disappoint me at all. K.R.I.T. brought a whole new perspective to the song, from the nonchristian point of view that really rounded out the song perfectly. He admits he does not have all the answers to life, but then Lecrae comes on the song and basically says, "But I know someone who does: Jesus." The song is one of the most powerful on Gravity, which really surprised me, considering I thought it was going to be one of the softest, lyrically, on the album.

"Confe$$ions" slows it down again, with possibly the slowest beat ever on a Reach album. The song is meant to make you reflect and really think about your life. Lecrae talks about the fleeting value of money and what comes with it, something society does not exactly understand. "Buttons" follows in the recent trend of Lecrae doing a love song on each of his releases: "I Love You" on Rehab, he did not do one on The Overdose, but he did "Rise" on Church Clothes, and now "Buttons." This song is a little different than his previous romance tracks in that it does not deal as much with traditional love themes, but is more about every day life, especially when they get on each other's nerves. I love that Lecrae is giving good alternatives to the secular 'love' songs that are so filled with garbage and are not really about true love, but rather lust. So, "Buttons" and the rest of his love songs are definitely great alternatives to those.

"Power Trip" features the stellar lineup of PRo, Sho Baraka, and Andy Mineo. I built this song up so much in my mind before listening to it that I thought it was easily going to be the song of the century. Yes, I admit that was a stupid thing to do, but I did. The song is good, but it is clearly not the song of the century since I chose Falling Down as my favorite song over it. The beat is very eccentric, in a good way, but it kind of takes some getting used to. Sho Baraka seems to have gotten better since he left Reach, because every feature he has done since has been stellar, including his verse on "Power Trip." However, Andy Mineo's verse is easily the best on the track. In case you did not know, the dude can rap! He closes out the song really well, and it makes me wish his verse was a lot longer.

The second song released from Gravity was "Lord Have Mercy," and the minute I heard it I had a feeling this album was going to be something special. The song is probably not the greatest song Lecrae has ever done, but something about it makes it really good. The beat is very different from anything he has ever done before, which seems to be the theme of this whole album: doing things completely different than in the past. I also really like the inclusion of No Malice's soundbite during the chorus off his song "Darkest Hour" on Church Clothes. The first song released from the album, "I Know," follows up "Lord Have Mercy." The song definitely stays far away from playing it safe, from the beat to the hard-hitting lyrics. I have not stopped listening to this song since it was released, and it is easily one of my top two or three songs on the album.

The album finishes off with two more melodic songs: "Tell the World" and "Lucky Ones." Lecrae basically says on "Tell the World" that because of what Christ did for us on the cross he is going to live his life for Him and tell everyone he can about the love of Christ. But then "Lucky Ones" comes next, and it is not exactly what I expected for the end of this album. Based off how the rest of the album sounded I was honestly expecting a more fast-paced closing track, of which "Lucky Ones" is the exact opposite. It has another very slow beat, but it actually ends the album perfectly; the song brings the record full circle. I think this song would be perfect to play at the end of war movie where everyone is lying dead on the battlefield, but one guy stands up crippled and raises the flag of his country up high in victory. He is the lucky one to have lived through the battle, and in that same way, Lecrae talks about how we are the lucky ones to have received the grace of God to forgive us of our sins and give us eternal life.

After saying all that about the album, all I have left to say is wow. Gravity more than exceeded my expectations and has worked its way into hip hop hall of fame. If this record does not hit number one on every music chart imaginable, I will honestly be shocked. Every song on this CD is stellar from start to finish. Every beat was perfectly created. The production is at a higher level than I have seen on any album in the past. The lyrics to each song on Gravity are hard-hitting and theologically solid. Everything is set up perfectly for this album to hit number one on all the charts, and I believe it will. I cannot stop listening to Gravity, and I have a feeling neither will you. I cannot stress enough how great of a masterpiece this album is. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy or two of Gravity; you will not regret it.

Favorite Song: Falling Down

This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from The Christian Music Review Blog. Click here to visit today!

