The Meltdown 29

New music from Emery, Eisley, Wolves at the Gate. Plus tracks from Sleeping Giant and the Great Commission.

Ark of the Covenant - Seperation

Every once in a while a record comes out and I get all old man and yell at the damn kids to get off my lawn and take their skinny jeans, flat billed baseball hats, and deathcore elsewhere.

Ark of the Covenant’s Strike Fist Records debut ep, Separation, is one such record.

It's not a terrible ep. But I feel like there are a lot of things going on. The Introduction (that's the songs name) is straight up Deathcore in the vain of Emmure or the Acacia Strain. The Book of Life is ok, until we hit the "hook", which is only awful because of the guitar squeals. Not sure why these are popular. And then halfway through the song, our ears are assaulted with a terrible, high pitched vocal. I understand what they were going for but Ark of the Covenant just can't pull it off.

All Inhabitants of the Earth is a solid song. The super low pitched growl is a minor annoyance but it doesn't kill the track like the high pitch screams do on The Book of Life. The clean vocals are just subtle enough to not take away from the track, although they do come out of left field and make you do a double take. Locusts Look Like Horses is the best track on the album. While there's nothing groundbreaking, it's the most solid and straight forward track on the album.

Separated ends the record, and it's a head scratcher. A low key, mostly spoken word track. It's a nice worshipful moment at the end of the album, but it again just seems to come out of nowhere.

It's not my favorite record Facedown/Strike First has put out in the last two years but you can hear the potential that's there. Some more focus and Ark of the Covenant could be a great band.

Classic Album: The Dingees - Armageddon Massive

Certain albums speak to places in my life more then others. The Dingees’ Armageddon Massive could be a time capsule for the 1997 version of me. The perfect blend of punk and ska. The soundtrack for a kid just learning to skateboard, skank, and mosh.

Ghetto Box Smash is punk perfection. Fun, upbeat, super catchy. Chaos/Control is punk with a ska swing. Another great tune to dance too. And then Bullet Proof comes swinging in, horns blaring. One of my favorite ska songs to date. Could Be Worse has a great west coast hip-hop feel, but its all ska. It's dark and just enough of a change of pace to keep the record interesting. Rebel Youth is a great sing-a-long song.

Armageddon Massive might be a little all over the board musically but it's a perfect picture of the mid-90's punk and ska scene. It’s my favorite Dingees record. It has their most memorable songs and in my opinion their strongest record, start to finish. The songs are catchy, upbeat, danceable, and all around just fun. A great record for the summer.

Free Music Friday: Come & Live Records

Come & Live Records is run by Chad Johnson, who in a former life ran my favorite label Takehold before being bought out and working for Tooth and Nail. From their website:

"Come&Live! is a 501(c)3 non-profit community dedicated to proclaiming the good news of Jesus.
By joining hands with artists {musicianaries}, we provide them with guidance, direction and accountability to model a life of genuine faith. Our focus is in promoting the only true enduring treasure - loving others and living like JESUS. We choose to share music and profit as a humble example of radical generosity. We live simply to give generously, encouraging others to do the same. Our prayer is that God would use us to Give. Love. Share. and Revive."

All the albums are free downloads and Come & Live has some excellent releases. My fvaorite include:

Holding Onto Hope - Of the Sea (Post Hardcore
Everett - Destinations (Instrumental)
The Sleep Design - Not All Music is Silence (Post Rock)
Lovelite - Nearness (Indie)
Ascend the Hill - Hymns (Indie/Worship)
SHowbread - Who Can Know It (Indie/Post Punk)

There are tons of other albums, all free. Check them out. http://comeandlive.com/downloads/

The Meltdown 28

New Music from Hyland, Hope for the Dying, Propaganda, Explosions in the Sky, Cool Hand Luke and Thursday

Hyland - Weights & Measures

Which each new band and release from Tooth and Nail, my standards drop. At the moment when T&N signs a new band and they put out an album I hope that it's decent. If there's potentialfor the band to be awesome, I call it a win. A far cry from the days when every T&N release was a must own and found it's way into my collection.

Can I grade Tooth and Nail's 2011 releases so far?

I Am Empire - Kings: B
Hawk Nelson - Crazy Love: B
Aaron Gillespie - Anthem Song: B
Emery - We Do What We Want: A+
FM Static - My Brain Says Stop But My Heart Says Go: C-

See, mostly decent. One great record and one clunker. So I wasn't sure what to expect with Hyland. There was a lot of hype surrounding Weights & Measures but hype doesn't always equal a great record.

Hyland is your average pop rock band in the vain of Anberlin, Run Kid Run, and Jimmy Eat World. But Hyland isn't at the same level as the bands mentioned... Yet. Weights & Measures took a couple of listens for me to start to enjoy it but the third and fourth listen brought more enjoyent and I can hear potential for greatness.

The album opener, and first single, Jumping the Gun has all the makings for a nice poppy spring and summer hit but the chorus just isn't catchy or memorable enough to grab the listeners attention. Although right from the get go, I'm reminded of Anberlin's debut. The One That Got Away was so similar to Anberlin that it came as no surprise to find out that Stephen Christian from Anberlin lended his vocal talents to that song.

It's not until track four, Crying Out, that the recrd starts to take form. It's a nice track, that isn't a cookie cutter Anberlin song. Then comes the worshipful This Love is Free. Powerful lyrics without being uber cheesy, which can be hard to do with worship songs. Fireworks is the best song on the album. The song has the most energy of any track on the record. While it does remind me directly of Ready Fuels, the hook is catchy and different enough to be enjoyable on it's own. Heart to Life is another notable, standout track.

If I had to grade Hyland's debut, I'd give it a B. It's a decent record and there's tons of potential for this band going forward. I imagine this being one of T&N's new big sellers. It's worth a listen.

Classic Album: Blindside - A Thought Crushed My Mind

A Thought Crushed My Mind is Blindside's best album. Ask.... Well anyone really. A chaotic post hardcore hybrid similar to fellow Refused and Selfmindead. A sound developed and perfected by the Swedish hardcore bands in the mid 90's.

A Thought Crushed My Mind was a huge step forward to Blindside's self-titled debut. The chaos was still there but amped to a new level. ATCMM had a new level of beauty as well. The melodies don't shine through as they do on later Blindside records and part of that is due to production of the record.

Vow of Silence kicks the album off with a bang. Instantly, the album was more intense then Blindside's debut. King of the Closet was the perfect lead single for the album. Christian screaming I'm a Vampire for the chorus was so catchy and easily memorable without being super poppy. My Mother's Only Son isn’t your traditional melodic song but the melodies on the chorus are so nicely done and make this one of my favorite tracks on the record. Nara is a beautiful track done in the band's native Swedish language.

Listening to this album now you can hear hoe Blindside got from A Thought Crushed My Mind to Silence. There are those nice melodic moments in the songs and the band's transition doesn’t seem so far fetched now. Yes, Blindside is no longer the chaotic post hardcore outfit they once were they are still one best original bands making music.