Ashes Remain "What I've Become"- Review

Ashes Remain "What I've Become" in most aspects is the typical radio friendly album, the modern christian rock scene is the category that this falls into.

A lot of Air 1 kind of material on the album. Ashes Remain is actually much like a Skillet or maybe a better comparison would be RED kind of style.

The question is, does that mean it's a horrible album?

While any music scene tends to get overplayed, and "What I've Become"

on the surface level isn't ground breaking in any way shape or form,

in reality what band is? "What I've Become" might be able to be compared

with a lot of other bands, and very much so have a sound that sounds very familiar, it is actually still a catchy and good album.

"What I've become" does a lot right.

"Keep me breathing"

The opening song to the album, and right off the bat you get a RED vibe,

a good start and opening specially when it brings the hook "My minds a loaded gun no one can hear me screaming". A song like this is why I love RED, its what I like to hear from them, so I can't knock it when I hear the same style from Ashes Remain.

"On My Own"

slows the album down, something air 1 would probably claim to be heavy. But just because it's not, doesn't mean it's a bad song, it's not bad it's ok, nothing you haven't heard before lyrically or music wise though from bands like Skillet,RED,Decyfer Down,Kutless ect.

"Everything Good"

Is probably the song you will hear about the most on this album, it's the song that will be overplayed on any modern contemporary Christian radio station, until you know every line and every guitar strum. It does slow the album down even more then the second song, but that being said I love the song, I can't knock a song that gives God all the glory. Its probably a good thing that it gets played so much so that you know every line.

"Without You"

Follows the same tempo as the last song, except it includes a beautiful piano momentum through the song. I like it more then "On My Own" but it isn't as good as "Everything Good", so I suppose in my eyes it's slightly better then ok. (2:37 into the song is pretty much where it stands out to me)

"Come Alive"

Picks up the album a little bit, about to the tempo of "On my Own", except I actually like it.

"Unbroken"

Keeps up the pace and I like the intro and the whole feel of the song, what can I say, like a lot of the lyrics on this album they are catchy and rhythmically fit. 

"I walk through the fire 

just to feel You next to me, 

hold on to desire, Your the only hope I see. 

I hate what I have been, falling apart within… dying to be… unbroken"- pretty much the whole song.

"End of Me"

Is actually my favorite song on the album, the riff is catchy and probably the best on the album. Lyrically the song and the album in general deals a lot with pain,depression and suicidal thoughts specifically speaking this song, probably why it's a favorite. I like the line "Black and white melt into grey until every truth is stripped away" and the lines that lead into the chorus

"The world around me, sells an empty promise. They build you up.. just to watch you fall. It's time to meet this face to face." 

"I ran away from the pain

 always breaking down inside

incomplete

but now I see

this wont be the end of me."

"Right Here"

Slows things up again with some acoustic and softer vocals. It's actually a perfect song to follow a song like "End of Me" and it's all about God always being there, great song when you are comparing the contras in "Unbroken" and "End of Me".

"Change My life"

Is much like "Without you" includes piano too. This is also a song that will be, if it already is not, in the Air 1 rotation. 

"If you could make the sun burn through the night, 

and you could make the dead man come alive, 

if you could make the oceans all run dry 

then I know you can change my life"

Absolutely true and great chorus for a song.

"Take it Away"

Picks things up again, and is very similar chorus wise with Pillars song "Bring me down" ok so it's actually exactly the same. Really for me that's all I can think about when I hear this song is "Bring me down" by Pillar and that song is better then this version.

"Inside of Me"

Is another favorite of mine, and the sound is really more of a sound Ashes Remain should stick with. It's a song that sticks out to you when you first listen through the album, and how it drives into the chorus and the chorus itself..simply put AWESOME. 

"I..Can't..breathe without you

I'm stuck inside of me!

I'm..not.. free without YOU

there's nothing left of me!"

"I won't Run Away"

Is the final song on the album and for Ashes Remain and this album in general it was a great way to end it. A good send off

"What I've Become" is not something that is going to revolutionize the christian music industry, but then again it's not trying to be different and that's pretty obvious through out the whole album except for maybe "Inside Me". That being said vocals are still great through out this album and there is still plenty to like off this record in some aspects I think Ashes Remain is better then the bands they sound like if that makes any sense. It's like I see a lot of potential in these guys in their ministry and music but at the same time it feels like they are not using that potential to separate themselves from the pack. 