Wherever I Wind Up is R.A. Dickey's story, and after reading the book you feel as if you have just gone through a whirlwind of events and emotions. There are some very sad parts to his story, and of course some very good ones as well. As a child he was sexually abused many times by a baby sitter and then by a random kid as well. His parents were divorced and because of their situation, his mom battled alcoholism. One day in high school his life changed forever though. He had a really good friend named Bo that played on the football and wrestling team with him, and Bo invited him to a Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting one day. Dickey agreed to go, and afterwards it got his mind thinking about God and where he would go if he died. One day he is over at Bo's house and starts asking him questions about becoming a Christian, and right there in Bo's room with Bo and Bo's mom, he asks the Lord into his heart. He says right away he felt "relief. A lightness." He still had an issue with bottling up his feelings though, and not until his 30s did he share with anyone - not even his wife - about the abuse he suffered as a child.

Dickey was a phenomenal high school pitcher, and a great pitcher at the University of Tennessee as well. He got drafted by the Texas Rangers and was given a $810,000 signing bonus, which was readily retracted once a routine physical found that his right elbow was missing its ulnar collateral ligament. He was seen as the freak pitcher who was missing parts in his body. So, he was sent down to the minors where he pitched pretty well, but was hammered in his first big league start. The Rangers then suggest to him that he should become a knuckleball pitcher, just to save his career - something he was at first opposed to. The stigma is that only pitchers who are on the decline start throwing knuckleballs. After he realized it may be his only shot to make it to the majors he agreed though. From there he bounced around the minors with a bunch of different organizations, making a few big league appearances - none of them too impressive. Even when he did well it seemed as if teams did not want to take the chance on a 30 year-old knuckleballer. Finally he starts gaining command of his knuckleball, but still nobody seems to really want him, which leads to doubt creeping into his mind and making him less and less effective.

Eventually Dickey found a home in the New York Mets - the team he is still with today. He pitched consistently during the end of 2010, but then had just a decent season in 2011, finishing with an 8-13 record and a 3.28 ERA. 2012 has shown the dominant side of Dickey. As I am writing this he has a 15-3 record with a 2.72 ERA. Dickey may have finally found the confidence he needs to succeed, and his knuckleball seems to be unhitable at times.

I wanted to share with you one of my favorite passages in the book where Dickey is talking about prayer and what it is to him. He says on page 286, "When I pray, I am not just talking to God. I am deepening my relationship with Him. To me, prayer is not a me-driven, goal-driven endeavor, something I turn to when I really need to pitch a dominant game or get out of a tight spot or a personal crisis. I've never prayed to God and said, 'Lord, please let me strike out Albert Pujols four times tonight.' Nor will I ever do that. God is not a genie in a bottle that you rub when you want something. He is the ever-present, ever-loving Father, the guiding Spirit of my life, my Light and my Truth. He has a plan for me; I believe that as much as I believe anything in my whole life, and even if I don't end up flourishing in New York or proving myself to be a trustworthy big-league pitcher, I know that's because He has something else in store for me, and whatever that is, I know that I will be at peace."

Wherever I Wind Up is an extremely well written book - what else would you expect from an English lit major? The thing that makes a biography - or in this case an autobiography - good, is when the author goes into very vivid detail, so much so that you feel as if you are there and you feel the emotions the person is experiencing. While reading this book I could feel Dickey's pain. I could feel his joy. I could feel his sadness. I hurt with him when he lost and I rejoiced with him when he won or had a great accomplishment. (I feel really cheesy righting that, just to let you know - but it is the truth.) I felt like I was there for every major part of his life. This book gave me great insight not only into the life of R.A. Dickey, but into the mind of R.A. Dickey. Dickey is a fantastic writer, and he does a great job of really pulling the reader in and making you not want to put the book down. I instantly became enthralled by his story and at times I kept reading way longer than I should have. 

Possibly one of my favorite autobiographies of all time was Josh Hamilton's Beyond Belief, but Wherever I Wind Up easily ranks up there as a close second now. I highly recommend reading this book if you love sports, stories of redemption, or just great books. It will be fairly quick read, just because of how well it is written; but, do not buy it if you want to get any work done, because I seemingly could not get anything done once I picked it up and started reading.

This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from The Christian Music Review Blog. Click here to visit today! 

"A Man Who's Not Afraid" is a pretty daring way to open the album, and definitely different than anything I have heard a band do before. It was strange, but House of Heroes made it work. After the little one minute intro, "Out My Way" began to serenade my ears with the best song of the year so far. The song is kind of in-your-face, but at the same time not too in-your-face, if that makes sense. "Out My Way" has an urgent feel to it and at the same time is very motivating - it is perfect working out to by the way. Possibly some of my favorite lines by House of Heroes come from this song, like the chorus, "If you've got shots you wanna take, better hope it buries me, hey ey ey. If I go out then so it be; you know I'm going out my way." This was a great way to start the album off, and it easily made me super excited to listen to the rest of the album.

