Reviews

Well, I attended the Thrice show last night at House of Blues in Anaheim, CA. (Downtown Disney) and it was quite a show. I got there kinda late and we were hungry so we ate in the restraunt portion of the venue while Aushua and Pelican were playing. I didn’t hear either band so I apologize if I can’t comment on them. We finally finished up our meal and I entered the venue just before Circa Survive went on….. Circa Survive went on and immediately I wanted to cover my ears.… Continued →

Artist: Ever Stays Red Album: On the Brink of It All Label: VSR Music Group (EMI) Release Date: April 29, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Rocks & Reeds 2. On the Brink of It All 3. To Shine for You 4. Can’t Explain 5. Run 6. Love So Loud 7. Bright Eyes 8. Life in the Fire 9. Glorious 10. Say What You Will 11. Look to the Hills 12. Letters Despite a lead guitar riff during the intro track that is way too reminiscent of a certain sweet child of mine, On the Brink of It All actually shows to be one enjoyable record.… Continued →

Artist: Timbre Album: Winter Comes to Wake You Label: None (released independently) Release Date: April 27, 2007 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Autumn People 2. Veni, Sancte Spiritus 3. Fragile Forest 4. White on Red 5. Fjäril 6. Tes Yeux 7. Kyrie Eleison 8. Bringing Meaning to Winter 9. Chorea Amori 10. We with Unveiled Faces Chances are, you’ve heard the work of this harpist before, maybe without even realizing. She is the one that plays at the end of mewithoutYou’s latest album, Brother, Sister.… Continued →

Artist: Writer Album: Don’t Wake the Sun 7” Label: None (released independently) Release Date: February 27, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: Side A: Don’t Wake the Sun Side B: I Think She Died My attention was caught immediately. “Mixed and mastered by Jason Martin.” Hey, that’s the dude from Starflyer 59! Awesome. And the release itself is actually worthy of bearing such a name on its packaging. This well-polished indie band released a full length last year, and this 7” is the follow-up of sorts.… Continued →

Artist: AKissForJersey Album: Victims Label: Tragic Hero Records Release Date: May 6, 2008 Review By: Kimberly Johnson Members/Duties: Zack Dawson- Vocals Cory Wood- Guitar, vocals Joey Allen- Drums Tyler Lucas- Bass, vocals Matt Bean- Guitar Track Listing: 1. Devices 2. Oh, Infamous City 3. Believe 4. The Fire 5. Parallels 6. A Tree And Its Fruit 7. Faces 8. Salus Suas Extanderealas Concedit 9. II 10. The Flood 11. The Evidence   “Relief just for the night/ We all resist our will to fight/ Break forth and cry aloud by flocks and hoards we need you now…” In all honesty, there is nothing more musically refreshing then to hear words like these come from the opening track of a record.… Continued →

Artist: Y/Our Sparkle Heart Album: You, Me, and God Label: Future Destination Records Release Date: February 26, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Messengers 2. Appointment with the Optimist 3. Return Home 4. Turn, Turn, Turn (To Everything There Is a Season) 5. City Folk 6. You Say I Say 7. A Song about Winter 8. Countryside 9. Banners and Fires 10. A Song for Martin It seems Future Destination have acquired quite an affinity for original-sounding, acoustic-based indie rock bands. One of the latest of these is the folk-infused, female-fronted Y/Our Sparkle Heart.… Continued →

Artist: So Long Forgotten Album Title: Beneath Our Noble Heads Reviewed by: Elbon Sprouse So Long Forgotten is a band that I fell in love with after seeing them for the first time last November with As Cities Burn. I must say just by talking to these guys I could tell they were amazing guys with hearts for the lost and praising God. Beneath Our Noble Heads is for fans of As Cities Burn, Manchester Orchestra, Mewithoutyou, and even Thrice. It’s also very diverse in the sense of being dark in some songs and being straight forward lyrically to moving into a upbeat folk feel that just has you praising God through lyrics and music!… Continued →

Artist: Passion/ Various Artists Album: Passion: God of This City Label: Sixstepsrecords/ Sparrow Records Release Date: February 5, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Chris Tomlin – Let God Arise 2. Charlie Hall – You Are God 3. Chris Tomlin – God of This City 4. David Crowder Band – O, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing 5. Christy Nockels – Hosanna 6. Chris Tomlin – Sing, Sing, Sing 7. Kristian Stanfill – Beautiful Jesus 8. Charlie Hall – Walk the World 9. Fee – We Shine 10.… Continued →

