Best of 2010 (so far)

Here we are in July and there have already been some amazing releases! I figured i would list my favorite albums so far for 2010, and some other stuff as well

10. Dependency - Convicted

The debut release from this hardcore band, it's short (EP) and sweet, raw energy and passion. Favorite tracks are Ready For Conflict and Fragile.

9. Norma Jean - Meridional

This one has yet to be released as i write this, but i got an early copy so i could write a review for IVM. I'm not the biggest Norma Jean fan but this album is really good, some songs are chaotic and heavy, while others feature some melody to sing along with. my favorite Norma Jean release. Favorite tracks are Septentrional and High Noise Low Output.

8. Close Your Eyes - We Will Overcome

This one took me a minute to get into after i checked them out based on a "Sounds like Comeback Kid". they don't sound like CBK in my opinion, but it's still impressive melodic Christian hardcore. Check out 17:20 and Song For The Broken.

7. Blank Page Empire - Sinners, Thieves, and Beggars

This progressive-rock band from Minnesota blew me away with this record, their unsigned debut. Excellent vocals and a very dynamic sound makes this a fresh release for 2010. check out tracks The Blind That Lead the Blind and The Amazing Two-Headed Man.

6. As I Lay Dying - The Powerless Rise

This will end up being Album of the Year for a lot of people, and it is an impressive album. The music (metal/metalcore) on this album is probably their best effort to date, but i felt the lyrics were a little weak in relative to previous releases. Despite that its still an awesome album, i liked tracks The Plague and The Anodyne Sea.

5. Hundredth - When Will We Surrender

I held off checking these guys out because i didn't really like the name of the band, but after Jordan told me to take a listen i was impressed. Solid hardcore and great elements to each song that make the songs more memorable and dynamic than other hardcore bands.

4. The Ghost Inside - Returners

Oh man, i love this band, never heard of them before the 10 for $10 Tour last year and after that performance i was sold. I was just getting into their previous release when they dropped Returners, and man it's all good! Love the tracks Unspoken and The Conflict (w/ Tommy Green of Sleeping Giant).

3. Dave Barnes - What We Want We Get

Probably Dave's most accessible work yet, all of the songs are radio-friendly yet still feature the great songwriter vibe that Dave is known for. Someday people will discover Dave Barnes and be ticked that they hadn't discovered him earlier! Listen to Chameleon and God Gave Me You.

2. Robbie Seay Band - Miracle

Every album from Robbie Seay is excellent, his raspy vocals and so good and the laid-back vibe of his band is great to listen to. Miracles is solid front to back with worship tracks that you probably won't find in church on Sunday mornings, but you will be singing them everywhere else. great tracks are Crazy Love and Lament.

1. Haste the Day - Attack of the Wolf King

this will probably end up as my favorite album by HTD (so far). This album is full of energetic metalcore with great choruses, something Haste the Day have been doing well for quite a while now. This is my album of the year so far, i love it! Favorite tracks so far are Dogs Like Vultures and The Quiet Deadly Ticking.

Other Notable Releases:

Call to Preserve - Life of Defiance

War of Ages - Eternal

Continuance - Carry Ourselves

Of Mice & Men - s/t

Top Artist Plays in last 6 months:

1		Dave Barnes			525
2		AFI			494
3		Phil Wickham			385
4		Anberlin			347
5		Haste the Day			303
6		Comeback Kid			297
7		Crime in Stereo			286
8		Rihanna			284
9		A Skylit Drive			262
10		Dropkick Murphys			250

Top Tracks Plays in last 6 months:

1		Phil Wickham – Messiah			35
1		Dave Barnes – Little Lies			35
3		Dave Barnes – Until You			31
4		Comeback Kid – False Idols Fall			30
4		We Came As Romans – To Plant A Seed			30
6		Anberlin – Disappear			29
6		Mayer Hawthorne – Maybe So, Maybe No			29
6		Dave Barnes – What We Want, What We Get			29
9		We Came As Romans – Intentions			28
9		Rihanna – Hard ft. Jezzy			28
9		Dave Barnes – God Gave Me You			28
9		Dave Barnes – What I Need			28

stats via Last.fm/user/bmer916

Album Review: Norma Jean - Meridional

Band: Norma Jean

Title: Meridional
Label: Razor & Tie
Release Date: July 12, 2010
Reviewer: BMer

Tracklisting:

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”

Meridional is the 5^th studio album by the “almighty” Norma Jean, it will be released through Razor & Tie Records on July 12, 2010. This is Norma Jean’s first album with Razor & Tie after leaving Solid State Records in 2009 after the release of The Anti Mother. This is the fourth record that features vocalist Cory Brandan as the main singer and song-writer.