"Dance (Blow It All Away)" follows up "Out My Way" with a song that always makes me think of Relient K for some reason. (Do not ask me why, just go with it.) The song is filled with a bunch of metaphors from the very first stanza, and is just great lyrically. The song talks about wanting to either completely rebuilding their life or just start all over and hav fun with it - just blow it all away. "Remember the Empire" is a very fun song to listen to, and completely different than the rest on the album as far as sound goes. It is a very interesting song, with some of the most intricate instrumentals on the record that intrigue me every time I listen to it. The song seems to go along with the thematic songs they have had in the past, in fact Cold Hard Want seems to take a departure from their usual, thematic albums. So many songs on this album remind me of weird things, but "Remember the Empire" reminds me of Star Wars every single time I listen to it.

"We Were Giants" was an easy choice for my second favorite song on the record. It is a little different than the rest of the album, in that it is more acoustic and intimate. I would absolutely love to hear this one in a house show type setting. I have always loved Tim Skipper's voice, but "We Were Giants," I feel, is the best representation of how great of a vocalist he truly is. The song is a plea for someone to stay and hold on to what they had, because he still believes they still have it. The song is a perfect segue into "The Cop," slowing it down perfectly to go into a purely acoustic song with interesting production. I have heard complaints lately of bands overproducing albums, which there may be some validity to that, but "The Cop" seems to take it back to the times when songs sounded less than perfect. The song was supposed to sound a little more old-fashioned, in which the band greatly succeeded.

I instantly fell in love with the instrumentals on "Comfort Trap;" in fact, I just love the whole song. I get it stuck in my head every time I listen to it, and it will usually stay in my head for like the next 24 hours it seems. The song is super catchy, and the lyrics - like all other HOH songs - are stellar. Skipper talks about getting to comfortable with what he has in life and telling God that He could wait, and he realizes he is stuck in this horrible trap. The first and only single form the album, "Touch This Light," follows that up with easily another favorite of mine off the album. The song is equally as catchy as "Comfort Trap," but it really speeds the album up and brings it back to the pace we left off with on "Remember the Empire." The single is what revived my love for the band, and it should be able to make a fan out of anyone.

"Angels of Night" is that song on the album that I think may have made me realize just how good this band truly is. The style of the song is unlike the rest of the album, which seem to be the theme of Cold Hard Want. The track is not one of my top favorites on the record, but after listening to this song for the first time, something just hit me and me realize just how well the band does everything. I would highly recommend looking up the lyrics to this song and just reading through them, even without the song playing in the background. Just read them. The lyrics are so well written and are the greatest representation of just how great of a lyricist Skipper is. "Stay" continues with the slower pace that "Angels of Night" started again. The song is pretty good as far as instrumentals, lyrics, and vocals go, but it is not one of my top tracks on the CD.

"Suspect" is another one of those interesting songs on Cold Hard Want that just really made me fall in love with the band all over again. The instrumentals are a little more technical and techno-ish during the verses, and the lyrics take me back to those old secret agent movies I used to love to watch. Who am I kidding? I still love to watch those movies - just last night I watched an old James Bond movie! "Suspect" is easily the best song in the later portion of the album. "Curtains" then continues in the strange intro tracks that segues into the final song, "I Am a Symbol." The song is a perfect mixture of everything that makes House of Heroes great, from stellar lyrics to great instrumentals to strong vocals on the part of Tim Skipper. The best line in the song, by far, is "One voice in the crowd is small, but if he speaks the truth, then he speaks for all, all of us." I love the song, and it is a perfect way to end a perfect album.

I am very skeptical of ever giving perfect ratings to albums, which is why I rarely give them out. Most albums that I review, I will pour over and scrutinize everything possible to get a good picture of how everything sounds, which I did with Cold Hard Want as well. I seriously can find no flaws in this album; House of Heroes did absolutely nothing wrong on the record. Every time I listen to it I fall more and more in love with it, and each time I find something new that makes me love it even more. I went into this album hoping for a solid release from the band, and they more than delivered. They released, what is right now, the top album of the year. I guess we will have to wait and see if any album can top Cold Hard Want, but man is it going to be hard to do.

