As Hell Retreats - Volition

I was a huge fan of As Hell Retreat's debut album, Revival. But I understand why a lot of people wouldn't have been. There wasn't anything super special about. But it was a pretty solid modern metalcore/death metal album. So I was looking forward to Volition.

My first thought is, if you didn't like Revival, don't write off Volition. As Hell Retreats really stepped up their game and flipped their sound. Violation is still brutal and heavy but the overall sound takes on a more melodic feel. Tyler Riley's guitar riffs are much more interesting on Volition.

Young Heretic kicks the album off, and fans of As Hell Retreats will instantly notice the band going in a new direction. The song is super melodic and instead of your typical breakdown there's a lone clean guitar being strummed before breaking back into the chorus. The Loss is an instrumental Dillinger esque jazzy guitar before busting into Matriarch. Matriarch is more along the lines of what I expected to hear but even then, there are a lot of nice melodic undertones in the guitar. Shun, Heaven's Bane, and Misanthropist are all similar brutal tech-death metal tracks in the vein of Revival. A Beggar switches things up. Really minimalist in sound, a lot of single strikes, as Jackson Greene's vocals and lyrics take center stage.

In a scene that's over run with bands that all sound the same, As Hell Retreats does a good job at switching up their sound just enough to distinguish them from their peers. It might not be new and As Hell Retreats isn't reinventing the wheel but Violation does break free from the pack. If you weren't a fan of As Hell Retreats, Volition is different enough from Revival to give these guys a second chance.

Free Music Friday: Revival Hymns - Feathers

This weeks album comes from Finland band Revival Hymns.The band is self described as Shoegaze, Indie, and Post Rock. I don't think the band fits the shoegaze bill but they do have some solid post rock riffs in their music. Regardless of genre, Feathers is a solid debut and Revival Hymns are offering it as a free download.

You can check out Revival Hymns debut album Feathers here:http://www.revivalhymns.com/?page_id=6

Phinehas - The God Machine

I think we can all agree that metalcore has gone as far as it can. But I was interested in giving Phinehas' Red Chord Records full-length debut, The God Machine, a spin. There has been a lot of hype around this band and comparisons to Haste the Day got me interested. Maybe a band could still make a metalcore record worth caring about.

Phinehas is a cross between Darkest Hour and Haste the Day. There is some killer guitar work on The God Machine and the solos add a nice touch. A couple of catchy hooks here and there, but overall I don't really understand the hype. There's nothing that stands to me to make this record anything special.

The Speaking Stone is a cresendoing intro that jumps into Bad Blood. Bad Blood avoids having a clean vocal chorus structure and the arrangement is a little more interesting then what most of the metalcore genre is offering but it's still a verse-chorus-verse song structure, with some chug chug wee thrown in for good measure. A solid guitar solo instead of a breakdown bridge. A solid song but just nothing that grabs my attention. A Pattern in Pain is clean vocal city. While some of the guitar riffs are interesting and the hook is a pretty catchy melody, a found myself hoping for something more.

Tracks like I Am Lion, From One End of the Sky to The Other, My Horses Are Many, and Grace Disguised By Darkness are all solid tracks. Crowns is probably my favorite song on the album. The guitar riff instantly catches my attention and draws me in. But songs like Legacy, a short, minimal piano instrumental track, The Wishing Well, Pendulum, and That I May Love You, all take away from the album for me. I understand being diverse but it creates to extremes.

Phinehas isn't the worst band I've heard and there are enjoyable songs on The God Machine. But with all the hype I was really hoping for something special, something that would jump out and grab my attention and I didn't hear that on the God Machine.

The Meltdown 40

New music from Thrice, Relient K, P.O.D. and Altars

Classic Album: Twothirtyeight - Regulate the Chemicals

From 1998 to 2001 Takehold Records was releasing the best Christian hardcore/indie/emo albums and had quickly become a favorite label of mine. Takehold was the label that first grabbed Underoath (although a much different version of the band). They originally released Hopefall's classic No Wings to Speak of ep, and put out a split that featured the first tracks from Further Seems Forever. On top of all that the label released albums from FewLeftStanding, Narcissus, Stairwell, and the Operation.

But by far my favorite release from Takehold is Twothirtyeight's Regulate the Chemicals. Regulate the Chemicals saw Twothiryeight move away from the emo sound of their first two records (Missing You Dearly and Matter Has a Breaking Point) and moving into a much more interesting math rock/indie rock style.

The albums opener, Hands of Men, doesn't really set the tone for the rest of the record. It's laid back and has a strong hook. A solid song and if Regulate the Chemicals had sounded like Hands of Men, the album would've still been great. But when the guitar kicks in on There Is No Dana, things shift into high gear. The song moves from section to section, shifting and evolving. I remember the band playing this song at Purple Door and the crowd roaring the chorus so loud, that the band couldn't be heard. Coin Laundry Loser is a fun and upbeat song musically, while the lyrics are a little tongue and cheek about being poor.

This Town Will Eat You is one of the first songs I remember moving me so deeply, that every time I listened to it, no matter what was going on, I would stop what I was doing and just listen to the song. The Bastard Son and The Spoiled One was one of the first moments in my Christian music experience where I had to question what it was I was listening to. But the song is about how ungrateful we can be about what God has done for us. Songs Will Write the Words is another song like There is No Dana, just moving, evolving, catchy, and all around great.

Tooth and Nail would eventually buy Takehold Records and keep Twothirtyeight. They re-released Regulate the Chemicals with two new songs, Les Wirth and The Sticks Are Woven in the Spokes (a song that would also be on the bands next album). Tooth and Nail also changed the name of The Bastard Son and The Spoiled One to The Spoiled One so the album could be sold in Christian bookstores (although it would eventually be banned for the language in the song anyway).

Regulate the Chemicals remains a timeless album to me. It's fantastic indie rock album and was instrumental in moving my musical taste away from solely hardcore.

Free Music Friday: Blue Sky Law

I came across Blue Sky Law by accident the other day and I'm glad I did. The band plays a style of post-hardcore/post-punk the reminds me of the great DC scene in the 90's. Fans of Fugazi, Jawbox, and Quicksand will love Blue Sky Law's new ep.

You can download the band's new ep for free here: http://blueskylaw.bandcamp.com/

The Meltdown 39

A special indie rock episode.

Death Cab For Cutie - Title Track
Belle and Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister
Pedro the Lion - Magazine
M83 - Kim and Jesse
Map - Riverside
Richard Swift - Beautiful Heart
Frank Lenz - The Man With the Curse on His Head
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
Slowdive - When the Sun Hits
The Lassie Foundation - El Rey
Cocteau Twins - Evangeline
Ester Drang - I Don't Want to Live (In a World With Infinite Keys)
Rosie Thomas - Farewell
LN - Nerves Left Exposed
Damien Jurado - Waters Ave South