As Hell Retreats - Revival - Review

Facedown’s boot camp label Strike First Records has gained a promising new death metal group by way of As Hell Retreats that will likely shake things up for fans of anything outrageously heavy. After releasing an EP each year for the past four years, the Hendersonville, Tennessee five-piece has unleashed a downpour of demolition and unrestrained fervor in their debut full length release, ironically titled Revival.

The “Intro” track sets the mood admirably, ransacking the immediate area with an incredibly destructive breakdown. Unfortunately though, “Inferior” opens with a short stacking of blast beats, which gave me an immediate first impression of repetitiveness that so many bands use to sound overly heavy. After this however, the overall sound becomes much more diverse, specifically in the area of vocals, set down by Jackson Greene. They impress at a wide variety of levels from high, guttural screams similar to The Agony Scene and low death growls. Though not extraordinary, the guitars of Blake Hardman and Tyler Riley certainly play their part. Creativity is still present despite. A healthy sprinkling of squeals and high tone flourishes in between brutally heavy riffs and half-beat chugging keep the song very interesting.

The sound as a whole is very intense. It’s probably one of the heaviest good bands in the Christian scene. Facedown is lucky to have them. In “The Holy Thief”, while the music is woven together well, the drums alone are the weak point of the music. All of Trent Davenport’s drumming is appropriate, but the performance is slightly less than par. At some points, it is clear there is some trouble with the timing. It’s not immediately noticeable, but he would benefit from some more practice before the band’s next recording.

The entire album follows a strong form that has been set by the band, which in itself deserves credit, as too many groups play inconsistently. The transitions from timing changes could also use some work, but again, this is only a minor problem. The short semi-solo in “Raze” fills in cleanly, but the drop from blast beats to otherwise is slightly rocky at times, making it hard to grasp the cohesion of the song. By “Resting With Closed Eyes”, the album starts to sound a little too consistent, risking repetitiveness. For those of you who believe in the salvaging powers of a good breakdown though, each new song continues to satisfy. “Messengers” does more to spice up the flavour, adding in fun hooking riffs that don’t usually appear in death metal. Times like the end of the track also showcase guitar skill that shows up too seldomly.

For a short break from the intimidating pizzazz of the previous songs, take a nap to the title track. It’s your standard surprisingly flowery instrumental interlude that breaks down your hype so that “Poor God”, the final track, sounds even heavier than it is. The fact that the album ends after such an inspired ninth song upsets me a little. Considering that As Hell Retreats has released four EPs before this, I would have expected a full length album longer than 27 minutes.

Revival is a superbly written, face-breaking, volume-cranking monster, but the sound mix is less than professional and the band performance could use some improvement. With opportunity to tour with more experienced bands and time to knock up their skills a notch, As Hell Retreats will likely produce well-deserved praise in the future. And it was entertaining enough that the brief length disappointed me, so fans of Upon A Burning Body, Veil of Maya, or Salt the Wound should be thrilled that a group like this has entered the Christian metal mesh.

Artist: As Hell Retreats
Album: Revival
Release: May 25, 2010
Label: Strike First Records
Length: 9 Tracks: 27 minutes, 4 seconds
Rating: 3/5

Originally posted on Jesus Freak Hideout.

To Speak of Wolves - Myself < Letting Go - Review

The widespread success of Christian metal is surprising to say the least. Considering the Christian community`s general reaction to metal in its inception, I doubt anyone will say they saw it coming. At any rate, a vast majority of bands at the forefront have sprung from the versatile Solid State Records. Supplying the likes of Demon Hunter, Gwen Stacy, and The Chariot, the label has always kept a varied roster. There`s something for everyone. Whether you call all of it metal or not, any fan of loud music will find something they enjoy. Filling in the cracks of all metal sub-genres seems to be their latest quest, having recently signed As They Sleep and To Speak of Wolves to expand their range yet further. But for now, we can focus on the former Greensboro, North Carolina group, and their debut full length release Myself { Letting Go.

The catchy chorus that opens “Darkness Often Yields the Brightest Light” very quickly gets me excited for a fun album. And that’s just what Myself { Letting Go is. It’s a fun album that is built on obvious characteristics from bands like Underoath and Saosin, but it warps them with new colours that make an enjoyable experience. The first big compliment that I have to give is how well the music is all mixed. Nothing is too loud; nothing is dominated by a louder instrument. To start, there’s a very crisp scream over low, chord-dominant guitar, but in the chorus, one of the guitarists takes the role of melodic stringsman. Then the noise subsides for an early bridge of silky singing and slides effectively into another hammerdown. TSoW seems to know something about how to transition neatly. Instead of dropping into a clean section immediately after a heavy crunch, they take baby steps from Sound A to Sound B.