Favorite Song: Out My Way

This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from The Christian Music Review Blog. Click here to visit today! 

Last year, vocalist, Leigh Nash, released a hymns project entitled Hymns & Sacred Songs that I had the pleasure of reviewing, which gave me one of my first real tastes of her voice. (The only other song I had heard by her was the famous, "Kiss Me.") One thing I noticed right off the bat when listening to her hymns record was how enchanting her voice is - you cannot help but be drawn in by it. Lost in Transition drew me in from the first listen as well. My favorite albums of all time are those that when you listen to them you are just like, "This is pure art." Lost in Transition is pure art that any music fan should be able to appreciate.

"My Dear Machine" opens up the record with some of the best instrumentals on the album - as I said, art. The song talks about love problems in a metaphorical way - comparing her, I am guessing husband, to a car that she let rust and neglected. "Radio" is one of my favorites on the record that has a more relaxed and almost remorseful feel to it where she talks about wanting to be with the one she loves. "Give it Back" is another beautifully written song with some of my favorite instrumentals on the album; and, "Safety Line" follows that up with one of my favorite songs as far as vocals go on the record. "When You Call Me" shows the band's more mysterious side, with what I would consider haunting vocals that just linger in your head. The song really slows the album down and could easily lull you to sleep.

"Should Not Be This Hard," for some reason, is my favorite song on the record. It sounds so much different than the rest of the songs on the album, but I think it is the fun-nature of the song that I have so fallen in love with. "Go Your Way" is a slower acoustic song that seems to have some country influences on it as well. "Failure" keeps with the slow trend slow; this one sees Nash looking back on her life wondering where time has gone and wondering what happened to her dreams. In reality it is a very depressing song. "Don't Blame Yourself" was written to her sister - "not by blood, but by sweat and tears" - giving her some sisterly advice, basically telling her she has her back and she should not blame herself for whatever happened.

The final three tracks of the album are a mixture of completely different sounds, in my opinion. "Stand My Ground" is another very tenebrous song, that is good, but can easily make you depressed. "Sooner Than Later" is one of my favorites on the album, that I have heard was written about Nash's father. "Be OK" is a very nice way to end the record; it is always good to end on a more upbeat song - especially when so much of the album is composed of slow and sad songs.

Sixpence None The Richer is a peculiar band that seems to have a way of catching my attention. Leigh Nash's voice is beautiful, and at times haunting on this album - in a good way. I love bands like Sixpence None The Richer where you cannot find another band out there that sounds like them; they have their own style and they really rock it. Lost in Transition is a fantastic album that I have not been able to stop listening to. If you are a fan of the group then you will definitely want to pick up the album, or if you like albums that are just pure art, then you should buy this record. You will not find another album like Lost in Transition; it is easily one of my favorite albums at the moment.

Favorite Song: Should Not Be This Hard

This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from The Christian Music Review Blog. Click here to visit today!

Be For Me Like Rain starts off with "Faithful," a song about the faithfulness of God and how He is there for us no matter what we do. The instrumentals on the track are some of my favorites on the whole album, and Patrick's voice of course sounds fantastic, as well, on this song in particular. "Greater is He" is a little more serene than "Faithful" and is probably one of the more worshipful tracks on the album, in my opinion. The song really follows in the theme of "Faithful" in that it talks about how great His love is and how He is greater than anything in this world. Both of the opening tracks are great reminders for us as believers that God is there for us, He loves us, and He is greater than anything we will ever go through.

"Called Me As I Am" is the first track where Brittany is the main vocalist. It is always great to mix it up a little bit on an album and not just do the same thing over and over again, so it is nice having her take over the reigns on this song. "Called Me As I Am" talks about Christ's love once again and talks about Christ calling us just as we are because of His great love for us. The first three songs on the album all talk about how great God is no matter what, but "The Storm" really takes a look at when we are struggling and need the Lord's help. "Never Let Me Go" talks about when everything in the world fails us, and they say that in those times Christ is still there for us, by our side.

