Album Review: Blank Page Empire - Sinners, Thieves and Beggars

Band: Blank Page Empire
Title: Sinners, Thieves and Beggars
Label: unsigned
Release Date: May 14th, 2010
Reviewer: BMer

Tracklisting:

1. The Star Gazer
2. The Amazing Two-Headed Man
3. The Void I Couldn’t Shake
4. The Vagabond
5. The Seas’ Lonesome Drone
6. The Blind Lead the Blind
7. The Idol Hands
8. The Lighthouse Keeper
9. The Beacon
10. The Conclusion

Blank Page Empire is a fresh new band out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play a brand of progressive-rock that sounds similar to As Cities Burn and Emery, although Blank Page Empire definitely has a sound of their own. Their debut Sinners, Thieves and Beggars is a sign of musical maturity for founding members Ryan and Nate who admitted that the band found the sound they wanted very quickly after forming last October.

On my first listen I was a bit wary of the album, I had never heard of Blank Page Empire and I don’t often venture out of my comfort zone when it comes to reviews. Instantly I was reminded of As Cities Burn, with their indie-rock sound and aggressive vocals. But after a few more listens through Sinners, Thieves and Beggars I was really impressed with Ryan’s singing. He is such a strong singer and his voice has a great sound.

Sinners, Thieves and Beggars was produced and released with no label support. The record was recorded by a friend of the band, Eric Winkstrom, who has also worked with Venia, For All Those Sleeping, and many other bands in the Minnesota scene. The production quality of this album is pretty impressive, especially in light of some recent releases that have fallen short of the standard in regards to sound quality. I love the way the band sounds here, the drums especially; they have a real “rock” feel, you can just hear everything without having that over-produced sound. The presence of the kit flows well through the lighter parts of each song right on through the abrasive breakdowns, bringing a big sound to fill some space in the overall sound. The drumming itself is definitely one of the high-points on the record

I think the key to having a successful progressive sound is having a good balance to each song. Tracks like “The Amazing Two-Headed Man” and “The Blind Lead The Blind” start off with an intense aggressive tone, only to be countered by a stripped-down verse that gets you tapping your feet. And just when you think it’s safe to recommend Blank Page Empire to your lady-friend they kick in the door and bring the passionate aggression that usually make the faint-of-heart run and hide. Especially on the opening track (after the intro) “The Amazing Two-Headed Man” the sound is forceful at first, and might scare a few listeners off, but less than a minute into the track you get the great indie-rock feel that really makes the album so much fun to listen to.

Sinners, Thieves and Beggars moves right along with story-telling lyrics and driving guitars all the way through to track 5: “The Seas Lonesome Drone” where singer Ryan Menghini brings the mood down to a more serious feel. The track is beautiful, the vocals are honest and powerful between the choruses of singers and Ryan’s pleas for the Father to “…pull me out before I come one with the sea.” It’s a refreshing break before the second-half of the album which seems to have much more purpose and focus.

This leads right into one of my favorite tracks, “The Blind Lead The Blind”, where the restrained feel of the last track is quickly erased by a driving guitar and screaming vocals. This song features some impressive guitar work along with great contrasting elements of aggression and indie rock. This is probably the heaviest track on Sinners, Thieves and Beggars and the change-of-pace midway through the song is welcomed, showing the creativeness of the entire band.

The finishing tracks on this album are very well structured, song transitions seems to be a lost art these days but it can really improve an album if the songs are put in a well-planned order. Blank Page Empire really builds the end of this album well, starting with track 7 “The Idol Hand” which has some amazing lyrics “lift me now up from the grave / where there’s no grace abound with love / devoid of the sound of your love.” This last line leads right into a subdued bridging track “The Light House Keeper” which is short and simple accompanied by choir-like singing, always powerful! Still in a calming introspective feel track 9 “The Beacon” shows some real honesty, switching from the “we” of track 8 to the “I” here, admitting that’s the Father’s love is great but “…how easily I forget”.

