Music Review: Knights of the Abyss

Band: Knights of the Abyss

Album: Culling of the Wolf Mother

Label: Ferret Records

Genre: Death Metal

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Track List:

01 – “The House Of Crimson Coin”
02 – “Pandemic”
03 – “Dead To Reform”
04 – “Deceiver’s Creed”
05 – “Slave Nation”
06 – “Cremation Of Care”
07 – “Flight Of Molech”
08 – “Council Of Wolves”
09 – “Swine Of The Holy Order”
10 – “Den Of The Deceived”
11 – “The Culling”

Culling of the Wolf Mother by Knights of the Abyss (Ferret Records) was released August 17^th, 2010. Coming out of Glendale Arizona, Knights of the Abyss produces a fast paced death metal sound that will leave you with a sense of thrill. The band has been around since 2005, this is the first time I have gotten a chance to listen to them. Their sound is extremely catchy, and for fans of Job for a Cowboy, and As Blood Runs Black… this is right up your alley.

Knights of the Abyss has undergone some lineup changes since their launch in 2005. In fact, the only founding member still remaining is one of the bands guitarists, Nick Florence. In total they have said their goodbyes to an astounding ten band members, one was a result of the incorrect use of his vocals while recording the band’s first release Juggernaut.

Culling of the Wolf Mother presents swiftness in its sound. Straight out of the gate the record tosses you head first into their sound and keeps you moving at this rapid tempo the entire album. Instituting hard-hitting blast beats, well written organized guitar riffs, Knights of the Abyss has found an effective recipe for creating memorable compositions. The lyrics of the album are not something that you will want to overlook. They are very powerful and severe.

Taken as a whole the album is incredible in its sound and in its quality. Be on the lookout for the latest release from Knights of the Abyss so you can add this talent to you metal collection… I know I have.

Music Review: For Today

Band: For Today

Album: Breaker

Label: Facedown Records

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Breaker by For Today (Facedown Records) released August 31^st, 2010. Based in Sioux City, Iowa, this Christian Metalcore band presents a catchy metal album with a few twists and turns along the way. For Today’s sound can be associated with such bands as Impending Doom, Means, and Sleeping Giant.

To be perfectly honest, I was not a fan of this album upon my first listen. I still have some issues, but it has decent delivery. For Today has stuck to their guns as far as their sound is concerned, if you have heard their previous albums, chances are you will be able to gauge how their latest production will sound.

They are constantly perfecting their noise, their guitar sweeps are getting tighter, and the breakdowns are much heavier. The album generates some very catchy tracks; it’s very easy to get lost in the moment of intensity while listening to the record.

The band speaks from the heart about their inspiration through religion. It permits their songs to feel much more powerful.  The group’s front man Mattie Montgomery is without doubt increasing his talent as an overall song writer. The album takes breaks in the flow of music where the lead singer performs poetic rhymes; to be honest, I’m not sure if this helps or hurts the album.

In the end Breaker wasn’t a bad listen. For Today fans will be very pleased with the final result. Again, the album releases August 31^st, 2010 (today).  Breaker is definitely worth a listen.

Get To Know Your Scene: Knights of the Abyss

Recently I was able to get a hold of Knight of the Abyss for an interview, Nick Florence, the band guitarist answered a few questions… and here they are!

HMB: What is the Origin of your band name? Was it the first?

Nick: Our first bass player back in the day came up with it… he was into that book The Da Vinci Code and it was sort of an inside joke of this “secret society” he had made up. It just ended up sticking.

HMB: Who are your musical influences?

Nick: We all listen to all sorts of musical genres, but as far as metal… we can all agree on Iron Maiden!

HMB: How long have you all known each other? How did you meet?

Nick: Kinda just new each other locally from everyone’s old bands.

HMB: When did you decide to form a band? How were you inspired to make music?

Nick: Started in high school as fun outlet pretty much. Wasn’t too serious honestly, just wanted to do some house shows maybe, and it’s just grown.