"No Other" brings back Brittany as the lead vocalist, not just doing back-up vocals. The song talks about the all-sufficiency of Christ and how nothing in the universe could take His place and do all the things He has done for us. "I Believe" is a little more upbeat than the rest of the songs on the album. I could easily see any other adult contemporary artist doing this song; it really sounds like the works of a veteran musician. The concept of the song is that God is not done with us and He is still doing work in us and through us. "Your Heart" slows it down again with one of the strongest songs as far as vocals go. The song is a prayer to God asking Him to reveal to us His heart and asking for a greater walk with Him at the same time.

The album ends on a very strong note, with two of my favorite songs: "Running" and "Hope is Alive" - both are solid tracks that definitely show just how great of artists Patrick and Brittany are. "Running" talks about Christ's pursuit of us; He never stops showing us His love and calling us to come to Him. I love the lyrics to this song so much; it will easily put your heart in a spirit of worship. I do not think it is possible to listen to this song without truly worshiping. "Hope is Alive" is a song I have heard several times this year. Patrick wrote the song to be used by Ascension as their theme song, since their theme is Hope is Alive this year. They close every show with this song, and it always gives me goosebumps. It is one of those songs that I love to just close my eyes and let everything about it sink in. "Hope is Alive" talks about our hope in Christ because of what He did for us by dying on the cross. It is a great way to end the album, because it sums up everything they talked about on the whole album.

Patrick and Brittany are fantastic musicians and great vocalists, and their heart for God can be seen very clearly from the first song to the last. Be For Me Like Rain is full of amazing worship songs that do not take very long to fall in love with. I am just as likely to pick up this album and listen to it as I am other worship acts like Hillsong, Jesus Culture, Travis Ryan, etc. The album has a little bit more of an indie feel to it than of course Hillsong or any of the bands I mentioned, but that gives Patrick and Brittany something those guys do not have. This album is fantastic, and I highly recommend picking it up if you like worship music, adult contemporary, or even just awesome indie bands.

Favorite Song: Hope is Alive

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The album starts off with, "Glued," which is a perfect representation of Langston's fun-loving lyrics. The song is not quite as techno as the rest of the tracks on the album, but it is a great way to start the album off and it eases into the more techno stuff very well. The song would have probably fit pretty well on any Eleventyseven album, but it is definitely a great way to start the album off. "Made For Forever," which I believe was the first single from Heta Himlen,  comes next. The song is written to a girl telling her that they were clearly made for forever, no matter what they may go through. Overall, the song is probably the strongest on the record, it is not too techno and everything just seems to flow naturally with this track.

"Sad Girl" is the perfect picture of techno music. There is a lot of production and programing on this song and lots of bells and whistles, as well as a good bit of autotune on Langston's voice. "All My Bones" was a track that instantly stood out to me from the moment I heard the first beat. The instrumentals are a little different than the rest on the album; they seem a little more serious, if that is even possible with techno music. The lyrics to the song fight right in with Langston's usual, fun lyrics, with this song talking about the bones in his body praying for someone to take them out.

The fifth track, "Shaken Out" is a great song, but I almost wish it had been at the very end of the album. After listening to it many times, it feels like it would have fit better as the last track on the album, to close it out the record. I definitely love the song though. "Dream Weaver" follows that up with a more retro song that reminds me a little bit of some of Owl City's older stuff, but with a more retro feel than that. The song also has some of my favorite vocals by Langston; the song is a perfect representation of how great his voice truly is.

"Mind Machine," I would say, is the most programed and produced song on the record, the beat never rests throughout the whole song unlike most of the other songs on Heta Himlen. "My Heartbeat" is another great example of Langston's awesome voice; the song is probably one of the slower ones on the record, and he really seems to thrive on those kinds of songs. "Survive My Love" is an interesting track that brings back the theme of love, which always seems to show up in like half of the songs Langston does. I absolutely love the synths on this song; in fact, I wish I had just the instrumentals to this song so I could constantly listen to just the beat all day long. "Closet Monster" closes out the album with another super fun song, that reminds me of both Owl City and Eleventyseven's early days, with of course a little more of a techno influence.

I have long been a fan of everything Matt Langston has done with Eleventyseven, and now I have another fun album to listen to from him in Heta Himlen. If you like electronic, techno, or pop music at all, then you are definitely going to want to check this one out. The lyrics are really laid back and just fun to listen to and so are the instrumentals. Every song on this record will easily make you smile and are a great way to relax or to jam out - whichever you feel like doing. If you like this then you should also definitely check out Eleventyseven! I cannot stop listening to this album, and I have a feeling you will not be able to either.

