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REVIEW : 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 →

REVIEW : 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 →

REVIEW : 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 →

REVIEW : 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 →

REVIEW : 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 →

REVIEW : 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 →

REVIEW : 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 →

REVIEW : 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 →

REVIEW : 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 →

REVIEW : 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 →

REVIEW : 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 →

REVIEW : 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 →

REVIEW : 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 →

REVIEW : 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 →

INTERVIEW : Smoking Popes

By Eric Pettersson in Interviews | Comments closed

Q: Just so everyone knows, who are we talking with here? Name and instrument(s). A: Josh Caterer, lead vocals and guitar. Q: Well, I guess the obvious first question is after nearly ten years away from recording music, what made you suddenly decide to get the band back together? Give us the whole story… what were you guys doing since you broke up in 1999, and what changes in life made it possible to reform the Smoking Popes? A: When I left the band, it was a personal decision I made to concentrate on my relationship with Jesus.… Continued →

REVIEW : 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 →

REVIEW : 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 →

REVIEW : 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 →

REVIEW : This Beautiful Republic- Perceptions

By Kimberly in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: This Beautiful Republic Album: Perceptions Label: EMI Release Date: Aug 19 Review By: Kimberly Johnson The album begins soft and subtle with the opening track “Pain.” It’s another one of those “hate the name, love the song” type things. Maybe it’s the bluntness behind it. There’s no mystery! Oh well… Bringing smooth melodies that just cry to be kicked up a little, the song finally breaks free, falling into its catchy, upbeat, pop rock coated flare. This Beautiful Republic’s second full length album, Perceptions, is a collection of light and likeable, radio-friendly tracks.… Continued →

REVIEW : Norma Jean -The Antimother

By Jason B in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Norma Jean Album: The Anti-Mother Label: Solid State Release Date: August 5, 2008 Review By: Jason B Track Listing: 1. Vipers, Snakes and Actors 2. Slef Employed Chemist 3. Birth of Anti-Mother 4. Robots 3 Humans 0 5. Death of the Anti-Mother 6. Surrender Your Sons 7. Murphy Was An Optimist 8. Opposite of Left and Wrong 9. Discipline Your Daughters 10. And There Will Be a Swarm of Hornets The self proclaimed “almighty” Norma Jean has returned with their fourth and final studio album on Solid State, “The Anti-Mother” (fifth if you include “Throwing Myself” by Luti-Kriss).… Continued →

REVIEW : Flynn - Forever And Ever Amen

By Caleb T in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist:Flynn Album:Forever And Ever Amen Label:Independent Release Date:March 21,2008 Reviewed by:Caleb T Track Listing: 01.Show And Tell Ain’t Til Thursday 02.The Red Song 03.Another Disguise 04.I Am Leonidas 05.Wasting Our Time Doing Something Worth While 06.She Taught Us How To Die 07.Life 08.Victory 09.And My Eyes Fail Quickly jumping to the front of the small but close knit scene in Upstate South Carolina comes Flynn. After nearly 3 years of seeing these guys grow as people and musicians, I finally had their debut full lenght Forever And Ever Amen in my hands.… Continued →

REVIEW : My Epic - I Am Undone

By Kimberly in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: My Epic Album: I Am Undone Review by: Kimberly Johnson In this day and age, bands sadly overlook the good old prologue of an album. It’s the first thing a listener hears when they pop in the disk! It’s what carries the rest of the album out! The even sadder thing is, most music listeners over look the prologue of an album even more then the artist do! My Epic on the other hand take every opportunity to grab ahold of our ears, reel us in, and believe it or not, keep our attention.… Continued →

INTERVIEW : Akissforjersey Interview

By Kimberly in Interviews | Comments closed

I have to say that talking with Tyler was probably one of the highlights of my entire life. Not only because I’m a HUGE fan of Akissforjersey, but also because it helped build my faith and find so much more clarity in my relationship with God. I also should add that from time to time Zach would come sit and join us! That was entertaining! This interview was conducted in the Chain Reaction parking lot under a starry smog filled California sky on July 27^th, 08.