HMB: Could you briefly describe the music-making process?

Nick: Me or Brian will come up with some riffs… we might track it to a click then email it to our drummer and he will write his drum parts. Technology is nice.

HMB: What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?

Nick: Our rehearsals are pretty spontaneous. We tend to get a good chunk of practice in though the week before we hit the road. All our schedules are crazy.

HMB: What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?

Nick: We have overcome several challenges… like lineup changes for one. The biggest was having all our gear, merch, and trailer stolen. We just didn’t want to give up though so we have kept at it, I’d say we have done pretty good considering that.

HMB: What’s your ultimate direction for your band? Are you seeking fame and fortune?

Nick: Our ultimate direction is to just keep touring other places we haven’t been, and maybe keep putting out albums, and just try to outdo the last one. We aren’t here to impress anyone, we just do what we do and that’s that.

HMB: What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?

Nick: Just practice, get some gear, find committed people on the same page, network, and just work hard. Don’t give up.

HMB: How can fans-to-be gain access to your music?

Nick: Our album is available at Hot Topic along with other various record stores, and you can get it online at iTunes, Amazon, etc. as well.

HMB: Is there anyone you’d like to acknowledge for offering financial or emotional support?

Nick: Our families, Ferret Music, Joe at Goodfellas Merch, Corey at Icon Clothing, our manager Steve, and Josh at Dreadcore for doing an awesome record.

HMB: Any last words?

Nick: Pick up our new record, The Culling Of Wolves! Catch us on tour this August/September with Conducting From The Grave. Catch us on tour September-November with Cattle Decapitation and more. For more Knights Of The Abyss updates, check us out on myspace at www.myspace.com/knightsoftheabyss. We also have a facebook: www.facebook.com/knightsoftheabyss, and a twitter as well: www.twitter.com/kota_az. See ya on the road!
-Nick

Music Review: Norma Jean

Band: Norma Jean

Album: Meridional

Label: Razor and Tie

Genre: Metal

Track List:

1. “Leaderless and Self Enlisted”2. “The Anthem of the Angry Brides”3. “Deathbed Atheist”4. “Bastardizer”5. “A Media Friendly Turn for the Worse”6. “Septentrional”7. “Blood Burner”8. “High Noise Low Output”9. “Falling from the Sky: Day Seven”10. “Everlasting Tapeworm”11. “Occidental”12. “The People That Surround You on a Regular Basis”13. “Innocent Bystanders United / Oriental”

Norma Jean is at it again, releasing their fifth album, Meridional via Razor and Tie records! This is their first full length album since leaving their previous home with Solid State records. It’s good to hear that the “Almighty Norma Jean” has not only taken with them what made them a hit in the metal scene, but were able to boil down their entire career into one album.

Unlike Norma Jean’s previous albums, this one is not as overwhelming. Normally, you can always expect them to create some new sound that fans are unprepared for. However, Meridional pays homage to band’s previous releases. From the downright chaos that was shaped on their debut album Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child, to the feat of genuine singing on Redeemer and The Anti-Mother, Norma Jean has managed to blend their entire history of music into one album. In fact, Meridional covers so much of the bands past, it’s almost like it’s a greatest hits album. Similar to each record before it, Meridional might take a little time to grow on the Norma Jean fan.

Lyrically speaking, this collection is by far one of my favorites. The songs lyrically flow very well, and hold deep meaning.  Norma Jean was brought onto the scene as a “Christian Metal” band, and to this day their songs still reflect this; however, even with the harassment that this sub-group of the genre has received, Norma Jean has time and time again has proved that they are able to hold their own.