Favorite Song: Made For Forever

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"Co-Sign" opens up the mixtape with a bang, that I believe automatically silenced critics who thought Lecrae would go soft as far as lyrics go on this mixtape. Lecrae showed right off the bat that he can make music designed for nonchristians and still write Gospel centered lyrics. "APB" follows that up with probably my favorite song on the mixtape. The song has one of the best beats on the album, has some of the best rapping from Lecrae and Thi'sl, and has easily my favorite lyrics. The song is about how in Christ we are so different that there is no way anyone should be able to find the old us.

The title track continues in the line of awesome songs with a completely different type of beat that almost seems like it is going to slow down the album a little bit. But after the thirty second intro Crae just goes in on the song with lyrics that just about any nonchristian and most Christians can probably relate to. The song talks about the hypocrisy in the church, but brings it back to the fact that if we are in Christ then all these little things that Christians and nonchristians quarrel about do not really matter. I love the last line of the song where he says, "If God gon take me as I am then I already got on my church clothes."

My one and only complaint with the mixtape is the constant interruptions at the beginning and ending of songs by Don Cannon. During the first two songs I was okay with it, but after the title track it really started to get on my nerves. We get it, you are the number one cosigner, but you do not have to keep reminding us every song that you are there and that you are the number one cosigner. It gets annoying listening to his little interjections all the time, but really that is my only complaint with the record.

"Cold World" definitely slows down the mixtape with a song talking about all the social problems in the world, but he says that Christ is there to bring hope to those in need of it. One of the biggest problems people have with Christianity is they believe that a loving God could not allow all this evil to occur in the world, but Lecrae demolished that argument. I love the line where he says, "I know someone who can change the weather forever," because it sums up the song so well. "Welcome to H-Town" follows that up with another one of my favorites. Tedashii killed his verse on the song, and so did Lecrae and Dre Murray, but T-Dot's verse was easily my favorite on the song.

"Welcome to H-Town" was sandwiched inbetween two of the slowest songs on the album, because after it comes "Inspiration," which is a very emotional song from Lecrae. The song talks about Christ being his inspiration and it basically just lays out the Gospel in two and a half minutes. "Rise" picks the pace back up with another one of my favorites, that definitely gives me inspiration. "Rise" talks all about rising above all the low expectations and issues in society by finding God's love and being a Christian. The lyrical content on this song is fantastic, and easily some of my favorites on the whole record.

"Darkest Hour" feels a little more old school than the rest of the songs on the mixtape, and with this being my first time listening to No Malice, he very much impressed me with his verse. The lyrics to the song talk about how in Christ we have hope and no matter what happens, we will be in Heaven with Him one day. "Black Rose" never ceases to amaze me; everything about it impresses me. The producer of the song, Tyshane, is only 16, which absolutely amazed me. The beat is killer, and the Lecrae's flow is better than any other song I have ever heard. I like the small Jamaican influences on the song as well, it just adds to how great the song is.

Halfway through this free mixtape it is cool to look back and see how many great songs there are at just this point, because there are so many rappers who struggle to get just one great song. Plus those dudes are selling their albums, Crae is just giving this away for free. So, after the halfway point Lecrae comes back with "The Price of Life" which has one of my favorite upcoming artists on it: Andy Mineo. Mineo seems to be able to do just about anything, and his verse on this song is absolutely killer. Definitely be on the lookout for Mineo in the future.

"Special" is a pretty sweet love song that I believe is a perfect one for Christians and nonchristians alike, because we can both relate to the words in the song. In a culture where there are so many rappers rapping about all this fake love, it's cool to see Lecrae show the picture of true love in his relationship with his wife and at the same show Christ's awesome love. It is a huge contrast to what the world is telling us, and this has definitely been a song I have been listening to a lot lately. Suzy Rock is another artist I feel has a lot of potential, and I really like seeing Lecrae work with her on songs (lookup his track "Battle Song"). She has the potential to be the Christian Nicki Minaj, so I cannot wait to hear her upcoming project Vanity Suxx. I love "No Regrets," which she is on, mostly for Lecrae's rapping, but Rock's voice definitely adds another dimension to the emotions in the song.

