Blog

as those who follow, may see, i'm not the one who often changes music in his m3-player. in fact once it's in there, it stays there for a long long time, hence the non-scrobbling thing.. it's a shame it never gets scrobbled in the amounts it is played here (it woulda made the tops).

* A Plea For Purging!!! what can i say about these guys? they're redefining metalcore, imho. a lot of good guitars, very eclectic, very fast (without being overbearing).. A Critique of Mind and Thought is excellent! very hard to pick a track that doesn't stand out, they all do.. perhaps Slaying of the Serpentine Dragon is THA track! but then again, so are other tracks.. good! good! good!

* For Today's Ekklesia is a very tight album with no skip-tracks. tight! tight! tight! breakdowns, beautiful riffs, melodic interludes, good vocals - (not so generic) metalcore at its finest. Redemption is awesome! and so are Ready For the Fight and A Higher Standard!

* Lengsel's sophomore record (The Kiss The Hope) is more diverse than their first installment (Solace).. much more experimenatation took place on this record. An Anonymous Phone-Call and a Dead Line is an eerie but good introduction to what awaits you. a great incorporation of russian-bible-reading by a fairy-talish female voice. heavy and awesome!

* no matter how hard i tried, i couldn't rid my player of Matisyahu's No Place To Be EP. + i added the masterpiece King Without a Crown to the mix. mati is da bomb!

* aching raw guitar-driven dark horse artist Neon Horse from Tooth & Nail. all tracks are equally skilled, equally aching, equally rawky, equally good! Mark Salomon's voice and lyrics (of Stavesacre's fame) makes it an unforgettable experience! Cuckoo!, Speed Killz, I Know - I Just Don't Care pave the way for the rest of the album to come...

* sludgy post-metalcore orchestra from germany The Ocean give you run for your money with their double-disc Precambrian. if you haven't gotten it yet, you should. it's one of those atmospheric, heavy, pounding records that you wish you've recorded! the songs flow from one into another, so it's really hard to pinpoint which song's which. but i've got my favorite - Tonian. i get psyched every time i listen to it!

* and again, Passion's favorites from Charlie Hall (We Are Yours, Marvelous Light, Walk The World, You Are God), Chris Tomlin (God Of This City, How Great Is Our God, Sing, Sing, Sing, Your Grace Is Enough, etc.) and Matt Redman (Blessed Be Your Name, You Never Let Go, God Of Our Yesterdays), with two sermons from Louie Giglio included. especially after this encounter with Passion firsthand, these songs and the passion behind them are so much more vivid, when i listen to these songs..

* a good overall album from Pillar. For The Love Of The Game is solid, much better than Where Do We Go From Here (or maybe i just didn't get that one), imho. the growth is obvious. For The Love Of The Game starts things off and gives the album its strong direction, Smiling Down slows things down a bit, and Forever Starts Now is an awesome conclusion for an overall good modern hard rock album!

* Relient K's MMHMM rocks like only Relient K can! Be My Escape is worshipful and dependence-triggering! I So Hate Consequences is gut-wretching and thought provoking. Who I Am Hates Who I've Been should be enjoyed on account of its title alone, let alone the music and lyrics, which are nothing short of excellent (which is exacrtly what you come to expect from Relient K. My Girl's Ex-Boyfriend has become so much truer now that i've got my significant other! a great grat album indeed!

* what can one say about a young artist like Second Thief. these guys know how to rip, that's for sure. they've got this full-blown mix of metal, hardcore, nu-metal, deathcore.. you can hear they're young, but they're great nonetheless! loved them and their first and so far the only record, as far as i know, Threshold.. a few tracks that really stood out for me - Sacrifice, Jasper Fire, Rosmarus... will see what their second album will look like. they do have the potential!

* it's the Seventh Star!!! yeah, their two albums - Brood of Vipers and The Undisputed Truth are unparalleled, be it the lyrics or the angst and passion of the music! it's all there! after seeing these guys back in the summer, these two albums with their hammering hits - among which are Brood of Vipers, The 96th Thesis and crowd-favorite Resistance to Resistance (off of BoV), and The Undisputed Truth, Isaiah Six, For All The Saints, I Versus I (off of UT) - have been playing over and over again in my ears! too bad that summer show was their last...

* what can i say about The Almost? Southern Weather is an overall enjoyable treat with honest lyrics (sometimes even too honest) and radio-friendly passionate music. Dirty And Left Out was on a repeat button for quite some time! (there's something reminiscent about this song; it kinda reminds be of the passion and the pain and the grace of Underoath's Some Will Seek Forgiveness, Others Escape) other highlights are Amazing, Because It Is, Say This Sooner and Southern Weather. aaron is great!

* the same story as with Matisyahu's EP is with The Famine's 3-song demo. can't get enough! although their full length the raven and the reaping is out (which i by the way love), these three songs, especially - yeah! yeah! yeah! - Fading Glory. the Embodyment's line-up still rips my chest apart and makes my heart pound faster!

* and of course the-can't-get-enough-worship from The Glorious Unseen. you can't describe it, you just have to listen to it. take the starters - Hear Our Prayers and Forever Holy.. the rest is just as brilliant, just as worshipful and just as inspiring!

* an interesting FACEDOWN RECORDS fit Thieves and Liars has really got what it takes. their debut When Dreams Become Reality is a real treat for all the classic hard rock sound with a tinge of psychodelia. from hard-hitting Road To Nowhere to more laid-back and sorrowful Forgotten truly epic!

* my hxc-loving friends from ukraine Опозиція with their second (and unfortunately last) record Один iз Тисяч.. if you love xLooking Forwardx, Stretch Arm Strong, old Comeback Kid, you'll also love this!!!

until the next installment.. c-ya!

ps: hmm, i wonder if anybody reads it at all.. guess not, but oh well..