For Today - Prevailer

I have a real love/hate relationship with For Today. I absolutely loved Breaker. It was one of my favorite records of 2010. But everything else the band has released hasn't connected with me. I thought Immortal was a better record than Breaker and that For Today had grown and gotten better as a band but I didn't like the record nearly as much as I loved Breaker. Weird, right?

The band's new ep, Prevailer, is more on par with Breaker. The songs are catchier than they were on Immortal. Lyrically, For Today has never been more outspoken. (Not that outspoken lyrics have ever been a problem for For Today)

From Zion, Flesh and Blood, and Open Heaven are all a nice mix of solid riffs, clean vocals and circle pit inducing breakdowns. It's a nice mix of what For Today does well. On the flip side, Crown of Thorns is just plain heavy. I'm not a fan of the acoustic version of Fearless. Why do we need/want acoustic versions of metal songs?

Prevailer is a great ep and For Today fans will love the new music. It's enough to tide you over to the next full-legnth. Hopefully the band continues in the vein of the Prevailer.