"Gimme a Second" has Lecrae doing something I am not sure he has ever done: singing on a song. He sings the hook on the track, and it sounds pretty good, but I definitely prefer his rapping. It is cool to see him trying new things though, instead of just sticking to the same old same old. "Long Time Coming" follows that up with Lecrae doing a song with Swoope that talks about growing up in our Christian walk and seeing things through His eyes. Swoope's verse is killer; he is definitely someone I would suggest to anyone who likes secular rapper, Lupe Fiasco, because his lyricism and flow is so stellar. Lecrae and Swoope are definitely great rapping together.

A lot of people have been waiting for Reach Records and Humble Beast to do some songs together, and "Misconception" is exactly why they have wanted it for so long. The song has Propaganda, Braille, and Odd Thomas; together with Lecrae, they created a stellar song. It talks about all the misconceptions nonchristians have about Christianity and it really shows that those things are not what define the Gospel. It is definitely a highlight of the mixtape, and worth the five minutes it takes to download the album. "Spazz" was one of the songs that I was looking forward to hearing recorded the most, because a few weeks before the release I saw a video of him performing the song at a concert and absolutely fell in love with it. Recorded it is pretty good, but compared to the rest of the songs on the mixtape it is not quite as good as I thought it would be. I love that Lecrae used this song just like so many in the past to talk about being unashamed of Christ, but especially with this one he made it seem so cool and made a killer hook that will remind people to stay unashamed of Him every day.

The mixtape ends like it began, with some really great songs. "Sacrifice" has a really sweet chorus and an awesome beat  (with a killer bass). The song talks about sacrificing our worldly wants for God's will and to show people His love; to me it's a newer version of "Go Hard" from his album Rebel. "Rejects" with Christon Gray feels like the perfect song to end the mixtape with, from the beat to the urgency of the rapping. I love the tone of his voice because it feels so serious and reminds me so much of why I fell in love with his music to begin with.

Lecrae set the bar for Christian rappers, and he set it pretty high. He always seems to set a new bar for holy rappers, but this one really paved the road for Christian rappers in the mainstream market. As of right now it has been downloaded over 270,000 times, which is crazy for a free mixtape from a Christian. Now he is definitely up on a huge pedestal, and people are going to be expecting stellar music from him from now on. Hopefully Gravity is as good as Church Clothes; if he can make it as good, if not better than, Church Clothes, then I believe he will have no problems selling albums to anyone - Christian or nonchristian. It is a great time for Christian rap, and I am definitely excited to see what doors Lecrae has opened with this mixtape.

Favorite Song: APB

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We Search, We Dig opens with their single, "Secrets," which got me very much interested in the band from the moment I heard it. The song has a nice mixture between Rivera's vocals and King's vocals, along with some pretty sweet riffs that help start the album off very well. "Dredge" follows that up very nicely, with a song that is a little more heavy on the clean vocals, but at the same time very heavy as far as instrumentals go. I am not a huge fan of Rivera's voice at certain points during this song, but for the most part, the song is very nice way to follow up "Secrets."

"Amend" is an amazing song, and also the longest on the album (I love it when bands do that!). It is one of those songs where everything just fell into place perfectly to create a masterpiece; the vocals - clean and unclean - are spectacular, and the instrumentals are super heavy to the point that it feels almost like maybe August Burns Red. Another plus about "Amend" is that it is one of the few metal song that I can get stuck in my head on a daily basis, because it is so catchy. I rarely find myself singing hardcore songs in my head, but I definitely catch myself singing "Amend" a lot.

"Dreamer" is possibly the heaviest song on the record, that wastes no time getting to the heavy stuff. From the first second of the song you can tell they mean business. I guess my biggest complaint with not only this song, but with the album in general though, is the brevity. The album is super short, clocking in at only 30 minutes, and this song in particular is a little less than two and three quarter minutes long. When I love an album, I want to be able to listen to it for a long time, and not be able to listen to it all twice in an hour. However, on the flip side, I also do not want an awesome band to add filler to an album to make it longer, because it is so easy to tell when a band does that. So, I guess it is hard to get it just right as far as the length of an album goes.

After the halfway point, the album slows down for one song - "Traitor" - and then picks right back up where they left off with the super fast paced, "Vulture." The one thing I respect from these guys is that the quality of the album is spectacular, and you can tell all the time that went into it. It was not just thrown together, but it feels like an album that was worked on for a while and really sounds like an album released by a band that has been in the industry for a lot longer than them.

