Reviews (44)

Not To Bad At All
Ok ZAO is one of the most talented bands ever and pretty much the fathers of modern metalcore.Every album they put out is going to have something good and note worthy on it, but keep in mind no one's perfect.I do agree that this one is not ZAO's best CD and it marks the first time where they departed from their more basic sound to experiment a little bit and for what it is I think they did a great job.Dan is still at the top of his game on this album along with his amazing lyrics.There are some great guitar riffs and solos on songs like 5 Year Winter that leave you in awe, then the drumming is a lot faster and intense then previous albums.I would put this album after Blood and Fire, Liberate and Funeral of God for quality albums, but this is still an album ZAO fans can be proud of, I think their expreiment works here, it's not until their next album where they go a bit too far.

Ok, just Ok
While "5 Year Winter" and "Trashcanhands" are the highlights of the CD, songs like "The End of His World" make you say why. I didn't really like the move to electric drums even though Jesse is still a beast.

Reviews (56)

mmmm Crunchy
this is the second 2 last LS cd.There is a lot of stacato-ness in the songs (crunchy) which gives it a very percussive and pummeling sound (hence the name "hammering process).Think of it as a transition from CIF and reborn.it has more chanting (non growled vocals than any of their other cds. this an very original cd from a very original band.i do not like this cd quite as much as CIF or reborn but it is extrememly good and worthwhile to buy

Great Album
Wonderful record.I've only recently gotten into christian metal, and I love this cd.I also have cds by Zao and Demon Hunter, and this one is by far the best.Phenomenal musicianship, great vocals, and the lyrics are good (not the greatest, but good).I reccommend this album to anybody who loves metal, believer or non-believer.

Reviews (57)

Special
Hopesfall is not a screamo band.They dont sound like anthing on Level Plane records nor like any of the crap labelled as screamo thats all over MTV nowadays like The Used etc.Personally i would say this album falls into the melodic hardcore/metalcore category, or if like me you want to be a bit pedantic, spacecore (!)

Now thats out the way, as youve probably read in the million or so 5 star reviews listed below, this album is awesome.Its got a really spacey guitar sound throughout, especially on the instrumental tracks, and each of the songs compostitions are flawless.

Despite people saying there is a big 'emo' influence on here, i personally cant hear it.Yes the guitars have melodic parts, but there are also some sick breakdowns on here, and how many emo or even emocore bands have breakdowns?The vocals i absolutely love.Uber aggressive and in-yer-face, yet really passionate.85% of the vox on here are full on screaming, with occasional bouts of clean singing to break up the heaviness.

This is probably one of my favourite hardcore records of all time, right up there with Converge's Petitioning the Empty Sky, and as you can see from the glowing reviews below, it has really opened people eyes and changed their perspectives on how music can connect with you.

The only one down side with this cd, even though its not really a down side at all, is that it takes a few spins to fully appreciate.Theres a lot of different elements going on each song and at first its a bit hard to get your head around, but this only adds to its replay value.Its not an instant fix by any means, but then again none of the best albums are.


Very intricate but also pretty heavy, any fan of hardcore music and anybody with an open mind to music could fall in love with this

screamo or so much more?
Alot of people pass hopesfall off as another screamo band....now they ARE screamo but SO much MORE! Sure they have tinges of other bands like "Dead Poetic", "Underoath" etc.. Who doesnt these days? but the music itself is what stands out.....and the structure of the songs are brilliant! If you like screamo bands you'll like this....I feel that this is a good one to start with also...

Reviews (19)

Zao Rocks!
How I love Zao..
I think this is their best album and Exchange the best song. It's a pity the new Zao doesn't sound like this anymore...

Not Bad
1. Resistance9/10 a good starter
2. In Loving Kindness10/10 awesome drum work
3. Endure10/10 One of ZAO's best songs ever written
4. Growing in Grace 9/10 an awesome song
5. Foresight 9/10
6. PS 77 - 9/10 a cool song
7. Exchange 10/10 the remake sounds alittle better
8. All Else Failed 9/10 a decent song
9. Simple Reminder 9/10
10. All Else Failed 9/10
A good buy if you want to get there hard to find 1st cd and its a good remix. Get this if you like ZAO

A Great Remake of a Classic
This is an album people would either love or hate, and much of the disagreement is related with the preference over which singer-- Dan Weyandt or Eric Reeder. Personally, I think this CD should not be seen as a target for comparison but a simple rerelease that adds a new dimension of listening to what was already a successful album.