Bands: The Devil Wears Prada, Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, White Chapel, Gwen Stacy Location: The Canal Club Richmond, Virginia May 1, 2008 This isn’t my typical hardcore show. Usually I’m not one for metalcore and especially southern metalcore for that matter, but I had a blast at this show. So please forgive me that I don’t really know these bands songs or anything. Just pretend this review is from someone who has just discovered the hardcore scene. Anyways, Gwen Stacy was up first. They went right into a breakdown when they got on stage, which whipped the crowd into a frenzy.… Continued →

Artist: Standing Small Album: Oh Sweet Child Label: Future Destination Records Release Date: January 15, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. I Need You 2. Strings 3. Oh To Know 4. I’m Coming Back 5. Grace through Iniquity 6. When You’re Lost Standing Small are what I would categorize as “The impressive opening act.”  You know the type. You went to see the headliner or maybe one of the bands in between, but after this smaller unheard-of band played the first set, you were rushing back to the merch table to pick up a CD (or at least trying to remember their name so you can become friends on myspace).… Continued →

Setlist: 1. The Glory of It All 2. Here Is Our King 3. No One Like You 4. Foreverandever, etc. 5. Remedy 6. Open Skies 7. I Saw The Light 8. Never Let Go 9. Wholly Yours 10. Never Ending 11. Everything Glorious 12. You Are My Joy 13. Rescue is Coming 14. O Praise Him (All This For a King) 15. Undignified 16. Sing Like The Saints Encore: Here I Am To Worship This isn’t really a review. It’s a fable. It’s a timeless tale intended to teach a lesson.… Continued →

Artist: Jordan Critz Album: Nightlights and Melted Ice Label: None (released independently) Release Date: July 27, 2007 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Somehow 2. Fade Away 3. Leading Me 4. Cold Sunshine 5. Gravity 6. Off My Mind 7. Take It Back 8. Run Too Far 9. The Line 10. Every Moment 11. Brand New Day 12. Begin Again 13. Until We Meet Again “Nightlines and Melted Ice is a symbolism of hope in the dark; of taking steps on faith and the hope of new life after the winter has come to an end,” explains the insert booklet.… Continued →

Artist: Burning Tree Project Album: Time and Color EP Label: Independent Buy: The Burning Tree Project Webstore Review by the Headless Horseman. 1. Dear Valentine 2. Hero 3. Hello 4. Free 5. Put Your Helmet On 6. Less of Me, More of You The best thing about reviewing CDs is that you can lie to people. Many reviewers seem to hit the ground running with this. I don’t mean so much that reviewers don’t accurately state their feelings about a CD. All of them, so far as I know, do that quite well.… Continued →

Band: Saving Grace Title: Behind Enemy Lines Label: Harvest Earth Records Release Date: 4.22.08 Review By: Jeremie Tracklisting: 01 – Behind Enemy Lines 02 – For So Long 03 – The Most Beautiful Promise 04 – A Poets’s Burial 05 – Just a Second 06 – The Eye Of The Storm 07 – Even As I Bleed 08 – In Your Own Hands 09 – U Becoming You 10 – Last Chance to Dance Members/Duties: xNikx (Vocals) xPigx (Guitar) George (Bass) Papa Bear (Drums Let there be mayhem!… Continued →

Band: With Blood Comes Cleansing Title: Horror Label: Victory Release Date: 1.22.08 Review By: JoshIVM Tracklisting: 01. Intro 02. Hematidrosis 03. Condemned 04. Forsaken 05. Filthy Stains 06. The Suffering 07. Blood And Fire 08. Abaddon’s Horde 09. Horror 10. Carinverous Consumption 11. Damnation 12. Eternal Reign Members/Duties: Dean Atkinson: Vocals Jeremy Sims: Guitar Scott Erickson: Guitar Dennis Frazier: Bass Matt Fidler: Drums I can’t tell how you much I was anticipating the new release from With Blood Comes Cleansing!. Their debut on Blood & Ink had been one of my favorite discs in 2006.… Continued →

Band: Stellar Kart Title: Expect The Impossible Label: Word Release Date: 2.26.08 Review By: JoshIVM Tracklisting: 01. Innocent 02. Automatic 03. Jesus Loves You 04. The Right One 05. Sunshine 06. Pray 07. Shine Like The Stars 08. Eyes 09. I Give Up 10. Letters Members/Duties: Adam Agee: Vocals, Guitar Cody Pellerin: Guitar Jordan Messer: Drums Brian Calcara: Bass What can I say about Stellar Kart that hasn’t already been said a million times. They pretty much do the same thing each album. They need to work with a new producer.… Continued →