The thing with TSoW is the trouble of pinpointing where to place their sound. It’s easy enough to call them metal, but they do things a little differently. The style they’re playing is nothing new; plenty of bands have done it before, but each little piece is played slightly off kilter. The guitars are a no brainer: low growling riffs and ugly chords. But then the ugly chords are strangely melodic, though this is comparable to Underoath. Fine. But the drums don’t match. There are no breakdowns or blast beats, and the tempo never gets much faster than the occasional jump on the second kick pedal. It’s not just a matter of an unskilled drummer though. Phil Chamberlain conjures a lot of lightly oddly-timed or unconventional beats that make up for the speed and power of a general metal drummer.

Moving on to Rick Jacobs, an exceptional vocalist, providing what is easily the piece of TSoW that most differs them from other similar projects. He is responsible for all of the vocals on the album, which frankly baffles me. The clean vocals in nearly every track sound as if they came from a different person than the last. So he has a fine clean vocal range, which is strange since his screams are fairly limited, but the best part is how he uses it. It’s easy to predict a melodic singing section coming, however, the melody always comes out much differently than is expected, causing an almost ghostly impression that catches you off guard. The choruses of “You Should Have Locked Your Doors Days Ago” and “Dimming the Light” are marvelous examples of this. The heavy areas of their music aren’t all that unheard of. It’s the unorthodox melodic tones in the mild areas that set them apart. Yet at the same time, if you took out the metal, the music would not survive. The two must be together to complement each other so effectively.

“White Dress, Red Letter” comes out as a very interesting track. It opens up a little typically with an overused drum fill, but once the chorus swings around, I felt a quiver in my spine. And the piano added near the end is quite haunting. The eerie melodies they piece together aren’t all their own, but are nevertheless difficult to write well. Myself { Letting Go is by no means a bright album, but there is confidence in the music. “Quercus Alba” is the oddball of the album. The first half of the track hosts an old ragtime vocal ensemble featuring Underoath front man Spencer Chamberlain (brother to drummer Phil Chamberlain) that honestly sounds like something Jonezetta or Showbread would come up with. It could say a lot about future experiments the band may attempt in their music.

To Speak of Wolves is a band that spreads out their deepest emotions in their music. They play the kind of music that can be enjoyed more than most, unspoiled by ulterior ambitions. While it`s no magical formula for a brand new metal style (which will likely never be found), To Speak of Wolves certainly carries a flavour that Solid State didn’t previously offer. And just as a band in the midst of all others similar to it, it`s fairly original to its kind. Fans of Underoath, Saosin or Burden of a Day should agree with Myself { Letting Go, but if you want specifics, then anyone digging Destroy the Runner`s I, Lucifer should appreciate TSoW even more. It may be an acquired taste, though I encourage multiple listens before final judgment is called.

Artist: To Speak of Wolves
Album: Myself Letting Go
Release: May 18, 2010
Label: Solid State Records
Length: 10 Tracks: 33 minutes, 42 seconds
Rating: 4/5

Originally posted on Jesus Freak Hideout.

Wrench In the Works - Decrease/Increase - Review

Artists signed to Facedown Records have an unfortunate tendency of being overlooked and underrated. Please turn your attention to Hartford, Connecticut quartet Wrench In the Works: brutal. If you haven’t heard them yet, it’s certainly not because of your speakers. Since their Facedown debut, Lost Art of Heaping Coal, in 2008, they’ve been ripping up stages and shattering eardrums nationwide. Now they’ve come to finish off what’s left of our hearing with their sophomore release, Decrease/Increase.

Borrowing influence from bands such as Living Sacrifice, Zao, and Extol while stewing in specialized elements of hardcore and thrash creates a truly rugged, uncategorizable beast. If it has a clear, singular genre, the music is played too fast to tell anyway. Let’s try to break it up, shall we? The opening track, “Vultures”, showcases the album from a wide view with some accuracy. The drums attack at blinding speeds and overpower with help from bolstered yet incomprehensible mid range screaming vocals. The guitars still manage to shine through the seams though, weaving between blast beats and thunderchugs at every open opportunity.