“If you’re calling me in, then you better believe I’m gonna call you out.” – High Noise Low Output

“Blood is thicker than water, but which one did you drink?” – A Media Friendly Turn for the Worse

“Our hands were on the same spear that drove into His side,
and we’re the ones that wound up paralyzed, paralyzed and loved.” – Bastardizer

“Have you become smarter than your own father? Are you ready to lead with no lesson?” – Falling From the Sky: Day 7

The whole album is packed with great sound that any Norma Jean fan will enjoy. Meridional takes some steps in a different direction with how the record flows. It features two songs (Septentrional, and Occidental) that act as interludes between songs.

Overall I am impressed with what they have created. It truly is a great act to compile the sounds of their entire history into one album. Meridional is certainly worth a listen, and a must have for any die hard Norma Jean fan.

To listen to samples of/purchase Norma Jean songs, please visit The Norma Jean Discography site

Get To Know Your Scene: The Devil Wears Prada

I was given the great opportunity to get on the phone for an interview with The Devil Wear Prada’s front man Mike Hranica for an interview:

Daniel: Alright Mike, first and foremost what inspired you guys to write an album about zombies?

Mike: I don’t know it just seemed like a cool idea. It was kind of just something where I had the idea out of nowhere. Then it was like, “Why don’t we make a song,” and then, “Why don’t we make five songs,” and put it out as a fun release for fans, so we just went with it.

Daniel: I noticed that the sound of the record was a lot heavier than previous ones. Do you guys plan to stick with this new style or continue to experiment?

Mike: It’s something we’ve always been working with, and it’s always something we’re working towards.  This time we just really went all out at it, and just went full blast! It will definitely be more prominent I think on our next full length. Now that the Zombie EP has been out for a day, and since it leaked and what people have heard people seem to really like it. So I think we will try and focus on that sort of heavy sound whenever we write the next full length.

Daniel: Who wrote the lyrics for the EP?

Mike: Me…

Daniel: For those who haven’t heard it yet, how would you describe the Zombie EP?

Mike: It’s five songs, about twenty five minutes I think. It’s heavily based on zombies; it has five songs that describe certain aspects of zombies.  The last song is like a zombie tale. It’s just fast, heavy, and it follows a fun theme. Lyrically it’s less serious; the whole thing is conceptually less serious compared to what a normal Prada full length would be.

Daniel: I know you guys came onto the scene as a Christian band; do you still plan on presenting that same message?

Mike: Oh yea!

Daniel: What effects have you seen either good or bad that come from being put on the “Christian Metal” genre?

Mike: Really the only time I ever feel like it hits us is when somebody asks us about it. We don’t decide tours, we don’t decide bands based on whether they are Christian or not, we just do what we like to do. It’s just the fact that we do talk about something at the show, and we really leave it at that. It’s not a huge deal; it’s just something that we feel is a part of our band and its how the band is always going to be.

Daniel: How do you feel you guys are set apart from other bands?

Mike: I think what sets us apart from most of the bands that kind of sound like us. We’ve been doing this for about five years now and it’s been an ever growing, we’ve put out three full lengths and an EP, plus countless tours. It feels like we’ve been doing this for a long time. We’ve always meant everything we’ve said, and even with the bands that are really blowing up right now will come out and admit that they’re only doing it because it sells or whatever, it’s never really been that way for us. It has always been about substance, I think that general substance is what has always been an important part of our band and something that separates us from other younger acts.

Daniel: I can actually recall being at Cornerstone in 2005 and seeing you guys play at a generator stage on the side of the road before you were signed. Can you tell me what it was like going from a generator stage to being picked up by a label and escalating to where you’re at now?

Mike: Really, when we started it was all about playing shows and that’s what we were doing. I mean that’s what it was at Cornerstone back then. When the record deal came through we put out one full length before we were a full time touring band. When we were all ready to start touring full time it kind of just went from there. Since then it’s always been the same as far as doing tour after tour and writing when we have the chance.  A lot has changed since then obviously, but we’ve always just kept it simple I guess. From starting out and never having any expectations besides wanting to play shows, to nowadays where we’re just trying to get the best tours we can together. We try to write the best material, and market it to fans as well we can. It’s just about growing; I guess everything has changed in some ways.