Objectively, All Else Failed is a dark, heavy, spiritual album with roaring vocals by Dan Weyandt and guitars that add some clarity to the disoriented tunes of hardcore. The whole package is artistic, especially with the addition of the mysterious and ironic outro. For Christians reading this review, the outro somewhat reminds me of the Book of Job where the rain and thunder symbolize struggle, and the laughter at the end symbolize that it was all a test.

Reviews (103)

Worth every Freaking penny...
A Static Lullaby- "...And Dont Forget To Breath" is by far one of the best SCREAMO cd's you can buy....thats about all you need to know, ths is cd is great. if you like this cd you should also check out Silverstein- "When broken is easily fixed".

listen to this album..........and don't forget to breathe
this is the debut album from a static lullaby and i have to say it's one of the best emocore/hardcore albums i've ever heard (along with finch). what amazes me even more is that they weren't even a band for a year before they started recording this album. the lyrics are honest and brutal at times and every song has a hook to it, and it overall a very solid album. another thing to add, the singing/screaming mix is probably the best i've ever heard. their voices coincide so well together it gives me chills. i will admit that it took awhile for this album to grow on me, but when it did, i couldn't get the damn thing off me. it's like catching a disease. ok...enough of that. anyways, if you are into bands like finch, new underoath, FATA, senses fail: then check these guys out. i don't think you can find this cd for any less then $14, but it's well worth it.

Reviews (27)

Good, but not Great
Like many I am a fan of ZAO's older releases and this one I just found lacking.I did however find that this album does have it's high points with songs like: The Buzzing, Parade of Chaos, Angel Without Wings, and Free the Three.These songs are very good but they just do not compare in passion and sheer intensity to songs from Blood and Fire and Liberate.This album's low point (and the main reason for the three stars) was the annoying and pointless insturmental The Ballad of Buddy Bigsby, and compared to insturmentals like Violet and the Intro from Liberate I just did not understand what the point of this one was.Dan's screaming is still very good here, but the newly added electronic sound just takes away from the rest of the bands musical talent.The album as whole does not feel like there was much effort put into it (not to be to hard on these guys, because Solidstate did rush them and they did not have the time they would have liked while recording this).All in all this album is not BAD perse, but knowing ZAO's full potentail it just doesn't add up.

they are awesome
All right you other guys I dont care what you goths think about them since they are christians, go ahead and disslike the lyrics.
I,m glad to get christian heavy metal rock. I was used to listening to hard rock when my friend said to listen to ZAO, I expected to hear some singing. Instead I heard all these ferosious screaming sounds coming out of my ear phones, I thought this was way better than hard rock.
Zao is a great band. Goths if you want to complain about my God, dont write complaints on the internet. My God is The LORD JESUS CHRIST.

Reviews (41)

WOW
Talk about fast, heavy, and screaming lyrics put together not to mention they are christian!This is great, anyone who likes heavy music will definately like Living Sacrifice.It's worht your money, and the whole album is clean.

Wow
I have to start off by saying im not even really a metal fan. I'm what most people would call an "emo boy" though i do try to listen to all kinds of music cause i hate limiting myself. Anyways, this album blew me completely away. I've heard all kinds of metal bands and alot of them just don't grab me at all. These guys definately play with conviction and urgency and its plain to see, the first time i threw this album on i almost peed my pants. The breakdowns are incredible, the guitars hammer away amazingly, the drums are right-on and the vocals complement the overall attack very well. I'd have to say if you're into metalcore, pick this one up RIGHT NOW. I promise it'll blow you away.

Reviews (278)

One of the best modern day emo albums without a doubt
Im definately nota big fan of these current MTV styled emo/screamo style bands popping up all over the place.In fact 99.9% of them, i absolutely hate.

I would class Finch in the same musiclal category, but when i bought this album when it originally came out in 2002, what i heard was real passion and energy, something which i personally think is lacking in many new style over substance bands.