Half way through the track, the pace slows considerably, playing on the benefits of a secondary approach. In the end it comes out sounding something like The Famine or American Me, or even Advent with more direction. Still, it’s definitely not without originality.

“Project Ak-47” forcefully takes a minute and a half of your life and ambitiously replaces it with breakdowns and timing changes that stay effectively entertaining, though it seems to mostly play as filler. We see this again in “Pocket Watch” and “Vows (I Must Decrease)”, both very short tracks with limited effort attached. “A Desert Voice” however, opens quite uniquely, with some anxiety building rim-sticking from drummer Andy Nelson. The drums seem to cry for extra attention on the album. Not only by way of the recording, as they are some of the best drums I’ve ever heard, but incredibly clean fills and bass beats throughout. Special attention is given to the perfectly tuned toms as well; more than I have heard from most other drummers. These accompany a haunting monologue to end “A Desert Voice”.

“DeathSlayer” is one of the varied tracks on the album, retaining its originality. Tyrannical chord progressions and more technical drum beats prevail over speed and power. They don’t allow any piece of their tracks get stale either. As in “Hearts and Masks”, multiple timing changes keep the song interesting. “Gethsemane” provides one of the most musically intense tracks present on the album. Although it follows the same stifling speed and timing changes of other tracks, the guitars chime and boast their contribution more so here than in other songs.

Melodic guitars in “Walk Amongst the Tombstones” throw another curve at the grasp you may have thought you had on this album. As much as Decrease/Increase seems like other one-trick metal albums, it is persistently variable. Impressive, yes? But then the final track appears all of a sudden. Facedown calls it a “full length” release, but it is painfully short, clocking in at just under half an hour. Naturally though, at the speed the songs are played, longer can hardly be expected.

You may not be able to tell from the style of vocals, but this album is passionately driven by zealous lyrics. Like other metal albums carrying a similar message, Decrease/Increase speaks about a corrupted world. “The harvest of the earth is ripe, and the sickle will swing.” “We are all just a brood of vipers who’ve been warned of the axe at the root of the tree.” Not a particularly encouraging album, another strong theme is the Death of Jesus on the Cross, accenting the pain he went through. “A ready heart broken by grief.” “The execution of an innocent man.” But the silver lining is present. They encourage to “Strengthen your heart. Let their world fall apart.” “Blessed are the Steadfast.” Ultimately, we must remember that we are not of this world, and so we “must decrease, so that He may increase.”

“Vows (He Must Increase)” ends the album with instrumental flare, showing off the band’s ability to be outplayed by their drummer yet again. Decrease/Increase holds a lot of promise for WItW. It’s original, but not so much that it isn’t well written. It stays entertaining all the way through, and short length aside, it plays on a lot of metal basics and should appeal to anyone looking for a good, loud time. It’s an honest effort from a talented group.

Artist: Wrench In the Works
Album: Decrease/Increase
Release: March 16, 2010
Label: Facedown Records
Length: 11 Tracks: 29 Minutes, 7 Seconds
Rating: 3.5/5

Originally posted on Jesus Freak Hideout.

Letter To the Exiles - The Shadow Line - Review

The American metal style seems to be emerging in fewer and fewer new bands. Groups like As I Lay Dying and Killswitch Engage have found fame in the metal community by utilizing this sound, but to be like them is a dying ambition in fresh-faced bands. Maybe though, there’s a reason for that. Letter To the Exiles, a Long Island band formed in 2006, has released their debut full-length, The Shadow Line after already gaining some popularity from their Call To Arms EP on Harvest Earth Records in 2008. Because of the band’s tight live performance, they have grown some attention in and around the NYC Metro area. Although, releasing on Facedown’s training ground label, Strike First Records, won’t bring their notoriety much farther. That they’ll have to earn.

After an ethereal piano “Prelude”, the second track “Oh, Holy Dread” rushes forward to make its mark. It sounds impressive at first. It could be an album with a lot of potential. The drums add a lot of weight to the overall sound immediately and the guitars slither circles around the beat. The chord progressions followed rapidly in succession by faintly melodic guitar harmonies are well played, but unfortunately unoriginal. This follows into a low breakdown that is honestly chilling, however. But the way that it was introduced was horribly predictable. Quick strumming and a lone metronome beat from the kick drum followed by a bass drop sounds good, but just about every metal band has done it.