All of this leading into the last track of Sinners, Thieves and Beggars fittingly titled “The Conclusion”. This is another favorite track of mine with the background vocals really adding support to the feel of the track, a song sung directly to the Lord. This is the kind of song I eagerly anticipate seeing live, with everyone singing along “Gloria in Excelsis Deo”! so powerful and moving!

OVERALL For those fans of Ryan and Nate’s previous band, Nihilio, this will have a similar feel, although Blank Page Empire is a lot less screaming and crunching guitars and more creative and dynamic with their song writing. The songs are constructed very well, allowing each member room to be creative; and it’s Ryan’s vocals that really stand out as the piece that could be the difference maker. With a record like this I can’t see this band remaining unsigned for much longer, with a look straight out of Minnesota’s north woods and a refreshing debut album, Sinners, Thieves and Beggars is only the beginning for these guys.

also at indievisionmusic.com

BMer Writing for Indie Vision Music

In case you didn't see my post on twitter/facebook awhile ago, i've joined the Indie Vision Music family as a reviewer / news poster. IVM is a website dedicated to covering "Christian" bands, usually with an alternative sound like punk or hardcore. IVM focuses on smaller bands, either unsigned or signed to smaller labels like Tooth & Nail or Facedown Records.

This is really exciting for me, i contacted Brandon who started and runs IndieVisionMusic.com and asked him to check out this music blog and within a few days he asked me to join the team. I love everything about music, analyzing and discussing it, and this will give me a bigger audience to do that (hopefully!). They've asked me to do album reviews as well as post any news i hear or new bands to check out. On top of that they would like to start posting reviews of live shows, something i've been doing here for awhile, so hopefully i'll be posting some of my recaps as well.

I'm going to continue this blog because it's basically an online music diary for me, i reference it all the time. Plus IVM tries to cover only "Christian" related music, but i don't solely listen to Christian music, and this blog gives me a place to continue posting about bands that don't fit the IVM standard.

I hope you'll continue to follow me over at IVM, so far i've had good responses on my reviews. I was really excited when the rep for Blood & Ink Records contacted me about doing reviews for two debut EP's coming out this month. He sent me the two EP's (for free of course!) ahead of the release date and i got to check 'em out, then post my reviews. I'm excited to get my foot in the door doing something i'm really passionate about, writing and discussing music, and i hope i can continue to move up in this field (this spot isn't paid...yet!).

I really need to thank the music friends in my life for helping develop my passion for music, from the "Fall Children" growing up in Folsom, to all my friends from CCU who introduced to metal and scremo, to my current group of friends that helped me discover music outside of the hardcore world. i hope you still give me feedback and ideas and comments on my posts!

Here are my three reviews so far on IVM:

All At Risk - s/t
Dependency - Convicted
Thin Ice - Revelation Through Tribulation

Album Review: Dependency - Convicted

Band: Dependency
Title: Convicted
Label: Blood & Ink Records
Release Date: May 25th, 2010
Reviewer: BMer

Tracklisting:

1. Goliath
2. Convicted
3. Forgiven
4. Ready for Conflict
5. Fragile
6. Vultures, Scavengers
7. Decay

“The problems in our lives seems so big. I can barely see the horizon over these giants.”

These are the opening lyrics to Dependency’s debut EP titled Convicted, released through Blood & Ink Records on May 25th. Hailing from Nashville Dependency broke onto the scene last summer with their energetic Spirit-filled hardcore. They gave away their 3-song demo for free to anyone who would take it, and from there the buzz began to grow. The 3-song demo was so good and it left you wanting more and now we finally have it!

Convicted is 7 tracks, about 20 minutes of solid hardcore. It has that raw feel that good hardcore should have, less time spent on over-producing the sound and more time conveying the passionate energy these kids have. The mix is pretty good although at some points the vocals can get a bit lost, but that’s usually before the gang vocals come with full-force to support singer Kyle Fesmire’s message. These songs are going to be crazy live, get your Kung-fu kicks ready!