They lyrics on What it is to Burn are defiantely, well i guess theyre cliched, about relationships and girls yknow the deal, but theyre delivered with such heart wrenching emotion that i cant help but be moved by them.

The music is what really stands out for me though.Theyve got the quiet/loud dynamic honed down to a fine art, and the screaming which is used quiet a lot throughout the cd really helps to compliment the raging guitars.I never once felt that the screaming was just thrown in to get the '-core' crowd interested or for scene cred.

Overall id say theres a really good mix of styles here, it has heavy parts, a decent amount of screaming vocals, and some melodic almost pop-punk style hooks, and some great catchy upbeat,feel-good, soaring choruses (notably on track
Perfection through silence)

The best thing about this cd in my opinion is the production bt Mark Trombino. In my humble view, it is absolutely oustanding.Each track flows flawlessly to the next and he adds little bits of distortion and industrial style noises which give a dark brooding feel to some songs, especially the interlude between Ender and What it is to burn.

I can listen to this cd from start to finish without skipping a single song, and theres such a good variety of music styles on offer that its difficult to feel bored.



i feel a real connection with this album, and especially with the final title track, where Nate screams his lungs out saying 'SHE BURNS'.Intense

Definately recommended if you like the current trend or emo/screamo and post hardcore bands, but remember thst Finch released this album in 2002 before emo was as popular as it is now.

Solid band... good music
When I first heard Finch I knew they were an amazing band, that played good rock and mixed it with some sort-of-heavy vocals, and I liked their style right away as I thought it was very similar to Story of the Year (especially their earlier sound) or Jimmy Eat World.
However, they're not the best band ever like some people insist on saying. They rock alright, their sound is quite enjoyable, but it's not like "What It Is Burn" is the best CD ever made and Finch is the best band ever. I mean, c'mon, with all due respect to the band, there are far better musicians out there.
If you're looking for some very good music buy this CD, it's great. But if you want to buy an excellent CD, then you'd better check somewhere else buddy.

Reviews (37)

Zao As A Whole
I realize that some people don't appreciate how the original singer "sang". I like zao as a whole. As they have proggressed as a band I don't think they have gotten better or worse. I take them as a whole. I do slighty perfer the vocals on this album. It has a more "hard core" touch to it. I try not to get involved in the message that they put out(although you don't know that message until you read the lyrics). It would be iggnorant of me to say that I only like bands for their music not their message becuase the message is half the battle of being a band. I love Zao's energy and additude. It is a relief to see a christian band portray their music in such a different way from the way church and society would like it to be presented. Overall Zao is definitly on my favorite band list and if you do not have this album you should get it. Whether or not you have heard them before.

Nice
This was the first cd i bought and loved it, i prefer Dan's voice more than the original singer but this cd still kicks.

Reviews (49)

The Greatest Album in the Universe...
Most of the reviews for this cd are so ignorant and immature it's sickening. If you like real hardcore (not from autumn to ashes or any of that crap) then you will love this cd. The lyrics are amazing, the music is amazing... Their new emocore stuff is ok, but it's absolute crap by comparison. Dallas' screaming may grate on your nerves at first if you're not used to a wide range of screamers, but once you are broken in, it's perfect. Every one of the songs are great. I highly recommend this cd to anyone who likes to dance hxc and to people who know the difference between awesome music (like As i lay dying) and garbage music (like Slipknot).

Maybe love will find us again, but there is always tomorrow.
This is one of the best Christian Black Death Metal Emo-core CDs out there.Underoath's older albums were a lot heavier, but this is their hit because it is more musically organized.My favorite tracks are one, five, and six.Six, I really like because it has that "Happy Death Metal" feel to it and makes me want to dance around like an Idiot on Crack.

Reviews (18)

Strong Debut!
Dead Poetic made its way onto the indie rock/emo scene with their 2002 debut Four Wall Blackmail which, at its best, is a solid blending of pop emo riffs with melodic hard rock sections, not quite hard enough to call it hardcore.Dead Poetic manage to hold onto a pop sensibility throughout the entire album while creating edgier sections that will have the hardcore kids swinging their fists("The Corporate Enthusiast") and beautiful atmospheric sections ("A Green Desire") that will have the emo kids holding each other.

