JUDGE OUR
HEARTS - DEADWEIGHT
We start this album off with the track "20:24" which is just guitar and drums up until the first and a half minute when the vocals kick in metalcore style. This song is slow but a good opening track. Then comes the second track "dry bones" which is the opposite to the first song it opens in a fast but consistent pace working its way through with quite groovy drum sections with unique guitar riffs. Third track "searching" is obviously what this track is about - it has a nice tempo and the vocals are quite good with band backing vocals that a lot of metalcore bands use these days to good effect. Half way through the song it slows down into a nice melodic bridge that ends the song. Track four "not my own" starts of with a slow guitar riff with a little eerie sense, then the vocals come in real mean with an uptempo drum beat then moves into a steady pace and keeps flowing along until the end with more unique drum beats. Track five "reign" starts of again with aggresive vocals and cool backing vocals from the other band members a quarter of the way through the song there is quite a cool breakdown almost like there is in deathcore but not as heavy but still rocks very hard before it moves into a nice little solo with vocals over the top. Track six "deadweight" starts of quick with really cool riffs which are mixed with a nice drum beat that makes the song really bouncy. I have always liked this sort of style in metalcore with a nice breakdown in the middle and cool vocals over the top which then move at a steady pace till the end of the song.
Track seven "on the shoulders of giants" starts of with clean guitar and a nice melodic riff over the top which is pretty much the whole track that only goes for 1:20 seconds. Track eight "having eyes to see" comes in perfectly, continuing the previous song with heavy riffs and cool drum work. Half way through the song it stops for a religious bridge as I understand that these guys are Christians which is fine with me. Everyone has and does their own thing.
Track nine "nothing makes us move like fire" is quite an off beat song and almost sounds a little djenty at the start but then quickly changes into the more familiar metalcore style, cruising along at mid tempo. Keep a listen out for a long scream three quarters through the song which impressed me. After that the song slowly winds down. Track ten "abandon ship" starts off with a cool little bass piece that makes for a nice change but yet again the guitars kick in with reasonable guitar riffs that are a lot like previous song riffs - a little repetetive - and so is the little breakdown. In todays metalcore this is normal and annoying at times but it's still a good song. Track eleven "state of affairs" starts with a single note riff with a deep vocal section which moves into a cool off beat riff with
off beat drumming. Suprinsingly, it almost turns a little deathcore followed by a brief clean vocal section before returning to the previous deathcore feel. This is the heaviest song on the album.
Track twelve "a broken vessel" starts again with up tempo guitar, drums and the metalcore feel keeps the track rolling at a nice pace occasionly having a few deep growls along the way there isnt to much to say. Track thirteen is a hidden track. It's a mellow song that three quarters of the way has a prayer or something close to it in it. I can't say I like this song. I don't believe religious text belongs in music but that's my opinion. Overall it's quite a good album minus the religious texts of 2 songs because of this fact I give it 3 roos.
-- Scott Wells (Bury the Betrayer)