… Continued →

REVIEW : My Compatriots - Waiting for Monuments to Pass

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: My Compatriots Album: Waiting for Monuments to Pass Label: None (released independently) Release Date: March 28, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist (based on the lyrics, I firmly believe this tracklist is out of order, but this is how it appears on the back of the CD packaging… if a band member reads this, I would appreciate the correct tracklist to be left in the comments): 1. Bending Heart 2. Summering Afternoon 3. Your Ecliptic Plane 4. Signing the Peace Accords 5. Waiting for Monuments 6.… Continued →

REVIEW : Alexander the Great - Circumnavigation EP

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Alexander the Great Album: Circumnavigation EP Label: Crossroads of America Records Release Date: March 25, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Confidence 2. When to Suspect the Worst 3. Thanksgiving 4. Down the Hatch 5. NYC *Bonus Tracks Live/Acoustic* 6. We Used to Go Out 7. Let’s Go Out into the Night (Confidence) 8. Give Thanks (Thanksgiving) 9. Silver Bullet Train (NYC) Just one look at the awesome artwork, and I’m ready for some indie rock. Not indie rock in the sense of The Fray and Coldplay and the like who are all very good bands indeed but not really deserving of the title indie.… Continued →

REVIEW : I Am Terrified - I Am Terrified EP

By Caleb T in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist:I Am Terrified Album:I Am Terrified-EP Label:Gotee Records Reviewed By:Caleb T Track Listing: 01.Falling On Everlasting 02.Heaven Knocking, Hell Rising 03.To The Service 04.Velvet Thunder 05.The Parting 06.Some Glad Morning A while back when I got word that the Alabama act I Am Terrified were going to sign with Mono vs. Stereo/Gotee Records I was so excited. I have seen these guys 5 times over the past few years and I was happy that their hard work and dedication was finally being recognized. Then I find out that a new ep is in the works and is due out in the summer and again I was thrilled.… Continued →

INTERVIEW : This Beautiful Republic

By bloodwater in Interviews | Comments closed

This Beautiful Republic Interview August 1st, 2008 By Jonathan Andrews Thanks to Ben Olin for taking the time to sit down and answer these questions and to Brian of EMICMG for setting up this interview. So for the record please let us know who you are and what you play in the band This Beautiful Republic? Ben Olin and I sing, scream, and thrash around on stage for This Beautiful Republic I read that you guys have all known each other since going to Toledo Christian School back in high school? … Continued →

REVIEW : Ten Shekel Shirt - Live at Soulfest (July 30, 2008)

By The Headless Horseman in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Ten Shekel Shirt Live at Soulfest, July 30, 2008. Label: Rounder Records Review by the Headless Horseman. Setlist: 1. This Story* 2. Risk 3. Spark 4. Wartime Lullaby 5. It’s Slavery 6. Jubilee 7. Fragile 8. You Rescue 9. Daylight* 10. Ocean 11. Peace With You * – I’m not positive about these songs, but they’re my best guess. Lamont Hiebert is an abolitionist. And no, I’m not speaking figuratively. Ten Shekel Shirt frontman Hiebert is also a co-founder of Love146, an organization dedicated to ending child slavery and exploitation.… Continued →

REVIEW : The Midnight Life - Aslan's Fury

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: The Midnight Life Album: Aslan’s Fury Label: Indianola Records Release Date: March 18, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. From the Ground Up 2. Measures Can’t Help You Here 3. Off the Record 4. Fast Lanes and Barricades 5. The Anatomy of 6. Et Tu Brute 7. Wolves Don’t Dance 8. Dangerous Maneuvers 9. This Is Home Team For someone who’s been increasingly taking steps away from the metal and hardcore scene over the past few years, finding a new home in indie and even some folk, it’s a special thing when a new heavy band can get my attention.… Continued →

INTERVIEW : Project 86

By Eric Pettersson in Interviews | Comments closed

Over the weekend I was able to swing by Passion Fest in Pottstown, PA to meet up with Andrew Schwab, lead vocalist of Project 86. Despite having idolized him throughout my high school years and having been told by certain people that Andrew is intimidating in person, he was surprisingly a normal guy, just hanging out, having some fun, and playing some music. E: It’s been ten years since the release of your self-titled CD. How’s it feel to be around that long? Any celebration plans?… Continued →

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