Some of the songs sound like they could have been written by The Juliana Theory or at least exhibit a lot of influence from them. "Bliss Tearing Eyes", while an excellent song, sounds like it could be a cut from _Understand This is a Dream_.As an avid listener of music though, I understand that this is a debut album and the band is growing.

While the album has no major weaknesses, every song isn't up to the standards of the title track or "Tell Myself Goodbye", which blends the catchiness of radio rock with the classic screams of almost every band on the soildstate label.

If you're looking for a band that is creating completely original music, Dead Poetic aren't there yet.If you're looking for a band that does the simple things right, creates a sound using a tested method, and has their feet placed firmly on the ground when it comes to song construction, look no further.

Make sure you check out _New Medicines_, Dead Poetics follow-up which is a great album!

i love it.
i started out just knowing the title track for this album. and i fell in love with it. i was in a slump and had discovered the dashboard and soco that wasnt all over the radio. i also stumbled apon Dead Poetic. i went to cornerstone in orlando this year and they were there. saw them live. and the rocked. truely. the lead singer has a passion that could not be outdone. and can still sing and scream. the entire energy for the band is also amazing.

if you are into this christian screamo buisness (like Dead Poetic) may i suggest Norma Jean (lots harder), Blindside (yes.. they are christian... and their pits are crazy),and Emery (more like DP only more screams...) that will turn you onto christian rock that isnt Third Day. Dont be afraid of the christian screamo and other rock that is emerging... it can still be "hardcore" believe me... i have the bruises to prove it!

biz.

Reviews (58)

I'm a vampire
This is the first Blindside CD I heard, and thinking since this one was sooo good, I bought the "Silence" and was disappointed. Despite what other people say on reviews of their other CD's, this CD is REALLY GOOD. I think Nara is the song that he sings in Swedish, towarsds the end, the CD gets mellow, but a very good kind of mellow. When I get money, I want to own this CD again. King of the Closet was an instant fave of mine, I loved the lyrics.

A mind crushed by thought...
I had been told that this, along with their self-titled, were Blindside's best albums, so I bought them. I haven't heard their new stuff yet, but after listening to this and the ST I doubt they could do much better without getting repetitive. A Thought starts out strong with 'Vow of Silence' and never stops. 'King of the Closet' is easily the best song on the album, with an awesome vocal/screaming solo intro. It seems hard to listen to the whole album all the way through, though I'm not sure why. All in all a good album, but I'd still recommend the ST over it.

Reviews (84)

Amazing
this is a great cd. Best song is through the black. Hopefully the new cd is still focused on christian lyrics.

judge not lest ye be judged !!!!!!!!
demon hunter rules, and truly tears back the skin and brings to light the failures of man and the ever triumphant truth of God.

to: joshua tussing.....im sorry to say that it seems that (your opinon)has been shot down ,down to china town , man its sorry to say that closed minded christians like you inhibit the truth of the lord and savior Jesus Christ....Jesus used the worlds words to heal people,he used the worlds roads to go forth and raise the dead,and preach the truth, he used the worlds boats to sail from one side of the sea to the other, he used the worlds pigs to send evil spirits in to, do ya reckon Jesus even wore the worlds clothes in his time here on earth, i dont think he was naked? that would be a sin huh?
man you just gotta use some common sense about things(if its on the world God created it or give us the knowledge to create it.....whatever it is, it can be used for good or evil...think on that.. like you said " You can use a pencil to write a beautiful poem, or to stab somebody in the head." is the pencil evil? nope it is the one who wheilds the pencil, you can write praises God or praises to satan with that same pencil! its not the pencils fault.....same is with music, metal ,pop ,country ...etc. its not the music itself but the intentions behind it, if you dont like it ...cool dont listen to it, but man dont judge something you have just scratched the surface on and have no true knowledge of, man it makes you look ignorant ,and one last thing you said"I already know! I was a sinner, remember??" if you (was a sinner) your are decieved cause the bible says "we are all sinners saved by grace."its great your saved...but God didnt put you on some special pedestal to voice (your opnion) and try to make others feel stupid, god is the way the truth and the life not (your opnion) you, and in your comment had no biblical truth to back up your accusations just some scripture mixed up with your jibjabberish opnion....god bless...and my the ever lasting truth and love of jesus christ be always in our focus.