It's an album that on the surface level is "just ok" and while it's easy to point out the negative similarities while you are doing that you will miss the positives of this album and it does indeed have it's moments. 

3 out of 5

The Devil Wears Prada "Dead Throne"-Review

The Devil Wears Prada's latest album "Dead Throne" revolves around "false Idols". Idols we know God abhors, something the word of God is very clear on. DWP's whole album reflects the message of stop putting People/things on a "dead throne". Fact is anything you put above God is an Idol.

1."Dead Throne"

The album starts off strong with the aptly titled "Dead Throne". The intro of the beating drums with the slowly rising guitars is phenomenal. The whole song is consistently heavy behind screams of an over all theme of "I can't hold you up" and how we have put the world up on a "Dead throne" pretty straight forward.

Great song..

2."Untidaled"

Continues the heavy onslaught and is a great following song to "Dead throne". This song is just as good as "dead throne" and I love when it breaks into the melody singing "Time to be joyful in no consistency. Faith can be our only regularity" then about at 2:20 when everything else seems to fade away into the heavy riff.

3."Mammoth"

This is probably my favorite on the whole album lyrically and for the cleans, it's still heavy as the first couple but the chorus is more refined and with clean vocals.(I'm a sucker for brutal mixed with clean vocals) Also love the beginning riff screaming into "I WONT"  "LET THIS RUIN ME!"

The first three songs on this album are rock-steady for sure, not that they are 

per-say the heaviest on the album but they are favorites of mine. I will say the album as a whole is very much like the Zombie EP, which by the way I absolutely loved. I think after starting off hot the album falls short with the 4th song "Vengeance" nothing particularly that stands out to me with that song at all.

However…

5."R.I.T"

Is a hefty song, and what I mean by that is it is hard-hitting and powerful from start to finish. The opening got my attention quickly and the screaming chorus of "With every single move that you make, you come closer to breaking me! With every single breath that I take, you push further from helping me."

6."My Questions"

Falls a little short for me, but not as bad as vengeance did. There is some parts of this song that I find respectable, and I'm sure some will love it because it's not horrible.

7."Kansas"

Is an instrumental not much to say it's ok

8."Born To Lose"

Is the first single that is being plugged off this album. It follows the first song "dead Throne" perfectly and is a great judge of the album, if you don't like the song I doubt you would like much of the album period. I for one love the title of the song and the theme, and musically as well. "You don't know what you need we're all so back and forth, nothing is as it seems. You don't know what you need. We make the same mistakes, we've ruined everything."-chorus is killer

9."Forever Decay"

I don't really quite know how to explain it but it seems like it doesn't belong amongst the album. It actually seems more fitting for the Zombie EP, in fact it sounds like one of the songs on the EP, not that thats really a bad thing as I said I loved the Zombie EP. This song particular however is just ok..

Actually "Forever Decay" and "Chicago" both fall into the category of "Bleh" too me

nothing special about either song, nothing that stands out, just kind of more of the same and going through the motions.

11."Constance"

Is a little more appealing for the orchestra feel at around the middle of the song and dropping into the chorus, but it just pretty much trials off after that for me.

12."Pretenders"

Thankfully brings the album back on course, I enjoy the whole song from beginning to end, the whole feel of the song is outstanding specially breaking into "I KNOW HOW YOU FUNCTION" then towards the end at 2:33 it breaks into a wicked guitar solo. major kudos for this song

13."Holdfast"

Is the last song and leaves the album with a good vibe, like a good ending to a movie you just watched is how the album ends for me.

I must say, after the zombie EP I wasn't sure how Devil Wears Prada would follow up, I wasn't expecting to enjoy the album as much as I have, and when I say that,  I mean I was expecting to like maybe a couple songs off the album, but I like this album way more then "With Roots Above and Branches Below". Again, it's really just more on the niche of the Zombie EP.

3 1/2 out of 5

Sleeping Giant "Kingdom days in an Evil Age"-Review

Sleeping Giant's "Kingdom days in an Evil age"

is simply put full of passion, full of energy and a determining energy to drive you to your knees in praise of Christ.

