Reviews Archives

Cool Hand Luke - The Sleeping House

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Cool Hand Luke Album: The Sleeping House Label: Lujo Records Release Date: October 14, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Fast Asleep 2. Cast Your Bread 3. Failing in Love 4. Buy the Truth 5. The Mirror 6. Eye of the Storm 7. The City Prevails 8. Spirit Sing 9. Wondertour 10. The House 11. Incomprehensible Sleep 12. Wide Awake A song that I’ve always had a special connection with since the day I heard it is Cool Hand Luke’s “Cinematic.” The piano and voice work together to create a beautiful song in itself, but it is the lyrics that make it so amazing in painting a picture of personal failure and God as the hero who saves the victim from that failure.… Continued →

Kiros - A Single Strand

By The Headless Horseman in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Kiros Album: A Single Strand Label: Torque Recording Company Buy: IVM Store Review by the Headless Horseman. 1. Strengthen Me… 2. Hold Your Breath 3. Alone Tonight 4. City Lights 5. Speak Softly 6. Of Wolves and Angels (Anthem for the Insomniac) *Note: “Of Wolves and Angels” is free to download at the band’s PureVolume page.* 7. Dear Michigan 8. Heaven 9. Lying Sure Beats Shaving Your Legs 10. …That I May Not Cause Pain 11. Beautiful 12. The Reprise It takes a lot of talent and a lot of luck to form a successful band.… Continued →

Safe Haven - Setting Up and Tearing Down

By Tyler H in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Safe Haven Album: Setting Up and Tearing Down Reviewer: Tyler Hess Are you ever tired of the artsy-fartsy side of music? I’m pretty sure that some good ole’ pop-punk made the way it should be just might be what you need. Setting Up and Tearing Down may be a little over a year old, but it is much under appreciated without the backing needed to get this out to as many people as would like this album. Safe Haven could probably use a little bit more creativity in their lyrics, maybe even in their musicianship, but if you want some straight forward lyrics that are both relatable and encouraging, then this is the CD for you.… Continued →

Copeland - You Are My Sunshine

By Tyler H in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Copeland Album: You Are My Sunshine Label: Tooth and Nail Release Date: 10/14/2008 Reviewer: Tyler Hess Some artists are so good at what they do that I just have to appreciate them, even if it isn’t the type of music I’d generally listen to. I don’t listen to metalcore, but I can’t help but get hooked in by Underoath. I don’t even know much about post hardcore, but if you don’t like Blindside then I think you should deeply reconsider what you’re doing with your life.… Continued →

DecembeRadio - Satisfied

By Michael Mayer III in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: DecembeRadio Album: Satisfied Label: Slanted Records Release Date: August 26, 2008 Review by: Michael Mayer III Tracklisting:

Better Man
Satisfy Me
Believer
For Your Glory
Gasoline
Falling for You
Look for Me
Love Can
Peace of Mind
Be Alright
Powerful Thing
Find You Waiting

As I opened this CD and popped the disc in I remembered that about 50% of sophomore efforts by bands don’t stack up to the debut. Sometimes bands just try too hard to capture the sound they had and they end up releasing the same one again.… Continued →

Coolfield - The Minimalist EP

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Coolfield Album: The Minimalist Label: None (released independently) Release Date: August 1, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Wake up the Sun 2. Chestnut Tree 3. Time Passes By 4. My Fair Lady 5. Surrender (I’m Tryin’, I’m Dyin’) 6. Melody Won’t Do 7. HopeYadFun (Sarah’s Song) [demo] As someone who has followed Coolfield from the original release of Sincerity in 2005, I have to say I am very impressed with the growth shown on this release. What used to be simple man-and-acoustic-guitar songs with simple lyrics have grown to include drums, some electronic sounds (“Time Passes By”), and more.… Continued →