From the moment you fire up Meridonal you are blasted with the brutal onslaught that Norma Jean is known for. The first track, “Leaderless and Self Enlisted” is a great opener, heavy and intense, no time to waste on some intro track; let’s just get to the point. For those wondering if the move to Razor & Tie would somehow soften Norma Jean, considering their label-mates are now Brian McKnight and Dave Barnes, you’ll be rest assured very quickly. According to the band switching to Razor & Tie was the fresh start they needed, and the album really shows a renewed spirit for chaotic hardcore.

The album is roughly split into 3 parts, the first 4 tracks representing the most brutal sounds. The tracks are heavy on chaos and light on melody, something longtime fans of Norma Jean can get excited about. The 2^nd track, “The Anthem of the Angry Brides” (great title by the way) is the most disjointed, featuring a quirky little guitar riff that basically noodles all over the place, on top of a shuffling drum beat during the verse. Once the chorus comes in you’ll find a driving, thumping feel that supports the vocals “You’re not getting under my skin!”

After track 5, an instrumental break, you get a few melodic tracks including my two favorites on the album; “Septentrional” and “High Noise Low Output”. Both tracks feature more singing than most, and some melody which is a side of Norma Jean that some fans don’t embrace. “High Noise Low Output” is the most “radio-friendly” track, a slower pace and plenty of singing and occasional screams. This doesn’t sound like your typical Norma Jean track, but the power and passion behind these tracks is unmistakable. The track following these, “Falling From the Sky: Day Seven” is a relatively subdued song. The feel is somber; “Your death will bring you all of the answers you’ve been looking for” and Norma Jean really start building the emotional feel for the album (even though we’re halfway with done with the songs).

Tracks 1-8 are straight-forward songs, except the interlude track 5, you get everything from chaotic brutality reminiscent of early Norma Jean to the more accessible sounds we found on The Anti Mother. After track 8 though you get a lot of experimentation, ambient moody sounds, probably representing what the band was referring to when they stated the music writing for Meridional was “something totally new”. There are a few memorable moments at the end of the album but overall I think the bulk of valuable work is in the first-half of Meridional. Songs like “The People Who Surround You on a Regular Basis” are just too predictable and formulaic, following the simple format of Verse – Chorus – Breakdown – Chorus. It’s not all bad, just not what you would typically expect from Norma Jean, something new.

The overall dark feel of the record is evident throughout, if not for lyrics like “I’d scratch away to the center. I’d bite it down to the blood” which is repeated frequently in the opening track, then maybe the sinister-sounding guitars will surely remind you that this album is not for the feint of heart. The drums also have a very live sound; the bass drum is so honest sounding, unlike the clean, over-produced sound on most metalcore records these days. Although the overall feel is dark, Meridional is not without it’s lighter moments which if you listen carefully enough you’ll hear quite an arsenal of random sounds/instruments throughout. Some clever lyrics can be found as well including “You’re like a never-ending soap opera, and we’re ready to find out who kills J.R.”

OVERALL When they say they’re going back to their old mentality of writing music, I can see that with Meridional. Riffs that have an old school hardcore feel to them, a few cool metal licks that I haven’t really heard from them before. This album does resemble The Anti Mother in a lot of ways, but feels like a lot more effort was put into this one than their last one. Each song is really well crafted from top to bottom. This is probably their most creative work to date, although it is a bit tamer than most of their other albums.

can also be viewed at IndieVisionMusic.com

Album Review: Haste The Day - Attack of the Wolf King

Band: Haste The Day
Title: Attack of the Wolf King
Label: Solid State Records
Release Date: June 29, 2010
Reviewer: BMer

Tracklisting:

1. “Wake Up the Sun”
2. “Dog Like Vultures”
3. “The Quiet, Deadly Ticking”
4. “Travesty”
5. “Merit for Sadness”
6. “The Un-Manifest”
7. “The Place Where Most Deny”
8. “White As Snow”
9. “Crush Resistance”
10. “Walk With a Crooked Spine”
11. “My Name Is Darkness”

Attack of the Wolf King is the fifth studio album from metalcore act Haste the Day, which will be released through Solid State Record on June 29, 2010. This is the first album with the current lineup; the only mainstays from Dreamer are Stephen Keech and Mike Murphy (bass). Added to the group are drummer Guiseppe Capolupo (ex-Once Nothing) and guitarist Dave Krysl (ex-New Day Awakening, Stephen’s old band) and Scotty Whelan (ex-Phinehas). This will be HTD‘s fifth album on Solid State Records since Burning Bridges, their first release in 2004.

The last three records that have featured Stephen on vocals have been quite different from one another and with Attack of the Wolf King the change is for the better. This record shows many accomplished elements of HTD, excellent guitar-work and solid song-writing. New drummer Giuseppe is awesome, and while Devin was a very good drummer for HTD, Giuseppe’s introduction will give the band a fresh feel for years to come. Just when some of us thought HTD might be on its last legs the new members bring another level of ability.

According to front man Stephen Keech “The record is a concept album about a herd of sheep being protected by lions from a pack of bloodthirsty wolves.” Concept albums are always tough, sometimes the concept takes away from the music and starts to get somewhat gimmicky and sometimes the concept is completely lost on the listener. In the case of Attack of the Wolf King the concept of sheep being protected by lions is something that we can relate to, it can be perceived as a metaphor to Christians living in the world today. The songs turn into battle-cries, and when we sing along we are singing with purpose.

While the guitar-work is the most noticeable improvement, the lyrics and attention to song writing is equally as impressive. Stephen really shows a foundation of biblical knowledge on both Dreamer and Attack of the Wolf King, his lyrics are carefully written and once you get a chance to read them along with the record they will make an impact. Some bands use the vocals merely as another instrument in the metalcore genre, and their lyrics lack a sense of purpose and value. Haste the Day is a band that along with a crunching, pit-stomping sound, have brought an inspirational message of Christ’s power and love. Whether they’re chanting “Won’t look back – chains that bound me” or “ For Now – we are here and we are one” Haste the Day really understand how to rally the listener.

My favorite track on the album so far is “Dogs Like Vultures”, a track that blends the harsh aggressive metal sounds of HTD with a beautiful melodic chorus. There is just something great about a heavy crunching sound featuring a chorus with words like “our hearts are softer than the sheep.” On the track “The Quiet, Deadly Ticking” you have some more impressive guitar-noodling on top of some serious chugging that will most likely incite some intense ground-punching!

“Travesty”, the first track released for streaming, also features some heartfelt lyrics “With love that the blindest eyes will see, You cover the darkest part of me.” When I first heard this track I was a little concerned that the new record wouldn’t be heavy enough but tracks like “The Quiet, Deadly Ticking” and “The Un-manifest” feature that old-school feel from Haste The Day, straight-forward, raw pounding metalcore. Track 10, “Walk With A Crooked Spine” has some excellent contrasts throughout the song, with a closing breakdown that is one of the best on the album. Micah Kinard, singer for another Solid State backed metalcore band Oh, Sleeper does some guest vocals on the throwdown track “The Place Where Most Deny”.

As I said earlier, the guitar-work is a major improvement from the previous two records. Very tight melodic parts feature throughout each song, giving the verses a lot of dynamic. Haste the Day sticks to the metalcore blueprint, adding breakdowns to most songs, clean catchy choruses, and aggressive intense verses. It’s not ground-breaking, however the quality of Haste The Day shows on this record. They have combined the good elements from Pressure the Hinges and Dreamer to create an album that is excellent from start to finish.

OVERALL for fans of metalcore this album will be a favorite this year, if you don’t like metalcore (or think it’s a dying genre) then this won’t bring anything new to the table. You won’t find Jimmy Ryan here so we can all stop wishing every album would sound like Burning Bridges, it’s time to move on. Attack of the Wolf King combines the passionate energy of early Haste the Day albums with fresh new talent to give us one of the best releases of the year.