Texas In July - I Am - Review

It used to be normal that a band’s first signed album wasn’t usually that good, but it seems the standards are being raised. I’m seeing more and more fresh faced bands releasing professional sounding albums. That being said, Texas In July, ever heard of them? Me neither, but their first LP, ‘I Am’ has got raw talent written all over it. (And interestingly, they’re from Pennsylvania.) This is one of those bands that will make you feel lazy and inadequate. Forming only two years prior with band members ranging from ages 15 to 17, they already have a record deal with CI Records. What have you done in the last two years?

After an intro track, the first song, ‘It’s Not My First Rodeo’ introduces the album very well, showing off just how brutal the band is. Very quickly, you get to hear how crazy talented the lead guitarist and drummer are at what they do. The vocals could use a little work, but the range is commendable at least. ‘Elements’ and ‘Lancaster’ continue the intensity with a lot of breakdowns, a few gang vocals, and even a few finger licking bass drops. The following track, ‘Hook, Line and Sinner’ opens with a quick paced beat humming to a southern metal feel. But it doesn’t last very long before they’re back into another breakdown. Drummer, Adam Gray has no problem showing off in this song.

Now take a break for a few minutes with the beautiful instrumental interlude ‘I Am Yours’. I really like how this track dissolves all the tension you built up from the previous tracks. Because, namely, when it leads into the next, you appreciate the brutalness of it even more. ‘Aurora’ pulls no punches, prepare for your face to be distorted in the best kind of way. This fun bus is mostly sick-as-anything breakdowns and something else. At this point, I really noticed how much Texas In July sounds like August Burns Red. If you’re sitting down, remove all near-face objects, as your head may hit them repeatedly.

‘Page One’ is essentially the same thing I just described, but condensed into a minute and a half. It’s concentrated metal for your body-flailing pleasure. ‘Reflections’ is definitely the highlight of the album. It starts out like the others, but with the help of another couple of breakdowns, it slowly materializes into a shredding session from the lead guitarist. But the point is that they aren’t just slapping breakdowns together to make a song. I think this track culminates the entire band’s musical prowess quite well. This is what they should be aiming for in their next album.

As they progress closer to the end of the album in the last two tracks, starting with ‘Satellites’, they seem to be inching slightly away from just the breakdown fetish and moving a little closer to the melodic intensity that they can actually pull off really well but don’t do enough of. The song ends with a sweet vocal guest appearance from Gwen Stacy’s Geoff Jenkins. Finally, the last song, ‘Father Time’ ends ‘I Am’ the way every metal album should, powerfully and emotionally.

For the band’s first album, this effort is quite impressive. The vocals have room for improvement and the drums don’t sound extremely well recorded, but neither of these things are huge annoyances. One issue I have that only half bothers me is how similar their style is to August Burns Red. Although this is the first band I’ve heard do so, they probably shouldn’t piggy back their sound too much. Hopefully their next album will improve on that. Nevertheless, the fact that they can mimic ABR so closely is a skill to be commended, especially at their age.

They seem to be overly fond of breakdowns as well, a mistake a lot of fledgling metal bands make. On the up side, they do make each breakdown original and exciting. There are definitely a lot of premium breakdowns on the album, I just can’t get over that they may have put in too many. The reason being that by doing so, they take away from the time they could spend showing off their other musical talents, of which I’m sure they have plenty.

Speaking of time, the LP is way too on the short side, at only 32:38. But I’ll let them off with a warning this time because it’s their first album. But anyone sporting August Burns Red, slap these guys a high five for a great first effort. Give them some support, they’re an up and coming band that’s a little wet behind the ears, but they show a lot of potential. I’m giving them an honest 4 out of 5 napkins. They had a few notable problems, but they made up for by sounding really sick. I’m definitely keeping an eye on this one.

Artist: Texas in July
Album: I Am
Label: CI Records
Release: August 11, 2009
Length: 32:38
Rating: 4/5 Napkins