The intro "Throne room Militance" absolutely pumps you up as cheesy as that sounds, it does. great opening song for the album all be it short.

"Dead Men Walking"

follows the intro, and for the record I get a strong feeling that Sleeping Giant has borrowed quite a lot from their Christian brothers in the band For Today. Which isn't

a bad thing at all, because For Today's last album was amazing.

As for "Dead Men Walking" it's not a favorite of mine on the album, it pretty much falls into the "ok" range.

"Eyes Wide Open"

however is indeed a favorite, and is the single

the band is promoting the album with. I love the flow of the song and the lyrics are powerful.

"You better pray! They call me a fanatic cause I can stand on my own. I speak revivalist.

I got this fire shut up in my bones."

The next song "The Cross is Suicide" is probably my

favorite on the whole album. It says everything in the song title..

and the lyrics are nothing but truth, because the Cross is Suicide,following Christ is suicide-a surrendering of your will for HIS. it's also a plus that the song freaking rocks.

"We are suicide. All should come and die; not for the symbol,

but for the one who is symbolized. Our light is inside. All else is

darkness till the morning time, because the sun will rise. THIS IS

SUICIDE. This bloody cross, where does it lead me? TO MY OWN DEMISE."

If you have Itunes and don't want this whole album, at least buy

this song.

The next song is called "icxc" apparently it's a traditional abbreviation of the greek words for "Jesus Christ"(thanks wiki).

The song itself is an assault on the ears! that's a good thing in this case, and the lyrics..once again POWERFUL and truth!

that most people do not see "behind the words in red" as the song itself explains:

Behind all your valor, behind all your words and the pain and behind this christian rhetoric, there is a RAGE that will conquer.

You are the conqueror. Behind the words in Red, there is a RAGE!

Behind the blood you shed, There is a RAGE. Behind the things you said, THERE IS A RAGE. Jesus, why did you end up dead?

THERE IS A RAGE.

Next is another favorite of mine called "Tithemi" meaning:

"To set, put, place" (thanks biblestudytools.com) very God glorifying, heavy worship for my generation.

All Fear, All pain, All hurt, All grief, all Lies must bow to JESUS' name. All Kings, All Thrones, Every-thing that breathes life,

must bow to jesus name. The earth, the sea, the sun, the stars,

the sky must bow to JESUS' name.

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

KINGS, CROWNS, THRONES- BOW DOWN!

FALL FACE DOWN-BOW DOWN! KiSS THE GROUND-BOW

DOWN! JESUS, YOU HOLD THE CROWN- BOW DOWN!

Next is a song called "Tongues of Fire" yet another song that

is a favorite and definitely stands out. Love how they used the

verse "even the stones, they will cry out" (for obvious reasons)

The opening to the song is awesome.

"Jehova Shalom" opens with a pretty cool drum beat and has

it's moments but really stands out to me as just another "ok"

song. It is better then "Dead Men walking" in my opinion.

Next song is called "The Unnamable Name" steps it up from

"Jehova Shalom" and has a pretty catchy rhythm. love the line

"Witness the lamb as the fifth seals broken. Behold the ones with scars on their face. we are the saints at the foot of the alter"

Next song is called "Morningstar" and it is another favorite

of mine off the album. The opening riff with the drums kicking

in as he screams "STOMP DOWN BABYLON!" is awesome!

Then the breakdown into the chorus at "Lift up your eyes, all you nations.. THE KING IS RETURNING." is pretty sweet.

"Christ- the Morningstar, shine bright. Heaven's light falling down on me. To those who recognize your eyes, you will come, sing 'my Beloved'. Take you with me. Maranatha. the spirit and the ride say, 'COME'. Maranatha. Oh God, Let your son return. Maranatha. You're beautiful.

Maranatha means-: "The Lord is Coming" or "Come, O Lord."

The final song is called "Enthroned" and is the longest song, and also the softest song on the record. Good song for what it is, and really sounds like a song that the band would play at the end of

their shows.