Daniel: I approached one of my friends (Drew Porter) and told him that I was going to interview The Devil Wears Prada and had asked him if he had a question he would like to ask. His response was, “Do you wake up in the morning, dreading the decision for the band name The Devil Wears Prada?”

Mike: Yes…  There were only three guys in the band when they came up with the name, or thought that it would be funny or clever. Then the rest of us joined and we were like its cool that we get to play with this band that we’ve been hearing about. They seemed like they really had some potential to really play shows. I can’t really accent enough that all we ever really wanted to do was play shows. We all really got along we just went with it and then things kind of got bigger, then we were stuck with the stupid name. So definitely yes, good question.

Daniel: Have you had the opportunity to meet or play with any of the bands you guys have looked up to?

Mike: Yea absolutely we’ve done a lot of support tours, from Silverstein, to Underoath, to Killswitch Engage all of these bands that we’ve looked up to especially Underoath. In the beginning Underoath was definitely the biggest influence and getting too actually tour with them on their headlining tour in 2008 and again on the Warped Tour in 2009 was just awesome. We still talk to the guys a lot and are still big fans of the band still. Being able to work with them, from being a fan to being able to go on tour and becoming friends with them was really huge for me, and for all of us. I mean, one of the first heavy bands I ever heard was Underoath.  We’ve already done a lot of what we would have only dreamed of when we were sixteen or seventeen years old.

Daniel: One of our readers wanted to know, what song do you get asked to perform the most?

Mike: A lot of people ask us to play, “Still Fly Now,” simply because we never play it anymore. That’s because we retired it about a year ago. Some of the guys don’t mind playing it, we all don’t like the song, but I absolutely hate the song. Certain fans still want to hear it, and I just feel like we shouldn’t play it; because, if we play it now then they’ll feel like we’ll play it later. We are just doing are best to suffocate that motion. People ask about it, but we refuse…

Daniel: What can we expect from you guys in the future?

Mike: The EP was something different for us, that I am really excited to put it out there. Other than that it’s just touring, and writing new full lengths. So that’s something in the immediate future, but we’ll always have the spur of the moment ideas like the EP. It’s hard to say now, but we’re always going at it hard and we like to spend time off of tour too, just as long as it’s not spending so much time off where people forget about us.

Daniel: Any last words?

Mike: For the fans, thank you for your continued support and always keep an eye out as to what we’re up to. We’re always pretty active as far as touring goes. Be sure to watch us on the internet or twitter and all that crap. We’ll be cranking out something new in no time I’m sure.

The Devil Wears Prada is currnetly on tour, to stay posted with tour dates and what they’re up to head over to http://www.myspace.com/tdwp or follow them on twitter @ http://twitter.com/tdwpband

Music Review: The Devil Wears Prada

Band: The Devil Wears Prada

Album: Zombie EP

Label: Ferret Records

Genre: Metal

Rating: 4 out of 5

Track Listing:

01. Escape
02. Anatomy
03. Outnumbered
04. Revive
05. Survivor

The Devil Wears Prada releases their third album under Ferret Records. All that can be said about The Zombie EP…  Get ready for a new Devil…

Holding back no punches this 5 track EP is one of the band’s masterpieces. They’ve embraced a much heavier sound with in-your-face breakdowns and heavy guitar riffs. The vocals are much more intense than previous albums. The record is very well composed with the all of the instruments blending together flawlessly. The keyboards also do their part to add the eerie overtones to the album; it really sweetens the sound tremendously.

The Zombie EP is about… well… Zombies! The lyrics as always are open for interpretation, but for the most part, it’s just straight up graphic tales about a Zombie invasion. The album is very well written both musically and lyrically. Listening to the album while reading the lyrics along side of it has issued a few chills up my spine.