The EP opens with the “Goliath”, an honest look at the problems in our lives and the reality that we all feel a bit overwhelmed at times. The track starts off great, but after about a minute the tracks falls into a bit of a musical intro/interlude. It seems a bit early in the EP for a break in my opinion. After the first song the second track “Convicted”, brings you back to what you came for. Probably the best song of the collection with a message of hope, a song to bring people together combined with the urgency of the chorus “We are convicted and we will prevail!”

Next up is another interlude track, “Forgiven”, which may have inserted here to give you a second to reflect on the truth already spoken by Dependency, or maybe to give you a second to catch your breath before the album really picks up. The next two songs come from the 3-song demo, “Ready For Conflict” and “Fragile”. Once again Dependency’s ability to craft a hardcore song is apparent, taking cues from bands like Strongarm and Verse with the speed and breakdowns in each song. These two tracks are very solid, I’m glad they carried them over from the demo. The vocal style really reminded me of Life In Your Way with their unashamed confessions of failure and their outspoken faith in Christ, they don’t leave any doubt where they stand and what they want to accomplish.

This EP was mixed by Jay Maas who has also worked with other hardcore bands like Verse, Have Heart, Defeater and Shipwreck, and Dependency has the sound and feel to lineup with any of those bands. The last real hardcore track on the album, “Vultures, Scavengers”, is the first track where you find a little darker sound. Previous songs feature an honest and optimistic, hopeful theme, while “Vultures, Scavengers” paints a picture of becoming overrun with guilt, and how the Vultures “…circle my head, waiting for me to fail again.” But Dependency isn’t here to bring everyone down, they’re here to lead and the last line of the song; “I find my oasis in God.” Is letting everyone know what you need in your darkest hour.

The last track, “Decay”, is a slow-moving song, plodding along with ambient guitars and stripped down drumming. Not really a favorite of mine but it’s a nice contrast to the rest of the EP, and good ending track with a dark feel and almost eerie effect. It feels like the main theme of Convicted is confessing that this life is tough, there are going to be struggles and failures, but “These giants are but specks before my God”.

OVERALL, I’m really encouraged by Convicted. Dependency hasn’t been around for a whole year yet but already they’re making a name for themselves. This EP might be a little tough for listeners who don’t have an ear for hardcore, with it’s grittiness and tough sound, but the message of hope is a message for everyone. Each listen to Convicted is an aggressive onslaught of passionate hardcore music that will prompt you to get back on your feet and put your hope in Christ!

Album Review: All At Risk - s/t

Band: All At Risk
Title: s/t
Label: independent
Release Date: Feb 19, 2010
Reviewer: BMer

Tracklisting:

1. I'm Sorry (For The Last Time)
2. Forever (I Need You)
3. My Everything
4. Here's To You
5. The Other Side
6. Not My Life
7. Falling For You
8. Nothing Left
9. The Fight
10. Through The Fire

All At Risk is an unsigned Denver-based pop-punk band that recently released their debut full-length in February. The self-titled album features 10 tracks recorded at Side 3 Studios in downtown Denver and can be purchased online at itunes.

Poppy punk-rock might be a dying genre, maybe punk-rock altogether, but a few bands are staying true to their roots and the music they love, and one of those bands would be All At Risk. Based in the Mile High City, All At Risk features singer/song writer Jared Phifter, Jon Davis on drums, Jeff Manning on bass and Ben Jenkins on guitars. Jared and Jon have played music together for the past 10 years, first in the band Fallenshort and now with All At Risk. Their chemistry is evident throughout the album.

For an unsigned band All At Risk have the sound of veterans, putting in years of hard work and do-it-yourself effort to rise in the Colorado music scene. A few things have stayed consistent through the years though; they’re love for a positive, poppy punk-rock sound and their faith in Christ. Although they list bands like MxPX and Blink-182 as influences, they sound more like Broadway Calls and New Found Glory, with more focus on singing and quality song writing and not just blasting through songs at high-speed.

