Lecrae "Rehab"-(review)

Lecrae's newest album is called "Rehab" and it has been out for awhile now,

and I absolutely love it! I've heard a lot of Lecrae songs, but this

is actually the first full album that i've purchased.

I've said it before, "I'm not a huge rap fan"…but man I love Lecrae/Flame/C-lite

and Jesus Disciple. You can just feel the Holy spirit igniting that fire

while they write their rhymes. The first song on the album is called "Check in"

and it's about checking into "Rehab" I.E surrendering all you are to

Christ(to put it in very simple terms) I love the beat and the lines

"I like the feel but HATE the taste of the product like the numb on your tongue

when you taste narcotics"

"I'm ready for Rehab just do what you gunna do"

The very next song is called "Killa" it's easy to see that the song is about

the temptation of sin, I thought it was very well produced. "Divine Intervention"

featuring J.R follows "Killa", and it also is a fantastic song I love the lines..

"ignorant that our decent lead to hell fire, and when I yell fire they tell me

"False alarm" because they don't smell the smoke and they don't sense the harm/

theres something worse then the black plagues comin/ and nothing under the

sun can save us from it. "

once again the very next song also stands out, it's softer but is a great song

called "Just like You"(Featuring J.Paul) really nothing else needs to be said about it, very good song. By the way this album, at least the version I got off Itunes,

has 17 songs, honestly not many albums now adays have more then 10.

A lot of the songs on "Rehab" are actually quite good, so it would probably

be faster if I just named the "Lack luster songs"…but I wont..

The next song that stood out to me was "Used to do it too"(Featuring KB)

I like the beat and overall flow to the song, by the way it's a nice song to listen

to while you are bombing through some powder on the mountain =)

just saying… probably my favorite line is..

"But I aint fix myself aint turn myself around, I gave it up and told the Lord He can

have it now"

the next song is called "Children of the Light" and it stood out to me because of

who it featured "Sonny Sandoval"(dude from P.O.D) but honestly for me

the song is disappointing and would be a song I'd file under "Lack-luster"

The very next song however just might be my favorite on the album, it's called

"High" and features Suzy Rock, very cool bass beat.. and rhymes enough said.

"i'm illuminated open up my eyes

now the Spirit showin me the Word is alive

i was so low, now i'm so high

regenerated mind telling me that i'm alive

and it's workin, i'm so certain

confident He created me for a purpose

somewhere in-between the jeans that yall jerkin

and them khakis that ganstas work-workin

no purpose sir so worthless

i catch re-real contact when i worship "

Im crank-cranked up like i'm poppin no dose

no dose, homie don't sleep

world full of them sheep with the sharp teeth

don't don't start me, on that lighter fluid

"40 Deep" is the next song that stands out to me first because

it features "Tedashii and Trip Lee" and also because the beat

is beast, absolutely love it.

"God is Enough" features Flame and Jai and really stands out to me

because of the chorus and Lecrae's rhymes for example..

You know you sick of lookin', you sick of chasin'

I think you know the truth, you just don't wanna face it

Your life is empty, though you havin' fun

You never satisfied, you never get enough

You go from thrill-seekin' to pill-poppin'

From heavy drinkin' to club-hoppin'

You just can't stop it, like you're a slave

And you chasin' nothin' all the way into the grave

The next song that stood out and the first song that I heard before I got the album is called "Background" featuring C-Lite, it's soft for sure…

but is absolutely relatable and makes me just nod my head through every line, my second favorite on the album.

overall "Rehab" is an amazing album from Lecrae..I can't compare

it to an older album of his because like I said this is my first full

album from him. Godly rhymes with killer beats..

5 out of 5

Flame "Captured"-(Review)

Flame's newest album "Captured" is plain and simple a solid album,

filled with TRUTH and lyrically could be one of Flame's strongest

albums to date. Is it all around his best album though? is it even

debatable?

Right off the bat the album kicks off with the song "Recaptured"

it's not hard hitting beat wise, but lyrically starts the album off

strong and is a cry to wake up, and is really the standing

theme through-out the album. The theme as the album is titled

is being "Captured" and as with every Flame album i've had the

pleasure to listen to, it makes you think and urges you to

truly have a "surrendering" relationship with Christ Jesus.

speaking of surrendering, "Surrender" is the second track, and

is probably the first song that really stands out, for me it was at least.

it features V.Rose and I absolutely love the meaning of the song and

the lines

"Jesus here's my white flag

I surrender right now"

V.Rose rocking the chorus is great.