Relient K - The Birds and The Bee Sides / The Nashville Tennis EP

By Tyler H in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Relient K Album: The Nashville Tennis EP and The Bird And The Bee Sides Release Date: 7/1/2008 Label: Gotee Records Reviewer: Tyler Hess The Nashville Tennis EP 1. Where Do I Go From Here 2. The Scene And Herd 3. At Least We Made It This Far 4. The Last, The Lost, The Least 5. The Lining Is Silver 6. There Was No Thief 7. No Reaction 8. Curl Up And Die 9. You’ll Always Be My Best Friend 10. There Was Another Time In My Life 11.… Continued →

Anberlin - New Surrender

By The Headless Horseman in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Anberlin Album: New Surrender Label: Universal Republic Buy It: Amazon/Amazon MP3 Review by the Headless Horseman. 1. The Resistance 2. Breaking 3. Blame Me! Blame Me! 4. Retrace 5. Feel Good Drag 6. Disappear 7. Breathe 8. Burn Out Brighter (Northern Lights) 9. Younglife 10. Haight St. 11. Soft Skeletons 12. Miserable Visu (Ex Malo Bonum) I can’t think of a witty line or clever example with which to begin this review, so here’s some random trivia: 1. There are seven words in the song titles that begin with the letter “B.”… Continued →

One Hot Minute - the story so far

By Tyler H in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: One Hot Minute album: the story so far Release date: 7/25/2008 Reviewer: Tyler Hess The title to this album sums up this album pretty well, as it seems like these guys do have a story to tell, but they could use a little bit more life to draw the story for us. One Hot Minute is a pop rock band with a lot of potential, but need time and work to improve if they are looking to get on a label. Don’t get me wrong, they have some enjoyable songs, but in limited amounts. … Continued →

The Classic Crime - The Silver Cord

By Tyler H in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: The Classic Crime Album: The Silver Cord Label: Tooth & Nail Release Date: 7/22/2008 Review By: Tyler Hess

The End
Just A Man
Grave Digging
The Way That You Are
5805
Salt In The Snow
Abracadavers
RandR
God and Drugs
Medisin
The Ascent
Sing
Everything
Closer Than We Think
The Beginning

Have you ever gone a couple years without seeing a friend or family member? Suddenly, they are back in your life, yet they have matured. You recognize them, but they have grown up. Some like to decide to get all tattooed and pierced and change their clothes and the way they talk, while others are basically just a more developed version of themselves.… Continued →

Jonezetta - Cruel To Be Young

By Tyler H in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Jonezetta Album: Cruel To Be Young Label: Tooth & Nail Release Date: 9/16/2008 Review By: Tyler Hess “Cruel To Be Young”, Jonezetta’s follow up to “Popularity”, has been a much discussed album around the webzines, as everyone seems to be unsure what to do with this album, but I am here to assure you of one thing: this is going to be way underrated. They had to know this. Having introduced themselves two years ago, they now mature their sound, slow down the tempo a bit, yet deliver great music, just without the poppy, catchy choruses that many of us grew fond of from their previous effort.

… Continued →

Nevertheless - In The Making...

By Tyler H in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Nevertheless Album: Spark Label: Flicker Records Release Date: September 16th, 2008 Review by: Tyler Hess

Sleeping In
It’s True
Cross My Heart
It’s No Secret
Rest
I Needed This
Longshot
Augustine
Topics
When I’m Alone
I Found My Way Back Again

Quite frankly, if you are into pop rock and do not appreciate Nevertheless’ new album, In The Making…, I am just not buying your excuses. I have heard that their lyrics are devoid of hope, I have heard that they are generic, I have heard that they are slower than their previous effort, “Live Like We’re Alive”, and that there is too much piano. … Continued →

Amohalko - Spark

By The Headless Horseman in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Amohalko Album: Spark Free Download: IVM Review by the Headless Horseman. 1. Hey Auren 2. Pound It Emerald! 3. Bacchanale 4. Slapstick Tragedy 5. Your Real Best Friend 6. Sancta Somnia (Feat. Rebekah Coley) 7. Pulse 8. Catalyst 9. Ultrasound – A Tone Poem 10. Per Severance 11. Right Where It Belongs (Nine Inch Nails Cover) It was the first week of January, the perfect time for frantically exchanging late Christmas presents. The two of us were isolated in some part of a labyrinthine church basement.… Continued →