This record jumps right out of the gate with an upbeat track called “I’m Sorry (for the last time)” and “Forever (I Need You)”, two tracks with energy and speed. I love the fact that songs have multiple elements to them, a variety of drumming and aren’t just resigned to 4-chord predictable song structure. Jared has a unique sounding voice with a raw, unfiltered (and un-autotuned!) sound that quickly grows on you. Forever has a guitar riff that reminds me of Blink-182 during the Dude-Ranch days though I doubt we’d catch Blink singing about the sacrifices that Jared sings about on this track.

The third track has a special meaning behind it, but you’ll figure that out pretty quickly after Jared sings the question: “will you wear this ring?”. His proposal to his girlfriend at the time (now his wife) will be played over and over for years to come. The track slows way down for ending setting up the next few tracks as the slower part of the album.

“Here’s To You” could be a song for any graduation, looking back on the good times, a solid ballad with a catchy singalong chorus. “Not My Life” is my favorite track on the record, but that’s probably the metal-fan in me. It’s easily the heaviest track on the record, fast-paced and crunching guitars, for 2:00 minutes All At Risk let their hair down and rocked out.

There’s two final upbeat punk songs with “Nothing Left”, which takes off at a blistering pace before settling into one of the best tracks on the album and “The Fight” which features some solid guitar work. The last track of the album is a subdued “Through the Fire”, a slower, more serious song, fitting for the closer.

Overall I think this is a great effort by the band. The production quality is solid for an unsigned band with good low-end and clear vocals. My biggest complaint about the album would be the track order, the record starts off so upbeat and energetic but after the first two tracks the feel really dies down. The energy really doesn’t pick up again until track 6, and I realize that every album has slower songs but it just feels a little early in the track-order on this one. I do love the fact that from start to finish you get solid tracks, no intro tracks or interlude stuff, just 10 solid songs. Grab this album and blast it in your car, don’t be ashamed to sing along!

Show Recap: As I Lay Dying @ Gothic Theatre

my buddy Tahoe and I ventured down to the Gothic Theatre to catch one of our favorite bands; As I Lay Dying who were on tour with support from War Of Ages, Blessthefall, and Demon Hunter. When I originally saw this tour lineup I was very excited. I am a fan of AILD and War of Ages, I’ve listened to Blessthefall, and I was interested to hear Demon Hunter. I've been trying to catch War Of Ages live for awhile now after i missed them at Sonshine Festival last year, then they had to bail on the 10 for $10 Tour right before the Denver stop at the end of last summer. After seeing the show however I think this lineup was very poor.

First though, As I Lay Dying, the headliner. They always put on a stellar show and this was one of the better performances I’ve seen by them. Even though they just released a new record, The Powerless Rise, they only played 2 songs from the record. It always cool to hear new tracks live, but as a fan going to see a band live you want to hear the songs you know and love, and As I Lay Dying understands that. They played all of their big songs starting with the opener 94 Hours then into An Ocean Between Us. About 4 songs in they played the first track off the new record, Beyond Our Suffering, and it seemed to go over pretty well. Since their last record, An Ocean Between Us, was released about 3 years ago fans were hungry for new music, and i'm sure a good portion of the crowd had already gotten their hands on the new album and were singing along!

Speaking of singing along the energy in the Gothic was awesome. The show was sold out and the floor was energetic and supporting the bands well. with four huge records under their belt, As I Lay Dying is able to play a set that is filled with great songs, and every song incited the crowd more. So after Through Struggle and Beyond Our Suffering the band went off stage to get different guitars. this little break might have been the most impressive moment of the night when Jordan entertained us with an intense drum solo. for most of the Jordan was swinging his hair with all of his appendages going in different directs so that if you couldn't hear what he was playing you'd think it'd sound like a bunch of nonsense, except that its not! he's got to be one of the best drummers out there, just solid!

