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Band: In The Midst Of Lions
Album: Out Of Darkness
Label: Strike First Records
Release Date: May 26, 2009
Reviewed By: Chris W
Tracklisting:
01. Awaken the Dawn
02. Tongues Of Fire
03. Out Of Darkness
04. Field Of Blood
05. Paid In Full
06. Manifesto
07. Crucifixion And Burial
08. He Is Risen
09. Herod’s Demise
10. Into The Light
As deathcore become more and more popular, just like all the other “xCore” genres, one band makes a wave and 100 more jump on for the ride. Many of them are for sure crap, some of them are decent, others are excellent. Bands in all three of those categories will gain intense followings without a doubt. The question is, which ones are actually worth your time.
In The Midst Of Lions is a 5 piece from St. Louis, MO. Having not heard anything from this band prior to signing I immediately scoured the interwebs for any old demos or EPs that may have been self released, after not finding anything I settled down into their Strikefirst Records debut “Out Of Darkness” And what I found excited me.
Falling between the speed and ferocity of bands such as At The Throne Of Judgment or Bring Me The Horizon and the slow plodding heaviness of bands like With Blood Comes Cleansing, this album should satisfy any fan of the genre’s tastes. The vocals alternate between high pitched shrieks and low growls, leaning more towards the low end for most of the album. The track Herod’s Demise starts with a vocal delivery I have yet to hear any other band of this style use. The breakdowns are more memorable and creative than most, one sticks on in my mind on the song Tongues Of Fire with its melodic guitar riffs layered overtop. And there are enough pinch harmonics to make any deathcore fan happy. As always one of the first things I look to are lyrics, one of my favorites on this album is the opening of Paid In Full “your life is not your own”. I’d like to give the band kudos as well, most bands have an intro that’s just noise, or its goofy, or it’s the heavily overdone orchestral. Not ITMOL, for them it’s scripture passages regarding praise and worship. Whereas many bands are more concerned with being the most epic or heaviest, ITMOL are concerned with praising their God. They are definitely putting their faith and sharing it far ahead of success and fame.
Overview: One of the best praise and worship based metal releases available. This debut is sure to bring scene wide recognition to In The Midst Of Lions not just for it’s music, but for it’s message as well.
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| 03/17/2010 09:43 pm | News
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Cool, I have been wanting to check these guys out. Can you post the tracklisting if that isn’t too much of a hastle. :D Thanks dude, good review.
I have this album and love it
oh snap forgot to post that
Thanks Chris. :D
Nice review Chris. I had checked these guys out after hearing them on Facedown’s recent sampler and I had been thinking about getting the album. Now I might have to take advantage of the Facedown summer sale.
Good review. I’ve barely even heard of this band, but this review will get me to give them a listen.
Hey Chris,
I agree with most of the positive things you said about the record, and think it was a very well written review. However, i think there are some decent sized flaws with the record. I’d be into typing what I think those are when I get off work. I just wanted to make sure you knew that I wasn’t disrespecting you, your view of music, or this specific review first. Deal?
When I look at Ty’s avatar I just can’t help myself…
it’s a rare condition, this day and aaage
To read any good news… on the news paper page.
love and tradition… of the grand desiiiign
some people say it’s even harder to find
Like this album Herod’s Demise is a great song!….
Ty, no problem. Go for it
“Now tell me as the words consume your flesh, do you fear my God now?”
Awesome band. And christian, even better.
Hoorah.
Yo, Ding. It’s actually worms. “Now tell me as the worms consume your flesh, do you fear my God now?” haha. Just thought I’d give you a heads up on that.
Alright, sorry it took me so long. It’s super hot in our house so I’ve been sleeping at friends houses, and not been at my computer. So, my main complaints are the originality, and the production. First originality, there are some very creative moments on this record. But there are also some moments that come across as very mediocre to me. There are other parts that I feel like there might be some accidental
riff ripping off. This is something I may not have noticed though, if I wasn’t comparing it to other Facedown bands. My last comment on the song writing elements is on “Herrods Demise”, I kind of think the beginning of the song sounds like a mix of Korn and Slipknot. I don’t say that to be a jerk, or extreme, or whatever. I feel like when the vocal delivery does come in, it just takes the song down even more. For me the song is unlistenable until 1:20.
My second problem with the record is the production. The mixing is good to really good. At times is comes off as they bit off more than they can chew, which is alright. They seem like a young band, probably ambitious to try all the things that they’re favorite records do. But the mastering, man, it’s really not very good. It doesn’t actually sound mastered at all. From track to track, there are noticeable jumps in volume. Also, this record was made to sound awesome in nice speakers, not necessarily crappy ones. I listened to this record on 6 different types of stereos(headphones 2 types, computer speakers, crappy car stereo, awesome car stereo, crappy home stereo, and awesome home stereo). The difference was really quite drastic. A good record should sound like a good record, no matter what you are listening to it on.
Both of those seem like things I would want to know about before I spend 10 bucks on a record. There really are some great moments, and the lyrics are pretty solid throughout the cd. Field of Blodd is one of my favorite tracks, probably one of my favorite that facedown has released this year. But I think for me, this record has got to be a 7, tops. Sorry that was so long-winded, thanks for your time.