Deas Vail - White Lights EP

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Deas Vail Album: White Lights EP Label: Brave New World Records Release Date: August 26, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Under Cover 2. White Lights 3. Last Place 4. From Priests to Thieves 5. Balance I hate Deas Vail. Not as a band. No, their music is absolutely incredible. But as people. I hate them as people for making the decision to release a five song EP that leaves me begging for more. It seems almost every time that last song comes to the end, I’ve already hit the play button again to start the thing over.… Continued →

Dizmas - Dizmas

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Dizmas Album: Dizmas Label: Forefront Records Release Date: April 29, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Yours 2. Play It Safe 3. Save the Day 4. Redemption, Passion, Glory 5. Different 6. Shake It Off 7. Jealousy Hurts 8. This Is a Warning 9. Worth Fighting For 10. Dance After acquiring On a Search in America, Dizmas’ debut release on Credential Recordings, my final conclusion was that this was a band with good potential that needed to make a decision. Their sound was half enjoyable screamo along the lines of Emery, Spoken, or (at the time) Underoath, and the other half took a more CCM approach along the lines of Leeland, Everyday Sunday, or Sanctus Real with lyrics and melodies cheesy enough to make me squirm.… Continued →

Ryan Morgan - Come to Life

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Ryan Morgan Album: Come to Life Label: None (released independently) Release Date: June 5, 2007 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Let Your Glory Fall 2. The One I Adore 3. Glorious 4. Giving Back 5. Listening 6. Come to Life 7. Pour over Me 8. Inner-mission 9. Redemption’s Song 10. The Strength I Need 11. Lost 12. I Need You 13. Harbor Ryan Morgan creates some good music as far as today’s “worship” artists go in that I can actually stand listening to this album.… Continued →

Endeverance - Serenade of Lost Hearts

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Endeverance Album: Serenade of Lost Hearts Label: None (released independently) Release Date: August 30, 2007 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Surgery by Heartache 2. Apologies 3. Hard to Breathe 4. Cry of a Broken Home 5. Serenade of Lost Hearts 6. Heart Whispers Grace 7. Relinquish the Doubt 8. Trying to Last the Winter 9. Crimson Eyes 10. Waiting for Something 11. Love in Forgiveness Despite the slightly overdone emo song names and overall appearance of the band and packaging, Endeverance manage to put out a sound with substance, catchy and heart-driven songs in the emo-rock genre with lyrical themes that usually center on God’s healing of our pain and suffering through his grace and Christ’s death on the cross.… Continued →

Trenches - The Tide Will Swallow Us Whole

By JoshIVM in Reviews | Comments closed

Band: Trenches Title: The Tide Will Swallow Us Whole Label: Solid State Release Date: 9/16/2008 Review By: JoshIVM Tracklisting: 01. Calling 02. Eyes Open 03. Sacrament 04. Trip the Landmine 05. Pathways 06. Bittersweet 07. Call It Correct 08. End 09. Ocean Currents 10. Cornered Everyone who is familiar with Solid State Records knows who Jimmy Ryan is. In fact, most people who are into metalcore will probably know he is as well. A few years back he was the frontman for the popular metalcore act Haste The Day.… Continued →

Saints Never Surrender- Brutus

By Kimberly in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Saints Never Surrender Album: Brutus Label: Blood and Ink Review By: Kimberly Johnson Tracklisting: 1. Swan 2. This Moment 3. Companion 4. Protecotor 5. Lost To Time 6. The End To The Epic 7. Gather The Forces 8. Mapping The Years 9. The Quest 10. The Quest 11. The Last Defender The first sound I was welcomed with was the strumming of finely tuned acoustic guitars. Shortly after that, I began to realize that what I thought would be a soft, maybe even pop-ish eloquent collection of songs, is a hardcore infused collection of hits.… Continued →