“TODAY’S DESTRUCTION CAN ONLY BE MEASURED IN BIBLICAL PROPORTION.” – Revive

“DIRT UNDERNEATH THE NAILS OF FINGERS TEARING AT YOUR SANITY.” – Autonomy

“GREETINGS FROM EXTERMINATION, KANSAS- DEATH IN THE MIDWEST.” – Survivor (my personal fav)

As far as Zombie albums go, this one is solid gold. As far as metal albums go this is worth your time and money. You’d be crazy not to run out and grab your copy of what promises to be a great addition to this bands portfolio.

Get To Know Your Scene: In The Midst of Lions

Recently I did a review on In The Midst of Lion’s latest release The Heart of Man (Facedown Records). I was able to get a hold of them for a few questions.

Q:What is the Origin of your band name? Was it the first?

A: (Alex the drummer) I came up with the name when we first started as a metaphor for being  a Christian band in a typically non-Christian genre. After we settled on this name and had it for a few months, we came across this verse.. Psalm 57:4 “I am in the midst of lions; I lie among ravenous beasts – men whose teeth are spears and arrows, and tongues a sharp sword.” It was really cool how that worked out.

Q: Who are your musical influences?

A: We listen to all types of music but as a band I would have to say Meshugga, Veil of Maya,  and The Faceless would be our biggest influences.

Q:How long have you all known each other? How did you meet?

A:We have all known each other for about 3 years now. I was introduced to the rest of the guys through a friend, and they were looking for a drummer. They had moved to St. Louis to get this band started, so we started jammin and here we are 3 years later!

Q:When did you decide to form a band? How were you inspired to make music?

A:All of us have been in tons of different random bands. It’s something we love and have been doing for years. The timing just worked out for us when it came to ITMOL coming together.  We just wanted to make music we love and minister to the world. That was our biggest influence for sure.

Q:Could you briefly describe the music-making process?

A:Ryan and I write all the music. After it’s done we will bring it to the rest of the guys and they will add their ideas. Matt then writes lyrics and vocals.

Q:What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?

A:Funny thing about that is we have never really practiced as a whole band haha. Tour is pretty much our band practice. If we need to write Ryan and I get together but other than that we don’t have a place to practice and we all live pretty far away from each other so it just doesn’t happen.

Q:What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?

A:Nothing really in particular has posed a huge challenge for us, but just the little things that make it hard. Tour is rough. You don’t eat or sleep or shower and you miss your families and significant others. We have had a lot of expensive van problems like most bands that make it tough to keep going at times. It’s just stuff like that you get fed up with, but we do it for God so that makes it worth it.

Q:What’s your ultimate direction for your band? Are you seeking fame and fortune?

A:I definitely don’t think there is any fame or fortune in our futures haha, and that is totally fine. We will just keep ministering as long as we feel God wants us to and we will go where He takes us.

Q:What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?

A:One thing for sure is to have fun and love what you play. It can become real businessy and feel like a job sometimes when you get to a certain point and that sucks because we start playing music cause we love doing it. So keep that mentality and just stick with it. Perseverance pays off in this industry.

Q:How can fans-to-be gain access to your music?

A:You can pick it up online on Amazon or facedownrecords.com or purchase it at any Hot Topic, Best Buy, FYE, or Hastings!
Q:Is there anyone you’d like to acknowledge for offering financial or emotional support?

A:Jesus for tons of emotional support! Ryan’s parents have definitely helped out with a ton of finance stuff so we can’t thank them enough either.

Q:Any last words?

A: We love all you guys, and Jesus loves you more!

To listen to these guys online drop by their myspace @ http://www.myspace.com/inthemidstoflions

Get To Know Your Scene: Skies

Q:Name of Artist/Band? (Include all band members names and instruments played.)

A:Band Name: Skies
Members: Nathan – Guitar, Nick – Guitar, J.Michael – Drums, Joe – Bass, Will – Vocals.

Q:What is your music background? (Who are you and your bandmembers? Tell your story.)