Overall Sleeping Giant's "Kingdom Days in an Evil Age"

is filled with God glorifying powerful music that should

uplift and drive you to praise God, all while rocking out for

Him. I highly recommend this album!

and by the way if you are looking for all the Lyrics to this album

go to http://www.aintnograverecords.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/sg-booklet.pdf

I always look up lyrics, specially to bands I support/review. I couldn't find the lyrics so easily with this album, would of been smart to go directly to the bands record label first =)

BTA "Celestial Completion"-(Review)

Becoming the Archetype's "Celestial Completion"

really starts off with

"The Magnetic Sky"

Here at the end...

Here at the end of the world, planets fall and we are rising, soul and sky are magnetizing.

Oh... Here at the end of the world, we are witnessing together the inception of forever.

Time begins to bend, and then it breaks. When it’s all gone, we’ll be movin’ on, movin’ on.

Rising. Movin’ on. Magnetizing. Movin’ on. Movin’ on.

We are rising. Movin’ on. Magnetizing. We’ll be movin’ on.

Lift the earth and like a wave carry us to shore.

What a perfect, what a beautiful emptiness. And we will live forevermore.

"The Magnetic Sky" is one of my favorites on the album, and is a good feeler for the rest of the album. it's a little different then most Metal but at the same time isn't a drastic change to the genre. It has a good tempo and the mix of some clean vocals is nicely done.

The next song is…

"Internal Illumination"

Don’t believe your eyes. Don’t accept the obvious.

Don’t believe your eyes. Don’t accept the obvious.

The light is growing brighter. Time is a face upon the water.

The light is growing brighter. Time is a face upon the water.

Engage. Turn out the light. Internal illumination.

And see, the earth is bright, with internal illumination.

Internal illumination. Internal illumination.

"Internal Illumination" is ok, not a favorite of mine on the album by any stretch of the imagination. to be honest it's really just kind of blah..

The next song is called….

"Path of the Beam"

The crooked path is becoming straight as we move toward perfection.

That old black rider ever chasing no longer sets the direction.

We ride on a beam of light, on a wave of pure precision.

Our souls arise in endless flight and we are one in perfect fusion. Oh...

We ride into the atmosphere and leave the world behind.

Ride because the end is here. No force on earth can hold us down.

I love "Path of the Beam" the opening is great, love

the drum beat leading into the first vocals sung, and the first vocals themselves are lyrically killer, and absolutely true. To me this song is a perfect blend of metal and the experimenting that BTA does through their music. A favorite for sure.

"Music of the Spheres:Requiem Aeternam I"

is just an instrumental, a beautiful one at that.

"Elemental Wrath: Requiem Aeternam II"

All the earth is silent. The universe has shifted.

Creation holds its breath as the curse of death is lifted... lifted.

All the earth is silent. The universe has shifted.

Creation holds its breath as the curse of death is lifted.

"Requiem Aeternam II" has some killer guitar work, and I like the way it starts off. it's actually a song that really transforms through out, and actually seems quite all over the place. At 4:09 the song completely gives off a different vibe then again at 5:02 the piano kind of has this NIN vibe to it then that also switches up until it goes into an awesome send off at 7:05. Lyrically the ending is my favorite part of the song, but the whole song in general does have it's moments.

"Xenosynthesis: Requiem Aeternam III"

Soli Deo Gloria. Soli Deo Gloria. You can’t save yourself.

Enemies are rising up against the light, yet it will go on shining even in the darkest night.

"Xenosynthesis: Requiem Aeternam III"

has what I would call an "interesting sound" and for the record "Requiem Aeternam" means "Eternal Rest" and the part in this song where you hear the latin esque opera lady singing "Soli Deo Gloria" that means glory to God alone, which makes me love the song even more.

"Invisible Creature"

is another instrumental but only 41 seconds long,

a middle eastern sitar kind of vibe. I love it and I think it's a great opening to the next song..

"Cardiac Rebellion"

From somewhere in the darkest depths, within the cloth of secrets kept, Out of silence death maintained, resounds a voice that shakes the frame. Listen now unto the call, like nothing heard before. Living hearts begin to crawl, bursting forth through stubborn flesh. The invisible nature is taking over,

taking over from within. The invisible creature is breaking through, breaking through the skin. Oh... Hey! Clear the way! It’s a revolution! Cardiac rebellion! Hey! Clear the way! It’s a revolution! Cardiac rebellion!

I hear a lot of people give "Cardiac Rebellion" flack for it's mixing of the ska music style, I thought it was pretty refreshing on the album and quite like it.