Maps - The Wick and the Fire

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Maps Album: The Wick and the Fire Label: None (released independently) Release Date: June 10, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Failure of Constancy 2. Ambuscade 3. The Words Will Grow 4. Breathing Water 5. Spread My Love 6. With a Knife 7. Reverse Telescope 8. The Alchemy of Economy 9. Party Hats & Attitude 10. Sandburg 11. My Desire to Be Napoleon 12. Synergy With so many bands out there by the name of Maps, I wasn’t sure which this one was and came into it expecting to hear the one with the soft shoe-gazer indie sound with the girl singer, but apparently I was wrong.… Continued →

Underoath- "Lost In The Sound of Separation"

By Nate IVM in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Underoath Album: Lost In The Sound of Separation Label: Tooth and Nail Records Street Date: 9/02/08 Review by: Nate

“Breathing In A New Mentality” – 2:37
“Anyone Can Dig A Hole But It Takes A Real Man To Call It Home” – 3:16
“A Fault Line. A Fault Of Mine” – 3:22
“Emergency Broadcast: The End Is Near” – 5:44
“The Only Survivor Was Miraculously Unharmed” – 3:09
“We Are The Involuntary” – 4:10
“The Created Void” – 4:02
“Coming Down Is Calming Down” – 3:15
“Desperate Times, Desperate Measures” – 3:28
“Too Bright To See, Too Loud To Hear” – 4:31
“Desolate Earth: The End Is Here” – 4:07

Rating: 7.5/10 Summary: For Underoath fans, this has been the long-awaited album.… Continued →

War Of Ages - Arise And Conquer

By JoshIVM in Reviews | Comments closed

Band: War Of Ages Title: Arise And Conquer Label: Facedown Release Date: 7/22/2008 Review By: JoshIVM Tracklisting: 01. All Consuming Fire 02. When Faith Turns To Ashes 03. Through The Flames 04. Salvation 05. Sleep Of Prisoners 06. Wages Of Sin 07. Yet Another Fallen Eve 08. Generational Curse 09. The Awakening 10. The Deception Of Strongholds At this point War Of Ages have become nearly veterans in the melodic hardcore game, with Arise & Conquer being their fourth full length (if you count the re-write of their debut as a new one).… Continued →

Take It Back - Can't Fight Robots

By JoshIVM in Reviews | Comments closed

Band: Take It Back! Title: Can’t Fight Robots Label: Facedown Review By: JoshIVM Tracklisting: 01. Standing On The Edge Of Hope 02. Times Have Changed 03. Together, Burning Bright 04. These Days 05. Lights In This Town 06. A New Day 07. The Truth 08. Knees To The Earth 09. Time Waits For No Man 10. A Struggle To Stay Standing 11. Act Your Age, Not Your Shoe Size 12. All That Keeps Us Strong I first posted about Take It Back! on IVM in April of ’07 when I stumbled across their Myspace and highly recommended everyone to check them out.… Continued →

Family Force 5 - Dance Or Die

By JoshIVM in Reviews | Comments closed

Band: Family Force 5 Title: Dance Or Die Label: Transparent Media Group/Tooth & Nail Release Date: 8/19/2008 Review By: JoshIVM Tracklisting: 01. Dance Or Die 02. Get Your Back Off The Wall 03. Rip It Up 04. How In The World 05. Fever 06. Party Foul 07. D-I-E 4 Y-O-U 08. Share It With Me 09. The First Time 10. Wake The Dead 11. Radiator Family Force 5 have returned with a new album after releasing and touring on thier very successful debut album Business Up Front, Party In The Back.… Continued →

Sever Your Ties- Safety In the Sea

By Kimberly in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Sever Your Ties Album: Safety in the Sea Label: Solid State Release Date: July 8th Review By: Kimberly Johnson 01 Voice Like A Nova 03:16 02 After A Storm 03:02 03 Hand in Hand 02:54 04 This is What You Get 04:07 05 Captive 03:48 06 Drifting 02:58 07 Things Are Better (Left Unsaid) 03:01 08 To the Pacific 02:39 09 Here I Am 02:42 10 Ashamed 02:38 11 (Don’t Fear) the Reaper 03:34 For a band with such an evolving sound over the years, I’m pretty proud of the spot they’ve settled in with their debut full-length album, Safety in the Sea.… Continued →