Band: MyChildren MyBride Title: Unbreakable Label: Solid State Release Date: 2.26.08 Review By: JoshIVM Tracklisting: 01. Faithless 02. On Wings of Integrity 03. The Machinist 04. HEADSHOT! 05. Boris The Blade 06. Severance 07. Versus 08. Waves Of Oppression 09. Circle The Sky 10. Choke Members/Duties: Matthew Hasting: Vocals Kyle Ray: Guitar Robert Bloomfield: Guitar Brian Hood: Drums Joe Lengson: Bass I have been a fan of MCMB and always had figured they’d end up signing with Solid State. In fact I wondered why they hadn’t already.… Continued →

Band: Common Yet Forbidden Title: The Struggle Label: Bombworks Release Date: 9.7.2007 Review By: JoshIVM Tracklisting: 01. The Struggle 02. The Prodigal 03. Lake of Fire, Wake of Souls 04. Saints O’ Saints 05. Face of the Father 06. We Only Chase Wind 07. Anthem 08. Dead Alive 09. Still We Remain 10. Riff List (Instrumental) Members/Duties: Carl: Vocals Chris: Guitar Phil: Drums Jordan: Bass Common Yet Forbidden’s debut is probably one of the first releases on Bombworks that will appeal to the new wave of metal fans in America.… Continued →

Band: Besieged Title: Atlantis Label: Blood & Ink Review By: JoshIVM Tracklisting: 01. Balkanization 02. The Author 03. Guttersnipe 04. Written Promises 05. A Cold Winter Kiss 06. INRI 07. The Years Between 08. Moustache Pete 09. The Fall Of Man: The Rise Of Self 10. They Shake The Earth 11. Carved In The Walls 12. Atlantis Members/Duties: John: Guitar Tyler: Bass Mattie: Vocals Chris: Guitar Josh: Drums I had my eye out on Besieged since they were independent and put out their self-released EP. They had an interesting mix of metal vocals with a more melodic metalcore sound.… Continued →

Band: Anberlin Title: Lost Songs Label: Tooth & Nail Release Date: 11.20.2007 Review By: JoshIVM Tracklisting: 01. The Haunting 02. Uncanny 03. Like A Rolling Stone 04. A Day Late (Acoustic) 05. Enjoy The Silence 06. Cadence (Acoustic) 07. Downtown Song 08. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out 09. Dismantle. Repair. (Acoustic) 10. The Promise 11. Naive Orleans (Acoustic) 12. Inevitable 13. The Unwinding Cable Car (AOL Sessions) 14. Creep (AOL Sessions) 15. Baby Please Come Home 16. Ready Fuels (Demo) 17. Driving (Autobahn) (Demo) 18.… Continued →

Band: Air Five Title: Write My Story Label: Audio Frenzy Review By: JoshIVM Tracklisting: 01. Write My Story 02. I Wanna Go 03. I Will Carry You 04. Please Don’t Change 05. Here’s Me Letting Go 06. One and Only 07. Love You More 08. All I Need (10,000 Miles) 09. Hold My Hand 10. Open Season Members/Duties: Ben Peeples: Lead Vocals, Guitar Michael Segarra: Bass, Vocals Taylor Carroll: Drums, Vocals Air Five is another band that I just ran across while doing my endless scouring of the internet for new bands to cover.… Continued →

Band: For Today (http://myspace.com/fortoday) Album: Ekklesia Release date: April 1st, 2008 Label: Facedown Records (http://facedownrecords.com) Review by: DavidIVM I’ve already erased my opening line more times than you have fingers (I hope that’s the case, at least), because everyone knows that the opening line is where you “prove your stuff,” and this being my first review, I don’t want to fall on my face, but I know by the end of this, I’ll most likely end up with a bloody nose and a broken jaw. That’s all besides the point, because this CD, in my opinion, is a hard one to review.… Continued →

