Driven Far Off

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Advent – Remove The Earth

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Artist: Advent
Album: Remove The Earth
Label: Solid State
Purchase: Interpunk
Release Date: February 12, 2008

Overall: 8.5
Music: 8.5
Lyrics: 9.0
Production: 9.0

The sun disappears and the clouds infused with grey emerge. A gentle breeze turns into hurricane winds, armageddon seizes citizens by the wrists. Lightning breaks through the sky, dividing the giants from the helpless. The clouds rain down fear and desolation with each droplet charged with crimes against humanity. The earth trembles, shakes till the houses come down and the soil comes towards the heavens. Hypocrites and hoards rush toward bunkers, but the earth knows the cost of such cowardness.  Armageddon is here.

Advent, hailing from North Carolina and featuring members from Beloved, debuted their full length from Solid State records entitled, “Remove The Earth” on February 12th, 2008. Since the release of their demos, the anticipation for the record had been rising, cascading in expectation of this angry, yet hopeful debut. The ten tracks are aggressive, filled with riffs that will knock you down, lift you to your feet, and slam you against reality. Joe Musten’s vocals are in your face, powerful yells that run hand in hand with the music.

The most surprising song on the record is “Three Seasons” which starts off with an eerie sound followed by the repetitive beating of the drums. The vocals are distant, sounding far away and creating an eerie, dark feel to the beginning of the song. Everything slows down, eventually coming to a completely halt, only to erupt back into your eardrums. In the middle of the strong, there is a beautiful string arrangement that sounds like the last sounds of the notorious musicians on the failing Titanic. Gradually, it builds each second by adding the drums, guitars, and distant vocals. “Three Seasons” ends in the aggressive nature of the rest of the songs, but leaves that eerie taste in your mind, the taste of something dark and sinister like, but ultimately honest and realistic to our times.

“Remove The Earth” is an adrenaline shot manifesting into ten tracks of pure aggression. Instead of gulping down your favorite energy drink or shooting up your favorite illegal syringe-filled substance, this record will provide you with enough energy to consider enrolling in the Tour de France. The lyrics are straightforward, aggressive words yelled by Musten but not in the name of being dark, but for the sake of bringing attention to relevant issues that will only lead us out of the graves we’ve dug.

The debut record from Advent is everything that was expected, an impressive release that leaves their mark on your existence with sheer jolts of adrenaline and truth.  The only downside of this record is the fact that there aren’t more songs to get your blood boiling. Armageddon may be coming, but at least now we are more hopeful than before.

Track Listing
01. Blackout
02. Eulogy
03. Set Apart
04. Hanging The Giants
05. The Anger of Death
06. Reflection
07. Doubt. Fear. Desolation
08. Three Seasons
09. The Cost
10. I Am

As Cities Burn Post New Song; Album Art; Track Listing

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As Cities Burn‘s has posted a new song titled “This Is It, This Is It” on their MySpace page. The bands new album Come Now Sleep hits stores August 14th. Check out their album art from the new album below.
As Cities Burn

Track Listing
1. Contact
2. Empire
3. The Hoard
4. This Is It, This Is It
5. Clouds
6. New Sun
7. Tides
8. Wrong Body
9. Our World Is Grey
10. Timothy

August Burns Red Messengers Album Art; Track Listing

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August Burns Red has released the track listing and album art for their new album, Messengers. The album will be out June 19th on Solid State Records.

August Burns Red

Track Listing

1. Truth of a Liar
2. Against The Ropes
3. Back Burner
4. The Blinding Light
5. Composure
6. Vital Signs
7. The Eleventh Hour
8. The Balance
9. Black Sheep
10. An American Dream
11. Redemption

Life In Your Way – Waking Giants

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waking giants

Artist: Life In Your Way
Album: Waking Giants
Label: Solid State Records
Purchase: Smartpunk
Release Date: March 6, 2007

Overall: 7.0
Music: 7.0
Lyrics: 7.0
Production: 8.5

After releasing two albums on Indianola then being dropped from the imprint, Connecticut natives Life In Your Way have teamed up with hardcore Christian staple Solid State for their third outing Waking Giants. If you fancy yourself a fan of melodic hardcore, Waking Giants may be a worthwhile, albeit unmemorable, addition to your record collection. Crafting songs that roar and reign but still remain highly tuneful, LIYW deliver your cornerstone sing/scream breakdowns amidst some admittedly catchy guitar parts.

Produced by veteran “farm man” GGGarth Richardson, Waking Giants delivers on most fronts, never compromising it’s hardcore elements to reach a greater appeal. Tracks like “We Don’t Believe” and “Making Waves” showcase LIYW at the peak of their genre, mixing enchanting chord progression with heavy breakdowns and solid scream/sing choices. Even songs that start off less than brutal eventually find their callousness amongst the melody (Reach The End, Salty Grave). The redone “Threads Of Sincerity” (which appeared on the band’s previous album) sounds more intense than ever, flaunting a self-assured conviction that wasn’t apparent in LIYW’s past efforts. In fact, the greatest thing LIYW has to offer in this album is their ability to punctuate their song structures. In “Worthwhile” beautifully executed vocals are complemented by Joshua’s growls before tearing away into slow-moving savagery.