Brendan Moss - Your Face Is Glowing

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Brendan Moss Album: Your Face Is Glowing Label: Friendly Arctic Music Release Date: May 11, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Action 2. Character 3. Manna from Heaven 4. Revolution Song 5. On His Citadel 6. To His Absurd Redeemer 7. Man of God 8. Powerlines 9. Make Way When Jesus said “Blessed are the meek,” I bet he was talking about people like Brendan Moss. His humble songs about God present him in a way that makes words like Almighty and Holy actually mean something.… Continued →

Orion Walsh "Tornado Lullabies"

By Brandon J. in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Orion Walsh Album: Tornado Lullabies Label: None Review by: Brandon Jones Myspace Tracklist:

Legend of Young Billy
Throwing in the Towel
The Last American Boy
Starting Over on a Western Shore
Melt With the Snow
Transient Blues
Tornado Lullaby
When Will They Come For Us
The War He Couldn’t Win
Look Around

Well it’s been quite a while since I’ve written anything closely resembling what you might consider a “review”. I approached this album from the fan standpoint, excited for the mere prospect of owning it and gathering up enough time to listen through all 10 tracks.… Continued →

Capital Lights - This is an Outrage!

By The Headless Horseman in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Capital Lights Album: This is an Outrage! Label: Tooth and Nail Records Buy It: Amazon/Amazon MP3 Review by the Headless Horseman. 1. Outrage 2. Worth as Much as a Counterfeit Dollar 3. Out of Control 4. Remember the Day 5. Miracle Man 6. Mile Away 7. Work it Out 8. Let the Little Lady Talk 9. Return 10. Kick It Off 11. The Night of Your Life is When You Die 12. Frank Morris There are some bands you just know cannot make a great CD.… Continued →

Run Kid Run - Live/Acoustic at Soulfest (July 31, 2008)

By The Headless Horseman in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Run Kid Run Live/Acoustic at Soulfest 2008. Label: Tooth and Nail Records Review by the Headless Horseman. 1. Rescued Me 2. Wake Up, Get Up 3. Captives Come Home 4. Freedom 5. I’ll Forever Sing 6. The Modern March 7. Sing to Me 8. Move On 9. Love at the Core 10. We’ve Only Just Begun 11. One in a Million *This review is dedicated to John Wayne, without whom I would never have realized how amazing Run Kid Run is. If you know him, give him a hug and buy him a Frappucino and a Millencolin CD.*… Continued →

The Showdown - Back Breaker

By JoshIVM in Reviews | Comments closed

Band: The Showdown Title: Back Breaker Label: Solid State Release Date: 8/19/2008 Review By: JoshIVM Tracklisting: 01. Titanomachy-The Beginning 02. Hephaestus-The Hammer Of The Gods 03. Aphrodite-The Disillusionaire 04. Achilles-The Backbreaker 05. Prometheus-The Fires Of Deliverance 06. Cerberus-The Hellhound Awaits 07. Odysseus-A Song Of Hope 08. Aries-I Am Vengeance 09. Infernus-You Will Move 10. Nemesis-Give Us This Day 11. Medea-One Foot In Hell I am sitting here preparing to listen to the new album by The Showdown, an album I have been waiting to hear for quite awhile.… Continued →

Reviews

October 16, 2008

October 13, 2008

October 12, 2008

October 10, 2008

October 9, 2008

October 6, 2008

October 4, 2008

October 2, 2008

September 30, 2008

September 25, 2008

September 22, 2008

September 19, 2008

September 2, 2008

August 31, 2008

August 28, 2008

August 27, 2008

August 24, 2008

August 20, 2008

August 16, 2008