The thrash beats that fuel “It’s Never Safe To Dream” brings to mind the early Frail Words Collapse of As I Lay Dying, but this track’s slow and sultry guitar solo pulls it down. As it is the only thing close to a solo that you will hear on the album, it is royally disappointing. The brutally slow breakdowns at the end and near the beginning however, are begging you to throw down into head banging fits.

Quickly, you will realize that there is little variation in the tracks. “From Shadow To Substance” demonstrates this perfectly, as it sounds just like the previous songs you heard: unadventurous power chording and conventional drumming followed by a few breakdowns that tower over the rest of the song. The thing about bands like this is that they all mostly sound the same, apart from each band’s superiority in one particular field. LTTE’s strong point is clearly breakdowns, and they know it. “Threnody” is ripe with amazingly face melting breakdowns that are complemented beautifully by the screaming vocals that follow along. In that respect, they are doing their job well. If only everything else sounded as good to match.

While it isn’t any more original to the genre, “Martyrdom” is at least original to the rest of the album. I’m a little tired of saying it, but the multiple breakdowns that fill in the gaps between the verses are still the best part. Besides that though, this may be one of the best tracks on the album. It has a touch more professionalism and originality than previous songs. At certain moments, I might even dare to say that the drumming of Andy Amato sounds just a little influenced by Matt Greiner of August Burns Red. A short, melodic break from the cliché intensity serves as a nice touch as well, but could honestly be cut out without anyone knowing the difference.

“You’re Not Going To Seduce Anyone” opens up a lot like something from Bullet For My Valentine’s The Poison, but switches shortly into the melting pot sound that this album dishes out. Once again, the breakdowns are impeccable. That should be a point of interest, but when it’s the only thing to praise it gets a little redundant. A few blast beats and guitar slides later, and we’re into “This Is the Day, the Mourning”. At this point, I was praying for something different, but I only heard the same stale drum beats and the same orthodox guitaring. Not to mention vocalist Erich Barto abusing the same vocal pitch throughout the entire album. There is zero vocal diversity. No clean vocals, even the back-up vocals are identical to the lead. These days, one tone to the vocals is a little sparse; every band should know that by now.

A one minute “Interlude” that sounds like an extension of the song that preceded it gives you a chance to cool your head before taking on the final track, “Epilogue”. This far in, there is little left to say. But at the end of the track, prepare for the most predictable buildup from a slow-down heard in a long time. As soon as the light and flowery guitar tweedling began, I knew exactly what was coming, and anyone else listening probably will too. There is no originality in this album whatsoever.

Stifling words, I know. But don’t get me wrong, the album sounds good. If someone were to ask how The Shadow Line sounded, I would say, “It sounds pretty good, but…” and stop there. It somehow manages to sound like every other band like it, but it doesn’t sound exactly like anyone else. The guitars are recorded to sound far too digital and unnatural, the kick drum overpowers all other sound on the album like a wet sponge hitting linoleum, it’s not very original, and there isn’t any extraordinary talent to speak of among the members, but there’s still potential there. This won’t be anyone’s favourite album ever, but as I said earlier, it brings to mind As I Lay Dying’s Frail Words Collapse. That album wasn’t spectacular either, but look where they are now. The Shadow Line was not fantastic by any means, but my eyes will stay on the band’s future releases. They have potential as long as they improve.

Artist: Letter To the Exile
Album: The Shadow Line
Release: April 13, 2010
Label: Strike First Records
Length: 10 tracks: 40 minutes, 39 seconds
Rating: 2.5/5



Originally posted on Jesus Freak Hideout.

As I Lay Dying - The Powerless Rise - Review

In 2000, you may not have heard of Tim Lambesis, or his duet with drummer Jordan Mancino, As I Lay Dying. But once they found two more members, Pluto Records took them into their care, releasing a debut Beneath the Encasing of Ashes and a split EP with the now defunct metalcore band American Tragedy. Then in 2003, after increasing in popularity, they jumped over into the strong and capable arms of Metal Blade Records (where they still have a home today), and released their sophomore Frail Words Collapse. Here’s where you more than likely started hearing about the five piece metalcore band and the swell tunes they’d been playing all through the town.

But that’s all ancient history. The general consensus is that AILD’s very own sound was not found until their 2005 neckbreaker Shadows Are Security, which boasted better production and an overall more professional approach. But that still didn’t stop them from warping their music further; they were so close. Finally they decided on a more melodic An Ocean Between Us. Now a fifth studio album has come to be. From a band that has achieved one of the smoothest and most successful progression arcs of any metal outfit to date, The Powerless Rise can easily be introduced as As I lay Dying’s best album yet.

