Archive for the ‘Album Review’ Category
Album Review: Crazy Love
By Hawk Nelson
By Paul Gibson | February 9th, 2011
{February 08, 2011}
Tooth And Nail
Hawk Nelson has a track record for success that many bands fall short of these days. Despite the fact that I thought they would turn out to be just another pop-punk band they have proved to be so much more.
With the help of rock/pop aficionado Ian Eskelin these guys shine like never before on Crazy Love. Despite a cover that might make you think they are going for the ultimate sell-out/commercial/mom-pleasing rock ever this album truly rocks.
Songs like “Skeleton” and “LAX” show a more aggressive and even heavy side of Hawk Nelson that I never thought I would see. Yes there is screaming. Think “Fist Full Of Sand” by Five Iron Frenzy.
Eskelin’s influence also seems to have brought out a…
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Album Review: Until We Have Faces
By Red
By Paul Anthony | January 31st, 2011
{February 1, 2011}
Essential
An artist in any field walks a fine line between stagnation and experimentation.
Experiment too much, and your fans berate you for selling out or betraying your roots. Stay the same for too long and you get stale.
It seems the hard rock band Red is at a similar crossroads now that their third album, Until We Have Faces, largely continues the successful formula of its first two releases.
Grungy in places and melodic in others, there is little on this new album that distinguishes it from End of Silence or Innocence and Instinct, the debut album and its successor that catapulted Red to preeminence in the Christian rock scene. And that’s both a blessing and a curse.
On the one hand, the formula obviously works for the band; the album is very good, and fans of Red’s work thus far will not be disappointed. On the other hand, …
MORE »Album Review: Kings
By I Am Empire
By Paul Gibson | January 24th, 2011
{January 25, 2011}
Tooth And Nail
The guys in I Am Empire have hit on a flavor of rock not often represented in the Christian community and are releasing a solid major label debut. Kings is rock, but more than that, it’s screamo but deeper, and it’s metal but easily digestible and yet full of great guitar solos.
This album should appease fans of bands like Kids In The Way, Spoken, and mainstream heavy hitters Avenged Sevenfold. It’s got all you should want and demand out of a new signing to Tooth and Nail and then some.
I especially like the album’s opener and lead single Brain Damage witch starts the album with a great…
MORE »Album Review: Imperium By Grammatrain
By Paul Gibson | January 9th, 2011
{October 10, 2010}
Independent
I am going to start this review with a quick provision to save some of you some time. Grammatrain is no longer a “Christian band.” Lead-singer Pete Stewart no longer counts himself as a member of the Christian community, while the Roraback brothers are still Christians. In a recent HM Magazine interview Stewart went into more detail about how this album came to be. All three members still wanted to make music as a band, despite religious differences. The lyrics on the album are not “Christian” as such, but neither are they dirty, profane, or offensive. There shouldn’t be anything on Imperium to disturb or otherwise offset believers. As a matter of fact, I would venture that if Stewart had not been as public with his spiritual shift, most Christ followers would never have noticed the difference.
Now let’s talk about the album in a non-theological way.
Imperium strikes me as the lost link between Lonely House and Flying. It has a writing style reminiscent of the raw and heavy grunge of Lonely House, but it has the slick production and accessibility of Flying.
All the songs hold their own beautifully, but I think they might sound better as…
MORE »Top 10 Albums Of 2010
According To Your Host
By Paul Gibson | December 23rd, 2010
Well, it is time again to spread those notorious top 10 album lists around. All but one of these I have reviewed on the site, so feel free to read more in depth as to why I merited these as my top 10.
In no particular order
Click on any cover to purchase.