Reviews (95)

Fine Swedish Import.
There's nothing too original or innovative about this release from Swedish hardcore punk band Blindside, but originality and innovation aren't what they're going for.They're going for no-holds-barred rocking to the MAX, and they definitely accomplish that here.

The first song, "Caught a Glimpse" starts things off strongly with hard guitars and a haunting chorus, and is followed up by the single "Pitiful", another very loud song about Jesus.You'll find that these guys sing about Jesus a lot.The next few songs all continue the trend set by the previous tracks, but the pattern is broken up by "Thoughts Like Flames," a slower song, which still has a loud chorus.

The next track, "Time Will Change Your Heart" is another good one, matching a fast-paced, screaming verse with a slower and calmer chorus.The following four songs are sort of a dip in the album.None of them are bad, they just don't stand out from each other and you may find yourself losing interest.The final song, "Silence" is another good one, totally breaking from Blindside's norm in a slow, soft, well-sung capper to a solid hard rock album.

Silence will probably not amaze you if you seek truly deep meaning, complex layering and composition, or natural-sounding English lyrics (they ARE from Sweden), but it is a well-played, well-executed album of its type.

Buy This CD
this is an awesome CD by Blindside you need to buy it if you already haven't

Reviews (87)

Overall an excellent album.
It never ceases to amaze me how people, who claim to be at least 13, still persist in the belief that any one genre of music is "better" than another. This review space is not for a half-frantic scramble to express something about what you've heard, it's intended to be a place where we can exchange ideas, thought out ideas in full sentences, about the albums. Please stop using this as a place to invent new spellings for words and to jot shorthand slander directed at artists who create music for you. Continuing in that vein, I thought that this was one of those rare albums that is a pleasure to listen to from start to finish. It is filled with meaningful and symbolic ( a poetic form used to express emotion, not to be taken literally) lyrics. There are also some very enjoyable riffs and heavy interludes. The songs are all written beautifully and not oversimplified. What makes songs like these so popular and ejoyable is that the artists have, intentionally or not, been able to identify something that the listener can identify from their own lives. I have withheld a perfect rating only because that to say it is perfect would be dishonest and insult the band. I hope they will continue to produce music like this in their pursuit of flawless realisation of their music.

If he don't like it, then it must be good . . .
Please, Mr. Clueless below, don't presume to tell us what rock music is or isn't - Rock music "isn't a way of expressing yourself"??!!? It's not anti-authoritarian??!! Are you for REAL?!? Gee, why can't we all be as happy and satisfied as you pretend to be? Why can't we all just sit around and swill six-packs while getting head from our big-haired bimbo girfreind in the neckless t-shirt with Skynard or Dokken blasting from the back of our pickup? I supppose that's what REAL rock and rollers do. Venting frustrations? - THAT has no place in rock!! Using loud music to express dissatisfaction with life and the world? - Who ever HEARD of such a thing?? Bring on the booze, the babes, and the 50$ concert tickets!!I guess everything else is for queers and poseurs, right? Damn, i don't even know why i'm wasting my time responding to your mindless schpiel . . . you don't have the first idea what rocknroll is, and your typing sucks.

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Reviews (208)

AMAZING
I'll just say, this album is stunning. I have always been impressed with Thrusday, but upon first full listen of WATT I fell in love.The music is harder, yet more melodic and harmonic, the mood it sets is a poisoned, rotting city, adn the lyrics are what wins me over. Thurwsdya has inspired me beyond belief. This CD is emo, but not the regular kind, not songs about fights over a girl, but about betrayal, the blessing and curse of love, and crumbling naiton of America.

For The Workforce, Drowning-10: Great intro, urgent feel, great guitar, and greatly benefited by the use of keyboards on this Thursday album. The lyrics are some of the best. "Memos swim throguh the current, computers spark like flares,I can see them, they don't touch me, touch me." A song about the prison thats everyday adult life, everyday being the same, and being near brainwashed by our jobs.

Between Rupture and Rapture-6: Good guiatr, not one of my favorites, but it grows on me.

Division St.-8: A new direction for Thusday. Heavy music with lots of melodies, a tragic song about betrayal of singer Geoff Rickley's friend, who he turned away from after discovering they were on heavy drugs, and was stabbed in the leg.