In my book, there’s a fine line between raw and polished that can make or break a band. All raw and no polish makes for an earache of a listen; over-polished and under-heated lacks the heart that’s central in hardcore. Life In Your Way did a good job tight walking the line, and consequently wrote songs that shirk predictability and rigor. However, I feel the album tries to do too much in the way of proving itself to both the hardcore and melodic hardcore communities. There are lot of great ideas and riffing inherent in this album, but few of them are ever taken to completion. What’s left is something that feels like the first draft of an epic poem–tons of great stanzas, but no ultimate build up and resolution. And although LIYW make it evident that’s what they’re trying to do, the pieces just don’t seem to fit the way they should.

Furthermore, as with many releases in this genre, there’s nothing truly original that Life In Your Way bring to the table. Labelmates As Cities Burn did a similar release two years ago, and while Waking Giants comes across slightly better than Son I Loved You At Your Darkest, it doesn’t stir the tide enough to ever break a wave. This pattern, in general, has plagued Solid State’s name over the past two years. They’ve been signing bands that, for all intents and purposes, have been pretty generic.

With that in mind, if you’ve been a longstanding fan of Life In Your Way, you’ll want to pick up Waking Giants to hear the progression the band have made since leaving Indianola (because it is considerable). However, if you’re a just a passing fan of the genre, move along until something better awakes the giant.

Track Listing:
1. Reach the End
2. Worthwhile
3. We Don’t Believe
4. Making Waves
5. The Shame
6. Salty Grave
7. Help! The Arm of the Mighty
8. Threads of Sincerity
9. The Beauty of Grace
10. Judas
11. Beneath It All:

Standout Tracks:
Reach The End, We Don’t Believe, Making Waves, Threads of Sincerity

Destroy The Runner – Saints

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Destroy The Runner

Artist: Destroy The Runner
Record: Saints
Label: Solid State Records
Purchase: SmartPunk
Release Date: September 12th, 2006

Overall: 9.0
Music: 8.5
Lyrics: 8.5
Production: 9.0

You had a rough day and youâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ve now inherited that pathetic walk. The walk where youâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢re arching your back to resemble Quasimodo, your feet start dragging as if you were walking on ice, and your eyes aim at the ground as if there were small inscriptions written on it. Nothing is able to lift up your spirit. There is nothing with enough positive fuel to straighten your back, lift your feet, and have your head held up high.

The word â┚¬Ã…”saintâ┚¬? is known as a positive word that is entitled to those that have been canonized, but the process of canonization isnâ┚¬Ã‹Å“t an easy one. Life many times comes full forth with struggles, hardships, and experiences that will leave you attempting anything to get rid of them. Destroy The Runnerâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s â┚¬Ã…”Saintsâ┚¬? will leave you hopeful, positive, and realizing that your tribulations arenâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t going to make the world stop revolving. With positive lyrics, technical guitar riffs, catchy singing, and solid screaming, Destroy The Runner has made a solid debut record that will leave you humming and wanting more.

The record begins and ends with similar instrumental tracks, giving you a smooth sailing entry into the record and leaving you with a relaxing exit. â┚¬Ã…”My Darknessâ┚¬? starts out with a perfect example of the ability of the guitarists to manifest their talents into impressive riffs. The beginning section of the song is consists with a cheerful melody and the screamed vocals of Kyle Setter. The chorus is extremely catchy and will leave you singing along by the next time the chorus rolls around.

The rest of the record consists of well structured songs that consists everything that Destroy The Runner is capable of. The intro to â┚¬Ã…”Columbiaâ┚¬? starts off with a addictive synchronizing and mixture of guitars, drums, and singing of the cliché phrase stated by parents around the world, â┚¬Ã…”We all learn from our failuresâ┚¬?. The majority of the songs on the record have similar format, where there is a catchy chorus that is sung, a solid breakdown, melodic guitar riffs, and heavy drumming. Regardless of the similar song basis, â┚¬Ã…”Saintsâ┚¬? is a outstanding record from a band that is making their way into the hearts of fans worldwide.

After listening to Destroy The Runnerâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s â┚¬Ã…”Saintsâ┚¬?, you will find yourself walking away with a new outlook on life and an abandonment of that pathetic walk. You will have your back straighten, unless you suffer from Scoliosis, than you are out of luck and might need a find an affordable chiropractor. Your feet will no longer drag; they will stride heavy like a soldier walking away from a prideful victory. Your eyes will be aimed at the sky, as if the answers to lifeâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s questions were written on a giant chalkboard in the clouds. Destroy The Runner will lift up your spirit and give you hope, but also leave you with a record that is well written. â┚¬Ã…”Saintsâ┚¬? will urge you to jump on a plane, fly out to Destroy The Runnerâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s next show, and shake the hand of the band members for making a solid debut record.

Track Listing
1. My Darkness
2. Columbia
3. Saints
4. The Aleph
5. From The Red
6. Separate
7. Without Sight
8. Sound Of Reason
9. There Can Be No Hesitation
10. Thoughts In Reverse
11. Pall Bearer