The next song while listening through that stands out to me is "Nonsense"

(which would be the 4th song) love it, and when I first listened to this song,

a lot of what Flame was talking about I was seeing in people who

profess to be "Christian" just a couple of the lines that stood out to me

were

"You don't need to trust in Jesus because he was just a man,

please don't listen to them christians they have no clue what their

saying. Now you say you hate religion because you just want to be free

say "I'mma do what makes me happy, and whatever pleases me and

whatever pleases me is exactly what i'mma do" "

Totally can relate to running into a lot of people that believe that way.

The next song that really jumped out at me was "Move" and

is really my favorite on the whole album, and is really encouraging.

"Move" is about "Moving/doing what God wants you to do"..

something I admittedly at times struggle with.

The very next song called "Put On" is a great track as well probably

mostly because it features C-lite.

So is this Flames best album? like I said, lyrically it just might be,

but overall his last album "Our World Redeemed" just had more songs that

I really enjoyed. "Captured" isn't a bad album by any means,

and is really a biblically sound album so it's hard for me to knock it.

Lets just say if you dig songs like "Go buck" or "Who Can pluck us"

"Joyful noise" or "2nd coming" from last album…you really wont

find a lot of that in this new album. lyrically it's a more mature album..

musically/beat wise.. softer then Flame's last two..

3 out of 4

Red "Until We Have Faces"-Review

RED has been a favorite rock band of mine since their first album

"End of Silence" and their second album "Innocence & instinct" was

another step in the right direction, they simply put just got better and

more polished. Their latest called "Until we have Faces" is plain and simple

not a step forward, but at the same time not really a step backwards either.

"Until we have Faces" gives me the exact same feeling Skillets latest

album "Awake" gave me. It's really nothing new, it's not a sound

you couldn't find on the last album "innocence & Instinct". Really i'm

conflicted in my thoughts about it, because on the one hand

"innocence & Instinct" was and is AWESOME so is there really a need

to change? if it's not broke why fix it right? but lets get down to the

songs and my overall rating of the album..

"Until We have Faces" opens up with a song called "Feed the Machine"

really probably the best on the album and a great way to kick off the album.

honestly the first couple of songs are Red at their best "Faceless" being the

next on the track list has that typical Red sound with a catchy chorus

I'm not, I'm not myself

Feel like I'm someone else

Fallen and faceless

So hollow, hollow inside

A part of me is dead

Need you to live again

Can you replace this

I'm hollow, hollow and faceless

I dig it, good song, cool lyrics. Another good song, lyrically my favorite and

a softer song in some aspects just happens to be the next song called

"Lie to me(Denial)" Now when I listen to this song, I get the feeling that RED

is putting themselves in Gods shoes and writing/singing out to His children.

that's how I take it anyways…

Can you just turn away and let me go

Lie to me

You can feel

That this love was never real

Walk away

You can learn to love again

Lie to me

Watch me bleed

Cause I'll still be here when you see

Your not alone

You don't have to run again

Leave me in denial

All the pain you fed

Starts to grow inside

It lives again and you can't let it die

So believe you'll never find

A reason to love again

I get that same feeling when I listen to the next song "Let it burn"

which is even softer still. specially when he says "How long will you hide your face?

are you afraid?" kind of makes me think of how we try to hide our true

selves from God as If He doesn't already know. Like how God came to

Adam and Eve in the garden but they were so ashamed that they

covered their self with fig leaves and hid from God(as if you could hide from Him)

"Buried Beneath" goes with the same softer tempo as "Let it burn"

and "Lie to me" it's kind of a song that grows on me the more I listen.

"Not alone" is really your standard "Air 1" "Christian top 40 song"

and nothing wrong with that if thats what your into, but yes indeed

they stay with the softer sound with "Not Alone"….it's not a bad song,

not untruthful..it's just nothing you haven't heard 1,000 times.

thankfully for my sanity sake(im just kidding) the next song "Watch you Crawl"

picks up the pace a bit, not much but it does. decent song somewhat catchy

but nothing to really write home about. "The Outside" is more on par with

the first couple of songs and is a favorite, great song, and if I had to choose

one song off the whole album that I think RED took any steps forward in

I would say "The Outside" would be it.

