For today- prevailer review
When it comes to being bold about your Faith in the music scene, For Today comes to my mind. 2012-2013 has been really interesting for the For Today crew, having founding member/ drummer David Morrison leave the band to do a missions trip in South America to the former guitarist standing up for his faith on twitter by expressing his beliefs about homosexuality in a non hateful way then getting bashed for it, to having all their tour gear (bus, instruments included) stolen while on tour! For Today still "prevails" on (and YES, that pun was intended lol) and shows that nothing can stop them from serving Christ. The EP/DVD combo pack comes with four songs and a bonus acoustic version of fearless. From Zion starts off heavy and hard then goes into a melo death influenced frenzy with Mattie doing his old school Ekklesia era type vocals. Crown of Thorns keeps up the heaviness with a breakdown laden chorus that sends goosebumps down the listeners spine stating:
"It should have been me
with the nails through my hands and feet
facing the wrath of God"
Flesh and Blood is fast paced with a catchy clean chorus and a overall fun song to listen to, while open heaven keeps the speed going. The acoustic version of fearless is just downright beautiful and they did a great job of adding lyrics from Seraphim towards the end while keeping the song flowing. The lyrics are extremely bold and in your face which is an awesome thing. Dealing with spiritual warfare, the sacrifice of Christ, being renewed in Christ, and seeing the glory of heaven. The dvd documentary has the band getting interviewed and how each of them got a start in For Today. It's pretty crazy how these guys love and care for each other as brothers in Christ, and they take the faith seriously by their lifestyle. They also snap jokes at each other in the dvd and know how to have a good time in a righteous way. It's rare to see a band this blunt and dedicated to who they are serving, especially in this day and age. Major blessings to For Today, keep the fire burning!
"It should have been me
with the nails through my hands and feet
facing the wrath of God"
Flesh and Blood is fast paced with a catchy clean chorus and a overall fun song to listen to, while open heaven keeps the speed going. The acoustic version of fearless is just downright beautiful and they did a great job of adding lyrics from Seraphim towards the end while keeping the song flowing. The lyrics are extremely bold and in your face which is an awesome thing. Dealing with spiritual warfare, the sacrifice of Christ, being renewed in Christ, and seeing the glory of heaven. The dvd documentary has the band getting interviewed and how each of them got a start in For Today. It's pretty crazy how these guys love and care for each other as brothers in Christ, and they take the faith seriously by their lifestyle. They also snap jokes at each other in the dvd and know how to have a good time in a righteous way. It's rare to see a band this blunt and dedicated to who they are serving, especially in this day and age. Major blessings to For Today, keep the fire burning!
Hope for the dying- aletheia review
Hope For The Dying has always been a band that i have admired. Going out of the norm of being a normal chug chug breakdown band, HFTD combines melodic death metal with a minor metalcore sound, adding in amazing guitar solos and expertly crafted drumming. On their debut studio album "Dissimulation" HFTD showed that modern metal can shred like the 80's too! On Aletheia, they don't shred as much, instead they take a chance on being really progressive/technical, and it works in their favor! The guitar rhythms on acceptance are somehow catchy yet complex, but not overly complex just for the heck of it, just right. This combination along with a beautiful symphonic sound is what helps keep this album engaging from start to finish. The lyrics are Christianity based, but written in a poetic and intelligent manner, it pretty much goes hand in hand with the musicianship. Lyrics dealing with false preachers (Iniquitous), standing strong in faith (reformation), God being there for us in times of need ( In Isolation), and many other topics are covered. If your looking for something a little more different and unique coming out from the Facedown family, pick this bad-boy up, an amazing listening experience that any musician and Christian can appreciate.
those who fear- unholy anger review
Is it me or does it seem like a lot of the up and coming bands that are coming out of Facedown are slowly getting back into old school hardcore? If this keeps on happening, I'm gonna be broke by the end of 2013 ahahaha. Well anyways, Those Who Fear are a Pittsburgh Hardcore outfit that unleash music that is brutal to the ears and throws you around like a rag doll. The first single Daggermouth blast open with punishing riffs and brutal breakdowns, along with the vocalist catchy vocal style, at times it seems like he's rapping which i really thought was pretty neat, while at other times it seems like he does little death-core type growls. The two tracks that stood out for me are (un)holy anger and holy anger. Both of these tracks pretty much differentiate the meaning behind being angry for a right reason, and being angry for sinful purposes, and i thought they did a great job exploring that topic. The lyrics are bold and Christian based. Taking topics such as heresy, standing up for what you believe in, conviction, internal struggles with sin and hypocrisy. They definitely have a gritty theme to the lyrics and they are written in a street smart fashion. The production is extremely loud and heavy, at times i felt like the breakdown in the song was going to make my body fall to the floor! Those Who fear have created a beast that should come with a caution sign saying "Warning: post-hardcore fans might faint from the brutality of the Pittsburgh beatdown crew". haaha do yourself a favor and buy this amazing album!
DYNASTY- BEYOND MEASURE REVIEW
Dynasty was a band that caught me by surprise. Considering i love Facedown records and the majority of music they put out, i have never heard of these guys before. Well, after watching the lyric vid for "Explicit Method" i was impressed by the old school hardcore approach they took to their music. I Didn't really listen to anymore of their tracks and decided to buy t shirt and the album and surprise myself. I gotta say, that was a pretty wise decision!
All the songs are hard hitting old school style hardcore, with lyrical subjects ranging from Christianity (which are pretty bold, not watered down). to subjects ranging from how today's society is. The songs are pretty short in hardcore fashion, but they are definitely addicting to listen to over and over again. The last track features guest rapping by Inspectah Deck of Wu Tang Clan, and surprisingly they pull it off well! The production is really gritty and garage sounding, giving it a gritty old school feeling. Tommy Green of Sleeping Giant and Jesse Burnett of Stick To Your Guns does guest vocals on Rise to Victory, so fans of those bands should appreciate that! Dynasty's Beyond Measure is a great hardcore album from beginning to end!
All the songs are hard hitting old school style hardcore, with lyrical subjects ranging from Christianity (which are pretty bold, not watered down). to subjects ranging from how today's society is. The songs are pretty short in hardcore fashion, but they are definitely addicting to listen to over and over again. The last track features guest rapping by Inspectah Deck of Wu Tang Clan, and surprisingly they pull it off well! The production is really gritty and garage sounding, giving it a gritty old school feeling. Tommy Green of Sleeping Giant and Jesse Burnett of Stick To Your Guns does guest vocals on Rise to Victory, so fans of those bands should appreciate that! Dynasty's Beyond Measure is a great hardcore album from beginning to end!