The middle of the set included songs Sound of Truth, Within Destruction, and Forsaken. As I Lay Dying was blasting through songs, rarely taking a second to talk between songs which i personally enjoy (less talk, more rock). This led into the 2nd new song of the night, Vacancy, which was an interesting choice. Tim Lambesis introduced the song as "a fast one" which was apparently the reason it was chosen, however there are much better songs on the new album that would have been great to hear but maybe they haven't prepped them for the live show yet. After Vacancy they played Confined, Meaning in Tragedy, and the crowd favorite I Never Wanted, which featured the crowd in full voice!

After the "last" song, Tim thanked the crowd and they left the stage. I'm personally a little done with planned encores but whatever, As I Lay Dying were obviously coming back to play some more, maybe Tim needed some air after playing at Denver's high altitude. A few minutes after chants of "one more song" the lights dimmed and on-stage spotlights began to search the crowd. combined with the darkness and the smoke this created an eerie effect, almost like flashlights searching through a dark foggy night. Then we were greeted with the sound of Nick's lead guitar, playing the epic intro Separation. Soon joined by Phil's guitar the encore was on, AILD played Separation, Nothing Left and finally Forever.

The great thing about As I Lay Dying's live set is that everyone in the band gets involved. Tim is a solid front-man with his strong vocals and confidence, he moves around the stage and gets the kids involved. Josh on bass and supports with clean vocals, while he's not the best singer around he's still gives a ton of energy to the crowd. I've already talked about how amazing Jordan is on the drums, it's great that he's up on an elevated drum-riser and instead of rocking a double-kick pedal, he goes with two separate bass drums with always looks great! And the guitarist are great, Nick and Phil totally compliment each other, and even though Phil is technically the rhythm guitarist, he gets his chance to show off his chops.

The supporting bands were alright. War of Ages opened the show, played a 5-song set including 2 new songs off their recent release Eternal. Then they also played their staples opening with Through the Flames and then closed with Standing Firm followed by All Consuming Fire. They added a little humor at the end of their set playing the intro to Enter Sandman (Metallica) then stopping with a "just joking!". Blessthefall was solid but maybe a little too choreographed. The had "dance moves" and just seemed out-of-place with these other metal bands. Demon Hunter had a ton of crowd support, but again i think they were out-of-place as well. True metal fans were not impressed with the band and voiced their opinion, but were usually drowned out by the very vocal Christian support.

The show was great, the only disappointing thing for me was that none of the bands talked about their faith, or even mentioned Christ at all. This may have been because it was already assumed to be Christian bands, like Third Day doesn't need to announce what they believe at their shows, but still I've seen AILD before and it's always encouraging to hear bands with such credibility encourage the fans in this way. Maybe next time they'll start adding some of their new songs to their set.







War of Ages:

Song Rating: Oh Sleeper - Son of the Morning

Oh, Sleeper – Son Of The Morning

metalcore / Christian / rock

Son of the Morning is the second studio album by American metalcore band Oh, Sleeper, was released on August 25, 2009, through Solid State Records -wikipedia

1. "Son of the Morning" - *****
2. "The New Breed" - ***
3. "In All Honesty" - ****
4. "Breathing Blood" - ***
5. "Reveries of Flight" - ***
6. "World Without A Sun" - ****
7. "The Fire Dawn" - ***
8. "A Banquet for Traitors" - ***
9. "Commissioned by Kings" - *****
10. "The Finisher" - ****

I was very excited for this album from Oh Sleeper, they are one of my favorite bands. I was a little disappointed though, since this is a “concept” album, with the theme of the battle between God and Satan. As one whole piece the album is awesome, but as individual songs most are not memorable besides Son of the Morning, Commissioned By Kings, and The Finisher. The drumming on this album is excellent, some of the best metal drumming I’ve heard.