A:Well for Nathan and I (Will) this is our first band we’ve ever been in. Nathan and I became friends in 4th and 5th grade and pretty much had always wanted to start a band. We just never really got around to looking for members for the longest time. It actually took us until the end of our sophomore year in high school to start writing music and looking for band mates… This is also Nick’s first band. I know that Joe and J.Micahel have been in at least one other band back in the day but it wasn’t anything serious.

Q:Who is your fan/customer?

A:I would say that our fans are anyone who wants to listen to what we have to say, anyone who buys a short or a CD at a show, or anyone that tells us good job.

Q:What are your songs about? (What specific themes do they cover?)

A:I was such a noob when it came to writing the lyrics for our EP. Those songs were just about whatever came to mind at the time. They cover things such as the end of the world, persecution and some other random things I found in the bible. For our debut full-length that we are currently writing for, I feel like I (and the rest of the band) have matured more with the lyrics writing. We actually have a concept for the album. To keep this question from going on forever, the album, lyrics and instrumental-wise, starts out very depressing and negative and ends very positive and encouraging.

Q:Do you write your own songs? (Discuss the songwriting process in detail.)

A:We write all of our own music. We may do a Taylor Swift cover song down the road but for now, it’s all us.
Nathan and Nick usually get together and write the basic guitar parts for a whole song, then we all get together and practice it, write drums and bass parts and just throw in random ideas to make it better. Then we take the almost-finished song to our friend Evan Bissell (Ex – Copernicus) to record a ‘pre-production’ version of the song. That’s where I (and sometimes Nathan) write the lyrics and record my parts to get it tight.

Q: Who are your musical influences? (Site specific examples.)

A: Each of us have a TON of musical influences. But, for the band as a whole I’d say bands like The Ghost Inside, August Burns Red, For The Fallen Dreams and MyChildren MyBride.

Q:How do you describe your music to people?

A: I get so tired of explaining our genre to people not familiar with the metal scene, so I’ve stolen the term ‘Heavy Worship’ from one of my favorite bands The Great Commission, to describe our genre to others. I think it fits us well.

Q: What image do you think your music conveys? ( Do not avoid the image issue!)

A:Well I think, mostly around here, us calling ourselves a Christian band automatically gives us a bad name to a lot of people. Which I think is honestly really stupid, but there isn’t much you can do about it in a scene where it’s all about hatred and starting fights to prove how hardcore you are. Maybe that’s just me being stupid and judgmental about it myself but that’s how I feel.

Q: What are your immediate music career goals? (Next 1 to 3 years.)

A: We just signed to Bombworks Records a couple months ago. We are pretty much waiting for Nick to finish his last year in high school to start touring full-time. In the meantime, we’re writing for our first full-length, playing our usual amount of local shows and doing mini-tours whenever possible.

Q: What are your long-term career goals?

A: We’re just going to take everything as it comes and see how far God wants us to take this. At this point I’m hoping that’s quite a long time. But, we’ll see what shakes loose.

Q: How would you define the word “success”?

A: I’ll tell you what success IS NOT to me… Success is not how much money you make, nor is it how big of crowds you get at shows, nor is it how hardcore you are, nor is it how ‘big’ you get as a band… Here’s what I, and the rest of the band would consider success, If the purpose of this band was to make one person at one tiny show in the middle of nowhere in the worst show conditions possible, feel the presence and love of God inside them… That’s the most success any of us could ask for.

Q: Do you have a demo or press kit, (including an Electronic Press Kit …an EPK), or any other promotional materials?

A: We have an EP that we recorded a while back that could be used as promotion but we all are sick of every song on it. We are recording pre-production right now that we would usually put onto a blank CD and hand out to people. That’s it for now though.

Q: How do you rate your live performance ability?

A: I’d say that we have improved greatly from 2 years ago, but we could always get tighter. That’s just how it is with any band.