Signals Over The Air-9: First single of this cd, which pulled me in from the first listen on FUSE. People have said this song is about Geoff complaining Thursday doesnt get enough play-time. WRONG. "They stole the love from our lives and put the sex on the radio." This song is about the commercilazation of sex. Magazines have horrible articles on covers, for all to see, such as "25 sex tips to blow you away, try #17 tonight." The human race is sick with lust.

Marches and Manuevers-6: A song about the despair of war, and how it holds no glory.

Asleep in The Chapel-10: Awesome song with great guitar, lyricsquestioning faith. Taking from Nero, the roman emperor. "Since we can't compete with modern saints, we douse ourselves in gasoline, and hang our bodies from the street lamps." Great.

This Song Bought To You By A Falling Bomb-10: This is not like any other Thrusdya songs. Just piano and Geoff, lyrics about solitude and depression, and facing the world in times of trial.

Steps Ascending-10: A heartbreaking song. Geff gets in a fight with a best friend. Before he can apoligize, which he fully intends too, the friend is shot and killed. Lyrics bought tears to me eyes. "I ran down the stars and in to the garden and thrust my hands into the soil, in the spring you will bloom like her heart through the blouse in the back of the ambulance, as it turned and turned down the stree, one mroe time would you come back to me, as it turned, its red lights you were turning into red roses.

War All The Time-10: Beautiful. A song about the wars fought everyday,all the time, not between armies and soldiers and nations, but family members, friends, and lovers. And the dying shadow of America.

M.Shepard-8: Great song, thanking Matthew Shepard and Marvin Gaye for their homosexuality, giving rights to gays. Love is love.

Tommorow I'll Be You-10:If TBS hadn't written Slodance on The Inside, this would be my all time favorite song, but there tied. Amazing. I cried. I love it. A man is sick. He has been told and told that he will be healed on New Year's Day, btu whn it come she still is fatigued from sickness, and keep telling himself it is a bad dream. And then he is cured. I fell in love.

I know I'm late with this, but nevertheless, buy this cd. Thursday is currently writing a follow up to WATT, due out in Fall 2005. All hail Thursday.

Power rock with intelligence
One of my many complaints about modern day rock is that often the only kind of bands you can find is the sickeningly soft and intelligent or the inanely loud and mindnumbing. Of course there are exceptions, and both of those types can be good. But I was very much looking for something new, something better. Thursday caught my interest with Full Collapse, a seemingly intelligent record overrun by screams in all the wrong places. Still, it was a better than average album, so i kept my eye on them. Then they put out War All the Time. To listen to the music itself, it is loud, fast, uplifting, with breakdowns and yells and anthemic beats all over the place. It is nice to listen to. Then i took out the lyric book one night and read through it, joyed to see that none of the intelligence had been lost and in fact, it was so coherent and mind-shattering, that i fell in love with it immediately. Then the next night, i put the cd in, took out the lyric book, and settled myself in for an experience. It has become one of my favorite albums by any in the emo/screamo/light metal genre. It is both hard and intelligent. This album, if given the due that it deserves, will transcend the decades and become one of the great albums for the future

Editorial Review

Reviews (11)

Great CD
This is one fantastic CD. The music is extremely diverse for a rock CD. Even though a couple of songs have tinges of another band, the movement throughout was great. Since the other posts pretty much said it all, I'll leave it at that.

Nothing less than absolutely incredible...
First of all, let's start with a solid fact.In 2000, this album won KROQ's Hard Rock Album of the Year award.This coming from a secular station that would like nothing better than to ignore Christian bands.This band cannot and will not be ignored.Every song is incredible and speaks directly to the soul.The lyrics('We should've known it'd be like this/An upward struggle of falling down/ We've taken comfort in loathing/ It's where we used to play anyway") to the music, this is a CD that will leave you breathless.You think Tool's got something going?East West takes Maynard to school...with a quickness.As if all of this weren't enough, the sheer variety of this CD is fantastic.A hardcore tune, next to a dreamy ballad next to a pure pop tune next to a melodic rock tune next to a....on and on. Basically, just do yourself a favor and buy the CD.You'll never ever regret that you did.Plus your friends will think you're cool for knowing about this band when they eventually blow up.