Artist: HAWK NELSON Album:…IS MY FRIEND! Special Edition Label: Tooth & Nail/BEC Release Date: April 1st, 2008 Review by: Tyler Hess edit: oops, forgot to rate it. Numbers are weird. B- with the DVD helping the curve. Track list: YOU HAVE WHAT I NEED FRIEND LIKE THAT TURN IT ON ONE LITTLE MIRACLE LET’S DANCE ANCIENT HISTORY SOMEBODY ELSE ARMS AROUND ME JUST LIKE ME NOT THE SAME WORDS WE SPEAK I STILL MISS YOU BONUS SONGS: ONE LITTLE MIRACLE (ACOUSTIC WITH AMY GRANT) FRIEND LIKE THAT (ACOUSTIC) ’BRING EM OUT DVD FEATURES: 4 music videos for: California, Zero, Friend like that, Bring ’em Out Making of Friend Like That video In the Studio Session with Amy Grant Video of the band skydiving Through the twists and turns of marketing and music elitists, I believe that through this album Hawk Nelson fans will truly understand what they are about musically and morally, both good and bad, and hopefully the band will have learned this as well by the time they are ready to make another album.… Continued →

Artists: Brand New, Colour Revolt Venue: ATS Auditorium (Dickinson College), Carlisle, PA Date: March 29, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson “When you go on tour for so long, sometimes you just get kind of sick of it. And it’s funny how few bands we really like touring with, how few bands we actually like as friends and want to keep in touch with. Colour Revolt were the first band that we actually enjoyed hanging out with, so they’re very dear to us and we love the chance to play shows with them.… Continued →

Artist: Sophia Album: My Morning; Migration Label: Independent Buy: Your Very Own IVM Store 1. Vanity, Remember the Peacock 2. Cry, the Seagull’s Greed 3. Mockingbirds After The Picture Show 4. Suffocating the Magpie 5. Providence 6. A New Song For This Vulture 7. Raven, Digging Up The Grave 8. Desertification 9. Sultans and Swans 10. The Dove’s Solemn Hymn 11. The Nightingale’s Darkest Night 12. A Flock of Geese Listening to this record, My Morning; Migration by Sophia, I have suddenly become aware that, in the grand scheme of things, I am much more important and influential than you are.… Continued →

Artist: Esterlyn Album: Lamps Label: Rooster Records Release Date: February 26, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Tie the Leaves 2. Kill Your Own Despair 3. We All Need 4. Seasons of Grey 5. This Mystery 6. Reveal Your Love 7. Emptiness 8. Back to the Start 9. Faster, Faster 10. Like the Rain 11. Lamps 12. About You The packaging to this CD is awesome. I’ve never seen a lyric booklet fit into the front quite like that before, and the artwork is equally fantastic.… Continued →

Artist: The Apathy Eulogy Album: Introduction: Walk North When Winter Hits Label: None (released independently) Release Date: February 23, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Mandelbrot 2. We Did This to Myself 3. These Aren’t Tears, They’re Atom Bombs 4. Impetuous Me 5. If I Take This Sitting Down Will You Promise to Leave on the Gloves? 6. To Be Read in the Morning Directly after You Wake As both the follow-up to last year’s Beauty for Ashes and the first of a three EP project to be released this year, Introduction: Walk North When Winter Hits comes out of your stereo like a brick to the face.… Continued →

Artist: The Comeback Tour Album: And Then He Dreamed… Label: None (released independently) Release Date: January 2, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Confusing Soup and Birthrights (Genesis 25) 2. False Dimitri (Genesis 27) 3. Here Stands Emanuel (Genesis 28) I’ve own many a concept album before, but never a concept EP. As the tracklist would suggest, And Then He Dreamed…, retells the interactions of Isaac’s two sons, Jacob and Esau, as told in the book of Genesis. “Confusing Soup with Birthrights” recounts how Jacob took Esau’s blessing in exchange for some stew.… Continued →

Artist: Ashes Ashes Album: Aries Label: EMT Entertainment Release Date: January 1, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. The Hammer 2. White Lights 3. Airplane 4. Get Steppen Boy 5. Castles 6. Sunlight Somewhere 7. Blue Alley Ways 8. Take Our Oceans 9. Invisible Children 10. Amphetamine I’m gonna be honest with you guys. Aires is one of those albums that’s just plain hard to review. From the chunky alternative rock guitars to “The Hammer,” to the funky dance sounds of “Airplane,” to the emo sing-along-ability of “Castles,” there’s just too much that could be said.… Continued →

Artists: Emery, Mayday Parade, As Cities Burn, Pierce the Veil, Cry of the Afflicted Venue: The Trocadero, Philadelphia, PA Date: March 7, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson As an old burlesque hall that has since been converted into a punk venue, The Trocadero Theater is one of my favorite places to see a show here in Philly, and hearing that As Cities Burn and Emery would be stopping by was such exciting news, my friend Reuben and I had plans to go months ago. I mention Reuben because the pictures you will soon see are his.… Continued →