Q: Have you recorded any previous CDs or posted any audio files on the Internet? (What type of recording process did you use? Who produced your recording?)

A: We have an EP and three pre-production songs recorded. A couple songs from our EP and two pre-production songs are posted on our myspace (myspace.com/skies777). Our EP was recorded and produced by Dustin at Bullet Ride Productions. He’s a genius.

Q: How did you sell your CD’s/Audio Files?

A: Our EP is on iTunes and a few stores here and there, but we mostly sell them at shows.

Q: Have you had any previous print or broadcast media exposure or reviews?

A: Nope. Thanks Daniel, for your interest in us though. : )

You would be crazy not to check these guys out! Head over to their myspace @ http://www.myspace.com/skies777

Music Review: In The Midst of Lions

Artist: In The Midst of Lions

Album: The Heart of Man

Label: Facedown

Genre: Metal

Rating: 3 out of 5

In the Midst of Lions is a group out of St. Louis, MO.  The band released their second album” The Heart of Man” on August 3, 2010. Just one year after their first release “Out of the Darkness,” in 2009.

This group is fairly new to the metal circuit, but from the sounds of the album, is able to hold their own.  The Lyrical content on the album features a very strong sense of passion in their message. They are very straight forward as to what they stand for.

The deathcore vocals compliment the sound fairly well; however, they seem to go through the album without much change pitch. Most people will say to themselves, “metal vocalists… pitch… it’s all just noise!” Yes, I know to the untrained ear metal vocalist sound like they’re… well… just screaming. People often forget that the group is formed by musicians, and even a metal vocalist is a part of that mix.

Their sound offers a strong sense of intensity, the album is chock full of blast beats and breakdowns. They feature two guest vocalists on their newest release, Levi the Poet offers his talent on the 8^th track Defiance, and the 10^th track Fearless features Take It Back’s front man Nick Thomas.

The entire album was pretty good. There were moments were I would lose myself in the intensity of the moment, and other times where I was left wanting just a little bit more. In The Midst of Lions is building their foundation for their careers in metal, and I am looking forward to seeing where they go from here.

Music Review: Haste The Day

Artist: Haste The Day

Album: Attack Of The Wolf King

Label: Solid State

Genre: Metal

Rating: 4 1/2 of 5

Standout Lyrics:

Track  3. The Quiet, Deadly Ticking

We are the sand worn down from stone
And although we’re scattered
Our voices sing your death song
We are the weight of the world’s sorrow
And you will witness the strength of our souls
And our voices speak of death

Track 6. The Un-manifest

Abandon all hope!

Coming straight out of the box Haste the Day delivers with the hard hitting tunes that we are so accustomed to hearing.

Much like a fine wine, Haste the Day’s musicians seem to get much better with age. The band has been on the circuit since 2002 with the release of their EP “That They May Know You,” and they clearly have not lost their touch. The guitar riffs are as clean as ever, and the drums play exceptionally well with the entire group.

The vocals are extremely intense, even for a metal singer. Although even the harshest sounds are followed with some incredible clean vocals.

Each song presents beautiful imagery through the lyrics, each one is very well thought out. The album presents a very “tortured” vibe around it; although, it does make it all the more intense… and that’s what metal is all about right??

Continuing with tradition the band has taken a song aside and given some dedication to producing a wonderfully written singing number. Track 8 “White As Snow” is a shining example of the bands clean vocal talent.

Here’s a fun fact: The seventh track on the album features Micah Kinard of the band “Oh, Sleeper!”

The bands special addition album release features two live tracks (Blue 42, Pressure the Hinges), as well as a Black Eyed Peas cover (Meet Me Half Way). Even though there are just three additional songs, they were very well done. The live recordings really hit their mark and with a decent pair of headphones, really put you in the middle of the action!

All in all this truly was an incredible album. I highly recommend anyone to pick up there copy where metal albums are sold so you can help attribute to your metal collection.

An Adult Tree (Acoustic) [Bonus Track]