"Who We Are" has a cool beat and some moments of screaming(which you wont

find a whole lot of on the album) it's an "ok song". "best is Yet to Come" is

pretty much everything "Not alone" is. The final song "Hymn for the missing"

can also be thrown into that "not alone" mix. I do like the piano though in

"Hymn for the missing" and the overall sound, and don't get it twisted I

don't have a problem with "Softer songs" it's just not really something

I think most people listen to RED for.

In the end I give "until we have faces"

3 1/2 out of 5

Nothing really new, but there are some good songs to be found non the less.

APFP "The Marriage between Heaven and Hell"-Review

A Plea for Purging's latest album "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" is a mixed bag for me, I totally dig some songs but other songs are just "meh" more of the same. You can pretty much tell where the album is going to go

with listening to the first song which is "The Eternal Female"

I am the reaper.

I will be the demise of your reign.

I am the dark shadow where you hide.

Self-righteous fascist, you chase the sun.

Glory belongs to no man. Crooked church, you sell the Son.

Thieves deserve to have no hands.

Our Prisons were built with the stones of law.

Whore houses are built with the bricks of religion.

Oh man of God from which was your stone.

I've stayed quiet for far too long.

Cause I've typecast myself to censor what I can say.

I'm so sick of this, sick of what's going on.

Now I'm putting to an end of my silence.

Your god's not real. This is the end of my silence.

The wolf provides for his own but God provides for the lion.

I am the lion, you are the wolf. You can run but I will find you. I am the reaper.

The album can be summed up as an attack on wolves in sheep's clothing, an attack on the lukewarm and false prophets. Some of the songs lyrically speaking are well constructed while others are pretty much more of the same as I said that's pretty much the whole album in a nut shell.

A plea for purging besides a few songs really don't stray away from their meshuggah roots(A band they freely admit they sound like)

The first single from the album is called "shiver" and it was my reason for buying the record, the music video and just the song in general are great. "

Shiver" is the third track on the album and it will surely stand out from the first two tracks. I think the next stand out track and a song that is different for A plea for Purging because it adds "Clean Vocals" much like a typical Devil Wears Prada song, the song is the 5th on the album and it is called "The Fall"

"The Fall" is catchy with the clean vocals and is a favorite of mine on the album.

right after "The Fall" comes "and Weep" which ramps up the attack on the false prophets/wolves in Sheep's clothing, another track that stands out for me.

"Finite" stands out for the same reason "The Fall" does I'm not your priest. I'm not your prophet. Open your eyes and see. I'm not a saint. I'm not a god. Don't put your faith in me. awesome lyrics and meaning behind the song as well.

"The Jealous Wings" is very different as it is a ballad(Think Demon Hunter) and to my knowledge not something A Plea of Purging is use to doing. For the record it works, and it is a well constructed song.

The last song on the record is called "The New Born Wonder" and is a decent send off. As with most reviews I've read this is A plea of Purging at their best, it's not drastically different, But I do indeed enjoy a fair amount of the album I wouldn't call it a "Must have album" but it has it's moments.

3 out of 5

For Today "Breaker"-Review

For Today's latest is called "Breaker" and for anyone who loves Metalcore, frankly anyone who loves hard Christian music then this is a must have.

It's not every day you run into a band that is on Fire completely and utterly on fire for God, but For Today is…their latest album with one listen through you can feel that it was wholly inspired by God.

I am a new fan of For Today, I recently read an interview they did with HM Magazine and was floored with how open and honest and ready and willing for God to move through their music they were. While most "Christian bands" go back and forth with wondering "Do we call ourselves a Christian band?" or are we just "Christians in a band" For Today makes no bones about it, and their music whole heartedly reflects their beliefs.

"Breaker" is an interesting album as there is hard hitting songs through out the album for sure, but there is a story being told in-between the songs. For example the start of the album begins with the opening intro(44 seconds) called "The Breaker's Origin" not only is it a killer intro for the first "real" song on the album "Devastator" but it's where the story begins continued with "The Breaker's Valley"

and then "The Breaker's Encounter" and ending with "The Breaker's Commission"

In-between this story is the actual music and it is good, it is refreshing it is powerful and it will for sure feed the spirit. A couple of the songs are so/so but you can't go wrong with songs like "Phoenix" "Devastator" "Seraphim" "The Advocate" "Arm the masses" this record is simply amazing.

5 out of 5

Showbread "Who Can Know it?"