"Reflect\Refract"

All light... All the lights are burning bright.

All our bodies taking flight. The shadows cast are evidence,

there is a deeper world than this. Hearts like candles light the way,

turning darkness into day. Let us all this light absorb until at last we are no more. Flesh is dissolving in the light,

soaking the soul in radiation. (radiation) The pathogens take hold at once and begin the transformation. (transformation) Father of lights, shine upon us here.

Take the darkness from our hearts, make it disappear. Father of lights, shine upon us here.

Take the darkness from our hearts, make it disappear.

"Reflect\Refract" for the clean vocals and cool guitar style starting at about 3:10 is definitely a favorite on the album for me, and also the very ending vocals are awesome…

Break me. Remake me, a mirror that reflects Your glory. Break me. (Break me) Remake me, (Remake me,) a mirror that reflects You perfectly.

The final song…

"Breathing Light"

See the artificial light now. It’s flickering, fading away. Eternity is right now. (Come on!) It is fusing with today. Breathing light. We anticipate. Breathing light.

Or suffocate. See the darkness that conceals you.

Evaporating, exposing the soul. And as the light reveals you, (Come on!) let it in,

let it take control. As death corrupts, beauty is revealed, as the whole world falls apart. (souls are healed) As death corrupts, beauty is revealed, as the whole world falls apart. (souls are healed)

"Breathing Light" lyrically is the best song on the whole album, and musically has this hardcore metal sound mixed with classical beauty, Chaos to put it simply is really the whole album in a nutshell..

Celestial Completion by BTA is highly reviewed by most mainly because of the creativity of BTA, no doubt they do take some diverse steps, and I think thats great and find myself actually liking songs like "Cardiac Rebellion" that most find to weird. While I like songs like

"Magnetic Sky" "Path of the Beam" "Reflect\Refract" and "Breathing Light", I find myself disappointed that more didn't stand out to me, I really can't say this is a must have album, unless you are looking for something different in the metal scene. To me it's somewhere between good and great which is why it gets a 3 1/2 from me.

Lecrae "Rehab: The Overdose"-(Review)

Lecrae released Rehab in sept of 2010,

and now just recently he has released Rehab

"The Overdose". Now if you read my review of Rehab,

you know I loved that album, it had a lot of great songs,

so how will an album that has been released just

four months later sound? how will it stack up?

Forgive me, again…not a HUGE rap fan..so I'm

not on top of all the new releases. So when I

just found out that Lecrae released another album,

I was like..Already? needless to say I wasn't expecting much, but this album does go along quite well with

Rehab story wise.

Starting off with the opening song "overdose" I was

blown away, the album starts off with a bang, "overdose"

has quickly become a favorite Lecrae song of mine.

The lyrics are amazing, and the beat is not bad,

Same thing can be said for "More" which is the very

next song. In fact the first couple of songs are

harder then anything you'll find

on Rehab. the third song "Battle Song" features Suzy Rock who was on one of my favorites from last album

called "high" and once again She and Lecrae kill it.

Another good song is called "Blow your High" it's

a slow beat but the chorus is really catchy. There's a total of 10 songs on this album and I absolutely LOVE

5 of them, just my preference.

Comparing this to Rehab, there were

more songs on Rehab, and if any complaint I can make

more diversity. Nothing on "Overdose" is drastically

different from Rehab, some of the beats are harder and what not but nothing major.

I think "Rehab: The Overdose" is a great effort,

and is shockingly great considering it's quick release.

If you Like "rehab" like I did, I would think you would like

"The overdose" too... but, and although I said it's not

drastically different, the songs I like on "Overdose"

are indeed the songs that have a harder sound then

what was found on "Rehab". lyrically the album is

all about directing your focus onto God, just like

Rehab was, and maybe in some aspects this album

deals with certain issues better like Drugs/Anger/

fame and fortune.

I think I'll put it like this,"rehab" is a must have album, "Overdose" isn't quite that, a couple songs I could say are must haves but not the whole album. Don't get it

twisted "Overdose" is not bad at all, in fact

in some aspects I like Overdose more then Rehab.

Listen worthy songs are:

"Overdose,Blow your High, More, Chase That"

4 out of 5

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