The album finishes up with three very strong tracks in "Lost," "Estrange," and "Absolve." "Lost" shows off their melodic metal side very well, in that it is not super heavy, but is still a very strong track with some of my favorite guitar work on the album. "Estrange" is a great song with the most amount of clean vocals on the whole album. I love the song from start to finish, mostly because the instrumentals and vocals seem to mix so well together on it. For about the first two minutes the song is purely clean vocals, and then Rivera comes on with about a minute left to go and picks back up with the unclean vocals to round off the track very nicely. "Absolve" finishes off the album with another super heavy song that feels more urgent than any other song on the record that is very well expressed in the lyric, "I am my own worst enemy. My mind is a tragedy, I have never seen it so clear."

I am so excited for The Overseer and this album. We Search, We Dig is possibly the strongest debut album from a metal band that I have ever heard. The album sounds so much like something a veteran band would have done, but it is their debut album! It truly has blown me away. Solid State was very smart to sign these guys, and I think all the other hardcore record companies will be kicking themselves for not signing them. After listening through the album multiple times, I have fallen in love with it so much, and I think you will too if you give it a shot.

Favorite Song: Amend

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The album begins with their first single, "Gutter," which they released for free back in December. The song gives a good feeling for how the how the whole album sounds, because of the great mixture of heaviness and great melodic parts as well; it also showcases very well the emotion that runs deep throughout the album. Every song is emotional, which may stem from the fact that each song is a personal experience from the band members. "Bad Blood" follows that up with another fast-paced, but very similar sounding song, which deals with being abandoned by someone they were close to. "No Acceptance" I feel changed it up and has a little bit of a different sound than the first two songs. I love, love, love the lyrics to this song, especially when vocalist, Daniel McWhorter, screams out, "We will be the change! They will not stop us! They will not slow us down!" It is definitely a call to action and a lesson learned from experience.

"Overthrow," I feel, has one of the heaviest breakdowns on the album, and is clearly one of the most emotional as well. This song perfectly embodies the sound Gideon was trying to go for on the album, with a perfect mixture of heaviness and melodiousness. "Prodigal Son" is a good song, but it sure sounds like a lot of the same instrumentals as a lot of the other songs on this record. It is great hardcore music, but it just feels the same as what I have heard already on the album. The theme of the song is pretty obvious, as it is stemming from the story of the prodigal son in the Bible, but with their own personal flare to it.

"Mask" has the same exact guitar riffs as "Prodigal Son." They are almost identical in sound. Once again, I like the sound, but it would be nice to hear them do some different things as far as instrumentals go. I love the vocals on "Still Alive," which talks about brotherhood and staying together - standing together "shoulder to shoulder." "Still Alive" leads very nicely into the solely instrumental title track. I love the title track so much, just because I feel like it fits so nicely with the whole album, and its sound is unlike anything I have heard on a metal album before. It fits perfectly right where it is on the album, and it really makes you reflect on the lyrics that you have heard so far. I love instrumental tracks on metal albums, but this is by far my favorite of any I have ever heard.

"Maternity" picks right back up with the heaviness, with one of the heaviest and fastest tracks on the album. As far as clean vocals go on this album, "Maternity" has the best in that category. They do not feel forced, and yet they also sound wonderful - in fact I wish they utilized clean vocals more on this record. "Coward" and "Faceless" then close out the album very strongly. "Coward" is another very heavy song, with one of my favorite breakdowns on the whole album. It is also a very intense song, which is seen when he says, "You are nothing to me!" The song talks about a woman being abused by her drunk husband, and says she deserves so much more than that. "Faceless" deals with forgiveness; the song is climaxed when McWhorter says, "Just know, you are forgiven!"

Gideon have cemented themselves in my brain. Milestone was an album I had high hopes for, and they did a very good job of living up to those hopes. They definitely did not reinvent the wheel, but they made some great hardcore music that I will for sure be jamming out to for a very long time. If you want a really good hardcore album, then you are definitely going to want to check out Milestone. It shows great maturity by the band, and is impeccably well done for a sophomore album. Gideon definitely did not fall into the sophomore slump!

Favorite Song: Overthrow

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