ok so my titles to these blogs are gonna get lamer and lamer just warning! oh and i'll cut and paste them from now on and link up to the websites as these sites deserve your attention!
heres a very thorough review from http: www.siczine.com
also props to Jeff for dishing it up!
SicZine
Jeff Karbow
1221 Devereaux Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19111
To The Lions
Baptism of Fire
Goodfellow Records
I can't believe it! A band that actually deserved to get picked up by a nice sized label did! The world must be nearing an end or something. When I heard these guys would be releasing an album on Goodfellow I was flipping. But enough of that gay, mushy stuff. If you've read my review for the band's demo that came out in 2005 you'll already know that this is going to be a glowing review that'll make me sound like a little school girl gushing.
Anyhow, for those suckers out there that haven't been properly introduced, please let me do so. These guys are a five-piece out of Burlington, Ontario and feature former members of Grade, Confine, and SeventyEightDays. And no, it does not sound like Grade. The press sheet says these guys are reminiscent of Unbroken, Chokehold and Undertow which for the most part is true. You have the lyrics against religion similar to Chokehold, the mix of metal/hardcore like Unbroken. But the main influences in my opinion are derived from the Cleveland scene and its crop of metallic hardcore bands and let me know forget the Holy Terror banner that the mighty Integrity waved.
For the people who missed the boat on the demo the band has put the best tracks from it on this album (which is pretty much all of them!). The album opens up with my favorite track by the band thus far, "Ride The Apocalypse", which I would call the title track of the album considering the album title was taken from the lyrics of the song. You also have the thunderous track "Amnesia" that was also taken from the demo. The second to last song "From Fear and Hate Sets Free" (my second favorite song) is also from the demo. The aptly titled closer, "Final Chapter" was originally called "Chokehold" on the demo but considering it is the final track it was a nice touch to change the title. All of the aforementioned songs are virtually the same as they were on the demo with just slight changes like the delivery of vocals in spots and a little more feeling in the harmonics, octaves, etc,.
Now on to the new beauties. I would say the band/label made a good decision using the song "Nightmare Begins" as the first single because it is the best track off the album that wasn't on the demo. "Nine Calibres"(ers) [I think the label botched on the song title] is a damn good song with a monster breakdown and a nice chorus that reminds me of oddly enough of the Foo Fighters single (the name escapes me and I'm not even going to bother to search) just the part where it goes "You're there, you're there". "Ten/Fifteen" is my second favorite track of the new bunch. The solo used during the chorus is top notch and I would love to hear more of that from these guys. The chorus has an awesome melody that just crawled right under my skin and gave me the goose bumps. "The Forsaken" is no slouch either and utilizes some sweet picking patterns and a sweet lead/solo. "Armour of God" features yet another sweet and well used solo that caps off yet another bludgeoning track.
The songs are fairly consistent in terms of length. The songs tend to stay around the 2:45-3:20 area which is a pretty damn ideal length for this type of metallic hardcore. It gives you plenty of time to get into the songs but without the chance of getting bored.
Don't know where this was recorded or anything like that but I doubt it was recorded at the Lion's Den (band's practice spot) because everything sounds heavier and thicker. Probably the biggest difference in recording from the demo is the much better placement of the vocals. It allows for both the vocals and instruments to be at the top of their game. The guitars are absolutely crushing. The bass has good tone and really adds solid low end to the mix. Very good snare and kick tone and good volume overall for the drums.
I said I was done writing up albums that are sent to me in the super-gay cardboard sleeves but this is one of the FEW bands I would make that exception for. Because I don't have access to the total package just yet I can only comment on the front cover (which you can see for yourself anyway). But if the rest of the layout utilizes the
same color scheme as the front cover and some nice imagery within the booklet I'm sure it would be a treat for the eyes. And considering most CD's put out by Goodfellow always have good visuals I wouldn't expect any different this time around.
Rating: 5/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: Ride The Apocalypse. From Fear and Hate Sets Free and Nightmare Begins
Synopsis: This is due to drop June 19th, so get your mother fucking asses out to your nearest ma and pa store and pick this up or if you're one of those not fortunate enough to have good record stores in your vicinity, bust out with your credit card and order this mother fucker. You won't be disappointed. Judging solely by the music,
recording, and the lyrics this album is worth making the purchase.
