Project 86 "Picket Fence Cartel"-Review

Project 86's Picket Fence Cartel is their latest album, and

what an amazing album it is.

The album opens up with the song "Destroyer" which is a top

favorite of mine from the album. A very Manson like song that

rocks on every level. lyrics are

fantastic through the whole song. Nothing else really

sounds like it off the album

The next song is called "The Butcher" and I must say

between the first two songs alone, this album has one of the best opening tracks to start an album off with that i've heard. "The Butcher" has a killer riff

and beat that if you don't fall in love with it after the first listen

something is wrong with you. A song that will so pump me up while

Snowboarding.

"The Spectacle of Fearsome Acts" follows and keeps the album

going strong, not much to say... but it's on the same level as the first two without

slow down..very cool.

"Dark Angel Dragnet" has a different feel then the first couple of songs,

but by no means is a bad song, it does have it's moments where it shines.

"Cold and Calculated" leans more on the hard punk style then the other songs

in my opinion but that isn't a bad thing at all, very cool guitar parts and

it really brings diversity into the album.

"Cement Shoes"

Is another favorite of mine has a cool opening to the song, a catchy melody

through the whole song, and the lyrics are great! really is a stand out

song at number six that livens up the a little more then half way through.

"A John Hancock With the Safety Off"

Kind of like what I said with "Cold and Calculated". As far as my opinion on it

goes.... It's not bad but it isn't great either, I dig the chorus though.

"Two Glass Eyes"

for me is probably the worst song off the album, I can see a-lot of people digging

it, I'm just really not feeling it.

"Cyclonus"

Thankfully brings the album back up after "two Glass Eyes" and this is actually a song where the rest of the song stands out more to me then the "chorus".

Through-out this album guitars are vibrant and catchy and this song

obviously isn't any different.

"The Black Brigade"

Love this song...vocals probably the major reason for that. Again just as the guitars

are vibrant and catchy through-out the album..I think Schwab has some

excellent moments in the album where he just shines.

"To Sand We Return"

It may be my favorite..but I can't decide, favorite off this album changes the

more I listen to the album. Half way through this song there Is a sweet

acoustic guitar solo and then when Schwab screams in with "Who do I belong to?"

just awesome...awesome song.

In the end this album has a good variety through-out and really shines

on many different levels. You'll hear some influence from bands like

Manson/Tool ect...

This is just a stand-out album that any fan of Project 86 should already have,

and if you haven't heard of Project 86... just go pick this up it's their best album. This album is in heavy rotation on my Ipod..

As I Lay Dying- The Powerless Rise Review

This was my first As I Lay Dying record, So I personally can't compare it

to any of their previous records. I have heard quite a few

songs from AILD though and it doesn't seem

like they made any drastic changes to their sound.

The Powerless Rise starts right off with

"Beyond Our Suffering" a song that says

"Hi we are AILD, and we are going to rock your face off"

they don't pull any punches and just do what they do best.

"Beyond Our Suffering" isn't the best song on the album,

(in fact, it's just "OK"..in my opinion)

but it does grab you by the collar and let you know

you are in for a ride.

"Anodyne Sea" follows and is easily a favorite of mine

from the album. To be honest I've been listening to this album

for a couple weeks now,and the first couple of times I listened

all the way through it "Anodyne Sea" along with a few other

songs were the only songs that really jumped out at me as great.

However I must say that the album has really started to grow on me..

Anyways as for the song "Anodyne Sea" what can I say? I love

the clean vocal mix in heavy metal, which is probably why Demon Hunter

is my favorite band as they have clean vocals in almost every song.

"Anodyne Sea" has great lyrics and amazing guitar work

that sticks in your head. A must hear song...

Let me also say that through-out this whole album there is some

stellar guitar work and heavy drumming that will keep you coming

back for sure.

"Without Conclusion" is the next song which to me stands out more

for the Drumming then anything else. I also dig the lines

"In looking to the end, we have lost sight of where to begin"

but again really this song is being held up by the drumming.

"Parallels" is the fourth song on the album and like "Anodyne Sea"

it mixes the clean vocals, a very catchy chorus I might add as well.

This is easily another stand-out on the album and everything

to me from the Vocals,Drums and Guitars come together

perfectly.

"The Plague" follows and again feels they are hitting on all

cylinders. This song is fast and hard, and at first it was a song

that had it's moments, but now has really grown on me. Lyrics

really stood out to me before I even read them.

"Anger and Apathy" is the sixth song and didn't have to grow on me at all.

It was one of the first songs I heard and fell in love with right off the bat.

This song falls right in line with "Anodyne Sea" as far as all that I liked

about that song, this song has it. This is probably actually my favorite

song off the album.

"Condemned" comes screaming through as the seventh song,

it has some cool spots specially at around 2:25 with the guitar..

(sadly song is pretty much over at that point)

but isn't really a stand-out song to me at all.

"Upside Down Kingdom" was the final song that stuck out to me

on this album the first couple of times I listened through it.

Thats mainly because of the freakin awesome opening to the song...

the beating of the drums as the guitars slowly wail in is epic

to say the least. Love the whole song and the lyrics really stand-out

as well.

"Vacancy" is the next song and is a weaker song on the album

when you compare it with the rest. Actually I can safely say

"Vacancy" is the worst song on the album..

the next song "The only Constant is Change" is better

then "Vacancy" but that isn't saying very much.

Nothing really I can say about either of those songs...

positive that is.

The final song is "The Blinding of False Light"

so the question becomes does AILD end the album

off with a bang? well maybe not a huge bang...but

"The Blinding of False Light" does stand on it's own

and really shines through-out with it's guitar riffs.

In closing..I enjoyed this album...a lot actually.

It makes me wonder why I waited so long to actually

purchase a A.I.L.D album.