Show Recap: Comeback Kid @ Marquis Theater

What a fun night. Comeback Kid, my favorite band, was once again playing Denver, a city they've toured often. Unfortunately the last few times CBK have come through Denver they've been on some weird tours, including supporting Rise Against at Red Rock Amphitheater. I've seen them a few times over the years, and i was lucky enough to catch them on Scott Wade's last tour, in fact it was one of his last shows before he quit mid-tour. I am more of a fan of Scott's work as the lead singer than Andrew's, but between them both CBK is still solid.

This tour feature Set Your Goals as the headliner, a band that has as many haters as they do fans. I for one, am not really fan. The other bands in support were The Wonder Years and This Time Next Year, two bands that are alright. I had a soccer game this evening so i decided i would play, then jam down to Denver in time to catch CBK. My plan worked perfectly, as i was collecting my ticket from will call the crowd was filing outside for a smoke-break between the bands. as i headed inside i was just hoping that the break was before CBK, not after! But after seeing Andrew Neufield, frontman for CBK walking around with no sweat, i was confident that my timing couldn't have been better.

I killed some time before their set talking with a kid that recognized my Venia shirt, an up-and-coming Christian hardcore band out of Minneapolis. It was cool that he sought me out after seeing the shirt, not many kids know of Venia, yet. Anyway, i got a good spot on the stairs determined to catch at least one song on video before joining the fracas.

As usual Comeback Kid opened with False Idols Fall, a great song and a great opener. The energy was crazy, the venue was packed and the battle to be heard on the mic was on. If you want to know what happens at a hardcore show, basically every kid is battling to get a chance to scream some lines into the microphone, clawing their way to the stage, going over or through people on the way. After you cross the pit of hardcore dancers (think kung-fu meets roid-rage) you must work your way through the gang chorus, about 5-6 people deep at the front of the stage. then you must impress the singer enough that he'll pass you the mic, then you have to show that you know what you're doing and sing the right words. after that, you get your street cred! haha.

Anyway, after the opening song CBK barreled through their "hits" like Broadcasting, Die Tonite, All In A Year, Partners In Crime, Talk is Cheap, and i think Defeated. These songs are great for singalongs, and have sweet breakdowns as well. Andrew is a fine frontman, although he looks a little overwhelmed at times and in interviews he's admitted that he'd rather be on guitar than singing. Either way CBK was full of energy, and the crowd didn't disappoint with plenty of head-walkers and hardcore dancing, people were flying everywhere.

Comeback Kid took a moment to thank Denver for being a great place to play, and promised to come back in the fall after their new record comes out. Their last record was recorded in Fort Collins at the Blasting Room, but this time they opted to record in Canada (where they're from). After their little message the played Industry Standards, which was probably the least favorite song from their set, i'm not sure why they played it, but they did, and it only made the next song, Partners in Crime, even better.

Nearing the end of their set, Andrew led the crowd in a singalong of the chorus for Wake the Dead; "you said you said you said, this time was gonna be different...WAKE UP THE DEAD!" a few times before the band blasted into the song. this is easily the most popular CBK song, and rightfully so, it's pretty epic. They usually always close with this song and we all thought this was the end of the set so the place went off. For some reason though, they decided to play one more track, Step Ahead, but most of the place had already decided they were done so it was a little awkward.

After they played i decided to go home, apparently i was not alone in that decision as many others headed for the door as well. Another solid effort by Comeback Kid, when the come through in Fall on a headlining tour it will be even better!

my video of False Idols Fall:
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False Idols Fall lyrics:
YOUR TIME IS UP
We’ve been counting down your days
Going over every false THING YOU SAY
We wish it could be different
We wished you stayed the same
Tearing down our idols
living life OUR OWN WAY
Taking the chance to say

All my heros are dead
All my heros are dead

Were we too blind to see you were only human like me
But we can’t help but feel
Empty words they're all you gave
Struggling to take back our days

They build you up to watch you fall
Can’t you see they can’t be what you want
You build them up to watch them fall

Where did we lose control
We thought it'd last forever

We're come and count away your days
Our heroes are not what they used to be (OUR IDOLS FALL)
Our heroes are not what they used to be (OUR IDOLS FALL AWAY)