The opening track, “Beyond our Suffering”, is the shortest on the album, but it dominates your whole being with such ferocity. Very AILD toned guitars wind together in a series of opening thrash and blast beats. But the real mother is the devastatingly intense vocals from Tim Lambesis. He’s holding nothing back this time around, belting their music to a level never heard before. Nothing slows down on this track, opening the album on a stifling note, but “Anodyne Sea” follows with no less energy. The beat is a little slower, but very easy to tap your feet along to. We see a very welcome return of clean vocals from bassist Josh Gilbert which aided a melodic turning point for AILD in An Ocean Between Us. The entire face of the music takes a different stance for a tamer, cleaner chorus, and then comes a real treat. To everyone who says that As I Lay Dying doesn’t play breakdowns, get ready to eat your words as your face gets molested by this bassy, built-up breakdown!

You think this out-rage-ous behavior is going to end soon? Wrong. “Without Conclusion”, break their legs for them. This is where lead guitarist Nick Hipa confuses me significantly, because this track has some serious shredding taking place within it. So either he’s been taking some summer guitar lessons since we last heard him play, or he’s been holding out on us. Are you telling me Nick, that you could have been shredding this whole time and you haven’t been? Honestly, first the track opens very originally with a series of well timed pick slides, and now this? As I Lay Dying now has guitar solos, very un-shabby guitar solos. Yes, their music now contains every good thing in the universe.

A very catchy drum beat and soothing clean singing pump up “Parallels” with a gorgeous chorus, but the immense vocal variety taking place will never go unappreciated. Just when you think the track is over, it comes back in with a well played guitar solo that just kind of grooves into the song. And that’s about as mellowed out as it gets on The Powerless Rise. “The Plague” enters in a familiar AILD fashion. The high and low screams trade off and the guitars jump in and out with intricate patterns and clever riffs. Band evolution aside, Phil Sgrosso and Nick Hipa never lose their signature way of playing guitar.

It is rare that a certain track can be picked out for being less eventful than most of its siblings, but that is unfortunately the case for “Anger and Apathy”. It’s merely a black sheep among the rest of the album, but it still manages to rise up and play its part. The short chorus is particularly excellent; powerful clean vocals and an appreciably simplistic chain of drum beats serves as the backbone for the track. It definitely has more impact melodically than brutally like other songs among it. But just as “Anger and Apathy” slowed down the pace, “Condemned” rides right back up the speed limit. While its short length is unfortunate, you can easily enjoy the action-packing while its happening. The free range guitar solo will be heard, by you, multiple times. I promise.

A bit of possible Metallica influence opens up “Upside Down Kingdom”, but the grandmother-scaring death growls and harpy screams dissuade any of those impure thoughts for the remainder of the track. A couple of very upbeat, very catchy breakdown bridges make it well worth multiple replays as well. To end the album, we are presented with a more sit-back-and-listen approach to “The Blinding of False Light”. The first half of the track is kind of chill most of the way through, compared to previous tracks. It’s not quiet, but considerably slower paced and looser. This is easy to accept as the closing track until it amps up halfway through to a super one-eighty that shares an uncanny resemblance to Becoming the Archetype’s “Artificial Immortality”. It propels our hopes of the final track to lofty new heights. Suddenly though, and inexplicably, it slows down again before ending. Though the passion in the track is thick, it ends on an uncertain note. I could so easily hear another track afterward, but alas. The album has ended.

As I Lay Dying has always been in the epicenter of the general happenings of American metal. To rise up in intensity, and then mellow out in a melodic chorus is their specialty, but they also do it better than anyone else does. Because of the sheer creativity and immeasurable talent of the band members, they seem to be untouchable. Whichever way you look at it, it is extremely unlikely and therefore jaw-drooping that they manage to keep improving 10 years into their career. Spending nearly a year in the studio tends to have that effect, though. Unlike a million other bands that, as front man Tim Lambesis says, “need to rush out a crappy record so they can start touring again to pay their bills.” With the wise selection of Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutciewicz co-producing and the band’s first time ever building up from a previous album’s sound, The Powerless Rise is very thoroughly worth the wait. And no amount of talentless copycat bands can ruin that for As I Lay Dying, or for us.

Artist: As I Lay Dying
Album: The Powerless Rise
Release: May 11, 2010
Label: Metal Blade
Length: 11 Tracks: 44 Minutes, 9 Seconds
Rating: 5/5