 Demon Hunter
The Word Is a Thorn I really enjoyed how much thrash they added to this album compared to Storm The Gates Of Hell. Hard, heavy, brutal, yet catchy. Despite member changes Clark and company really brought their best on this one. |
 House Of Heroes
Suburba This album blew me away. Just as genius as The End Is Not The End, but with more unity. Bowie, Queen, and The Beattles would be jealous. I still think this should be a rock opera. |
 Disciple
Horseshoes And Handgrenades Disciple went back to the hard and heavy rock that made them popular on H&H. With just as much sheen as their self titled and as much aggression as Scars Remain they found the magic formula. “Shoot Heard Round The World” and “Dear X” really show what they are capable of. |
 Living Sacrifice
The Infinite Order The only thing I don’t like about this album is the guilt I feel about not doing a full review on it. Every song gets better as it goes along and whether you are a new fan or old this has the metal to pummel your mind and ears. Few albums make me want to start a mosh pit in my own car, but this is one of them for me. 5 stars worth of metal in gold. |
 Heath McNease
The Gun Show McNease has showed his crazy-odd talent of being able to be both ironic white rapper and singing troubadour on The Gun Show. I love that he can make both work separately and blend the two together as well. Funny yet brilliant. |
 Group 1 Crew
Outta Space Love I never thought that a group like this would do it for me. But this is a great piece of music. The urban-pop delights off of OSL are all prime cuts. Ranging from the style of The Black Eyed Peas to Duffy this album begs for radio play. I just hope that both the label and Christian pop stations are willing to take a chance on inspiring Christians to dance, cause this stuff is infectious. |
 Children 18:3
Rain’s A Commin’ This sibling trio has created the perfect follow-up to their self-titled major label debut. It is a step up in production with out loosing their edge, but still diversifying their sound. Punk never sounded so good. “Oh Bravo!,” ” The Cruel One,” and “Lost So Long” are timeless. |
 Write This Down
S/T This album is one of those that you have to love for the diversity. While I like it all I could see how their changing styles on their debut could test some. But their blending of punk, metal, pop, and aggression is refreshing for me. I like every song for different reasons, but “Renegade” really inspires me to yell along. |
 Manafest
The Chase I have liked Manafest for a while, I admire his skills as a lyricist and rapper, but I always connected best with his rock songs. Insert The Chase an album consisting of all guitar driven rock. While this might be a move to get more radio play no one can question that this album delivers some of the best songs of Manafest’s career. “No Plan B,” “Avalanche,” and “Bring The Ruckus” all demand high volume. |
 John Reuben
Sex, Drugs, and Self-Control While the title is sure to raise an eyebrow or two, this is a great album. Once again expanding his musical borders Reuben has created a piece of art that transcends hip-hop. Calling this a hip-hop album is like calling Beck’s Odelay! a nifty set of rhymes. Forget the fact that the music videos are great for this album, the songs are unique and pull from multiple influences including Beck. If the title bothers you, give it a chance anyway. You won’t be sorry. And for you purists out there, yes I do realize that this album came out December 18th, 2009. But honestly that’s close enough to 2010 for me. |
Album Review: Heart Condition
By Moses Uvere
By Paul Gibson | December 9th, 2010
{December 3, 2010 midnight}
Chaos Theory
I have been a big fan of Moses Uvere for last few years, I got to know him on a personal level living in Texas and he is quite possibly one of the most talented individuals I have ever met. Couple that with the fact that he has never been anything but humble about his abilities and you have one stand up dude.
Before this album, his style could have been labeled, raw, street and real hip-hop. Heart Condition takes the idea of hard beats out of Oakcliff, TX and turns it on it’s ear. Whether you like it or not this new EP is a risk taking venture. All of the instruments on this one are real, no drum machines, synths and turntables here.
Coming off as an effort to be more artistic in a genre that often lacks imagination, this EP doesn’t hit the mark as well I would like.
As always Uvere’s delivery is great, but most of the tracks feel a bit…
MORE »Album Review: Remember To Live
By Flyleaf
By Paul Gibson | December 8th, 2010
{December 7, 2010}
A&M/Octone
This new Flyleaf record is something that I have always thought I wanted my favorite bands to do. Go back rerecord old songs with a slight facelift that only a better studio and experience can provide. That being said. I am not sure if this was the best of ideas for Flyleaf.
This album makes me glad they have their current sound. The songs contained on this album are solid, but not memorable. Think more laid back, less angst, less aggression and maybe even a pinch of Sixpence Non The Richer.
This isn’t a bad effort by any means, but I think those Flyleaf fans who…
MORE »Album Review: De-plumed By The Choir
By Mike Gibson | December 6th, 2010
{Galaxy21 Music}
November 10, 2010
You know you are getting old when the word “heritage” applies to a body of music that was the cutting edge of your youth. Listening to this album took me on a trail of memories dating back twenty-five years. Combining unpredictable words with musical creativity, The Choir has brought introspection to multiple…
MORE »Album Review: Bang The Drums EP
By Flynn Adam
By Paul Gibson | December 1st, 2010
{May 25, 2010}
Independent
Flynn Adam is one of my favorite things about LA Symphony, west coast music, and hip hop in general. He’s always got a unique twist on music that makes me smile and this EP is no different.
“Bang The Drums” has a more rhythmic direction than the alternative infused, “500,000 Boomin’ Watts” EP Adam’s treated us to last year. Look for more syth flavored beats and less guitar, more rhyming, less singing.
The title track has a bombastic beat along with chopped and screwed vocals on the chorus that would kill on a good …
MORE »Album Review: Back To The Rock
By Petra
By Paul Anthony | December 1st, 2010
{November 16, 2010}
Abbey Road Studios
If a rock band retires but keeps playing music, does it still make a sound?
If the band in question is Petra, the legendary trailblazers of Christian hard music, then the answer is undoubtedly yes.
Despite formally retiring and stepping off the stage for what was intended to be the final time in the opening hours of 2006, the four-time Grammy-winning Gospel Music Hall of Fame inductee has reunited to perform shows a half-dozen times since.
Not only that, but its two most recognizable members – singer John Schlitt and guitarist/founder Bob Hartman – self-released a praise and worship album in 2007 under the name II Guys From Petra. Now, in 2010, a separate Petra reunion is afoot, complete with brand new album.
The album, Back to the Rock, was the idea of Greg X. Volz, Petra’s first true lead vocalist who fronted the band during its initial wave of success in the early 1980s, when the concept of Christian rock was brand new and not-so-well received by…
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