Showbread's new album "Who Can Know it" in every aspect is typical

"Showbread", and what I mean by that is, ask any Showbread fan

what kind of sound is Showbread?

what "scene" would you throw them in?

It's hard to define Showbread

because frankly every album is different,

they don't stick to a certain "shtick"

they bring a new flavor and variety

through their work.

Now I realize to some this can be annoying,

specially if you were digging what they were doing on a certain album and expect more of the same.

I absolutely loved "The Fear of God" screams and all,

however when I heard Josh Dies say..

"there would be no screaming on the new album." I was a little taken back,

as every album so far has had some variant form of "screaming".

Rest asure though the new album,

which by the way is ABSOLUTELY FREE,

yes free! as in you don't have to pay anything for it,

it's a free download!

it's a great album! there...i'm done...thats the review..it's great!

go buy it..erm

I mean go download it for free! yes...right now...go...seriously go!

ok fine, I'll give you a little more info.

It's kind of strange reviewing a FREE album,

and the "Cliche" you get what you pay for,

well can't really be used because you

are not paying a thing.

I thought maybe with a free album it might be 4 songs?

maybe 6? and I figured it would be lack luster,

and even the quality of the songs would be horrible,

thankfully I was wrong on all aspects! first of all

"Who can know it" which is taken from..

The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Jeremiah 17:9

Has ten tracks which are as follows..

1. A Man With A Hammer

2. I Never Liked Anyone And I'm Afraid Of People

3. Dear Music

4. Deliverance

5. The Prison Comes Undone

6. Hydra

7. Myth Of A Christian Nation

8. You're Like A Taxi

9. Time To Go

10. The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things

The sound quality is not lacking whatsoever, and the lack of screams?

who freakin cares? the album is still SHOWBREAD, and still

very much ROCKS. Just as with "The Fear of God", Showbreads

"Who can know it" brings quality sound, and quality meaningful

rock that is very lacking in the Christian music industry, specially

the Christian mainstream. The songs and lyrics, as with most Showbread songs, make you think, it challenges your relationship

with Christ(in a good way), some might say the album questions

the existence of God, but to me that would be somebody who is

not understanding the lyrics or what Josh(And showbread) are questioning, which isn't God, but questioning the theology

of most Americans, it's questioning American Christianity,

which truthfully is more about prosperity and Blessings and

a belief in a God who only blesses America, which would be

NOT God at all.(Which to that point I can agree with)

Showbread always seems to challenge their listeners to actually "Think", yeah imagine that, and they seem to bring controversy, or maybe I should say people who just don't get it, bring the controversy. The most "Controversial" songs

would probably be "A Man with a Hammer" and

"Myth of a Christian Nation" the latter being probably my favorite

on the album. "Myth of a Christian Nation" has a great tempo and really is a stand out track not only for the lyrics but because of

the "raw rock" it creates. "Myth of a Christian Nation" (which is taken from a book written by Greg Boyd with the same name) will rub

a lot of people the wrong way as "un patriotic" but really

if you listen to the song, and actually "think about it" where

should your loyalties as a "Christian" be? to country? or to God?

what KINGDOM are you to be "Patriotic"/"Loyal" to? the worldly

kingdom of a country? or the Kingdom of God? Does God put America above all other countries? These are

the questions that Showbread brings and others through-out the album. While I don't

agree "Theologically" with everything Showbread says and does, and specially with Greg Boyd

and his theological conclusions, I don't believe there

is anything wrong with healthy debates and questions that Showbread tends

to bring up through-out their albums. (that is of course if you take the time

to really listen and research what they are saying, which I tend to do with everything

I listen to, when the artists challenge me to)

If I were to describe the sound of this new album to Showbread fans,

or name older Showbread songs that this album sounds like,

I would say the title track from last album "The Fear of God"

and their extremely popular song from

"No Sir, Nihilism is Not Practical" called "Matthias Replaces Judas" would be a good start,

I suggest to everyone interested in this new effort from Showbread

to check this song out, and if you like this song(as most do) you will love the new album.

"Who Can Know it" is full of songs with desperation, desperation

to live in the image of Christ. It's a wonderful thought provoking album that you shouldn't miss, some of the stand out tracks

include "A Man with a Hammer" "The Prison Comes Undone" "Hydra"

"Myth of a Christian Nation" and a song that seems to have some

NIN influence "The Heart is Deceitful above all things". I give the album a

4 out of 5