May 11, 2009 in
Album Reviews, Reviews with
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Seventh Day Slumber returns with their 5th album, and this time they are taking a break from their own songs to bring us a Praise and Worship album. The band brings their unique sound to some P&W classics as well as a few lesser known songs. The first track (How Great Is Our God) brings the heavy guitars and strings from an orchestra together to give this familiar song a very unique sound. The same continues on the second track (Surrender); however, this may be the heaviest track on the album. For the rest of the album it seems to just tone down. The rest of the songs from here are acoustic and piano, with the occasional start or middle of the song with added electric. The song “Nothing But The Blood” isn’t your traditional hymn as most might think, but it does use some of it for the lyrics of the chorus. For their second album that was a little out of their element (being that there last album was done in Spanish) the guys nailed it. Though there is nothing really spectacular about this album, the guys do a good job on bringing their style to the P&W genre. If you’re a fan of SDS, then you’ll definitely want this in your collection. If you’re not much of a rock fan but like P&W, this album probably won’t be up to your liking (Listen before buying). I give it 3.5 stars out of 5 since they accomplished what they set out to do with the P&W, but came up short on the WOW factor.
 
Members: Joseph Rojas (vocals), Jeremy Holderfield (guitar), Joshua Schwartz (bass), Ray Fryoux (drums)
Record Label: BEC Recordings
Album length: 12 tracks: 52 minutes, 22 seconds
Street Date: March 10, 2009
• How Great Is Our God (4:40)
• Surrender (3:23)
• Lead Me To The Cross (4:51)
• Everlasting God (4:38)
• Mighty To Save (4:01)
• From The Inside Out (4:02)
• I Can Only Imagine (3:59)
• Take Everything (4:32)
• Carry Me (4:06)
• Famous One (4:26)
• Nothing But The Blood (5:19)
• Oceans From The Rain (4:29) |
May 11, 2009 in
Album Reviews, Reviews with
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After breaking into the CCM scene in the early 90′s with songs like Flood and Liquid, and releasing 10 albums, Jars of Clay has taken listeners on a musical journey through many different styles including Rock, Pop, and even Bluegrass. Now, a new year brings a new release from Dan Haseltine, Steven Mason, Charlie Lowell, and Matt Odmark, titled The Long Fall Back To Earth. In addition to all of the above styles, they have now added some electronic elements, deepening the musical experience. The overiding theme of Long Fall is relationships, and is evidenced immediatley in the first track Lay Your Weapons Down, a reference to peace in relationships. In Two Hands, the focus is primarily on our actions being in sync with the things that we say.
In the song Boys(Lesson One) the biggest message is to “know who you are” and “not to hurry”. Forgive Me talks about how all we have to do is ask forgiveness and be willing to “put our transgressions on parade”. The theme of relationships carries through all of the way to the end of the album. This album is concise in its message, and ads a new depth to the Jars of Clay discography. The Long Fall is an enjoyable ride, and one that won’t soon be forgotten.
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May 11, 2009 in
Album Reviews, Reviews with
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After releasing Storm The Gates of Hell, Solid State records veterans Demon Hunter embarked on the Stronger than Hell Tour. I had a chance to see this show in June of last year(also on the tour were bands Living Sacrifice, Oh Sleeper, The Advent, and The Famine) and it was amazing. Shortly after this show, at the Rocketown venue in Nashville, DH recorded theie first live album, Live from Nashville. Leading up to the release of this album, the band also released 45 Days, a video documentary of their life on the road. But Live is the culmination of those “45 days”. And it is an excellent addition to the DH discography. The biggest concern that usually accompanies live albums is sound quality and audio mix. Such is not the case with this album. I honestly have never heard a live album with the sound quality that is present on this album. The songs that are in the set span Demon Hunter’s releases, from Infected and My Heartstrings Come Undone to Carry Me Down and Fading Away. I have two issues with this album though. First, you can’t hear the crowd to well when they are the only ones singing(Ryan throws the vocals to them several times) and second, Clark growls the titles of several songs at the very beginning, which gets kind of annoying after a couple of songs.
All in all, Live From Nashville is a worthy competitor to any live album that you might hear. Check it out and see what you think
p.s.- check out our review of Storm the Gates of Hell from November 2007 |