Reviews (94)

Second best Project 86 album...
Why Project 86 decided to follow counterparts POD into the abyss known commercially as "selling out" is a complete mystery to me. We all know why they did it: the idea of more money. However, Project 86's type of abrasive and in-your-face sound and lyricism has never been a very marketable one. POD's success depended on their ability to completely tone down their music and message, and create pop-rock songs that spoke to the nation's youth about how to have a good time, yet simultaneously "preached" to them about how much they needed God; POD became the ethnic Creed.

The thing that really bugs me the most about Project 86 was that they were THE band that had the most potential out of POD and them. They had the front man, they had the sound, they had the lyrics. And most of all, they had the conviction that POD seemed to shed away once the idea of more money showed itself. But, sadly, this has gone and Project 86 has lost their edge. But have no fear, they still have Drawing Black Lines and their Self-Titled albums for their fans.

I give Drawing Black Lines four stars because of the tracks Star and Twenty-Three. They are a complete waste of listening time. Scrap both of these songs and you have an album that is arguably harder and better-produced. But because the Self-Titled has not one skippable track, and this album does, I can say without any doubt in my mind that the Self-Titled is better. Also, the lyrics for the Self-Titled are head and shoulders above Drawing Black Line's lyricism. Stars and Twenty-Three are songs that showed Project 86 experimenting with their sound. It didn't work then, and it doesn't work now. On to the tracks.

Tracks 1-6 are the albums meat and potatoes. Those songs are, Stein's Theme, One Armed Man, Me Against Me, PS, Set Me Up, and Chimes. And are up there with anything off of the Self-Titled album. After those six songs, the remaining four songs (I am excluding Star and Twenty-Three) are just good hard-rock songs. Those four songs are, A Toast to My Former Self, Sad Machines, Chapter 2, and Open Hand. The last four are anthemic in nature, as in they repeat themselves alot. Especially the songs Chapter 2 and Open Hand.

All in all, this is a good release. But not as good as the Self-Titled. Also, as I read some of the reviews I noticed a review posted by FunnyBobKavlin stating that the lyrics were about suicide and what not. This is the problem when a band like Project 86 begins the process of selling out, their music starts appealing to people who don't actually listen to the music and the lyrics, but just whether or not it is catchy and mainstream. To correct FunnyBobKavlin. The song in which the character is speaking about slitting wrists, is titled Me Against Me. The line is "Slitting our wrists/running for sympathy" now, I don't expect people like FunnyRobert to get this. This is actually a statement of the nature of human beings. It is about the sinful nature of people. Slitting your wrists and running for sympathy a metaphor for how incredibly self-destructive people are to themselves and those around them, and that after a person does something like this, they always want sympathy from God; they want forgiveness. It is a simple statement of the evil nature of people. FunnyRobert also mentioned a line from the song Chimes. Chimes is about a person who has died and gone to hell and how, when he was alive, everything that his flesh wanted seemed OK. But once he had died he wished he could "rewind the clock and attempt to play back" which means that he wishes he could live his life over again and not do all of the things that were tempting him.

Like I said, this music is not for the masses and it really bugs me that they have tried to make it for the masses. I know they want to get their music and message out, but what a lot of people don't realize is that the majority they are seeking to get their message to are more like FunnyBobKavlin. They don't understand it.

whoa
This cd is frickin amazing. I just recently saw them in concert and it reminded me to get this cd out and listen to it Me Against Me is a such an great song. Then again just about everysong on this cd is awesome

Reviews (110)

weeeeeee!
this is one of my favorite albums..im not gonna say much.except that the new vocals for there NEWEST cd is crappy...he ruined norma jean...this cd made me fall in love with them..and then wen i found out the lead vocals left for The Chariot(his new and awesome band) i was sad...later yo

(GO BUY THIS ALBUM!!)

Bless The Martyr And Kiss The Child!
Norma Jean is possibly the one band that symbolizes metalcore. The harsh screams and bone shaking breakdowns have never been around until these guys took it to the next level. The crushing music is given a pleasant touch by faith based lyrics, which is really important in my opinion. These guys are the heaviest metalcore band of all time. The breakdowns are sick!