The Sacrificed- ‘III’ (31/01/2012 – Roxx Records/Divine Metal Distribution)

     The Sacrificed is a metal and progressive Christian Rock band from Lakeland, Florida who were formed back in 2005. Despite different backgrounds and musical influences such as Dream Theater and Iron Maiden, the band shared Christian faith. Their first demo, ‘The Da Vinci Hoax’ was released in March 2007 and was signed by Roxx Records in 2009 and recorded their debut album ‘2012’ in July of the same year, aiming to reach a much wider audience. After adding two more band members, ‘III’ is intended to be simple yet powerful and represents this as the band’s third effort, whilst also reflecting the three nails that were meant to have pierced the hands and feet of Jesus Christ when he was crucified.

'Powerful' Album Artwork

      Despite being wary of uproar the mainstream world may bring to the controversial album art, the band emphasise that their music and lyrics can reach out to any listener. Commencing with the theatrical, scary movie style spoken lyrics ‘A plane has crashed into the world trade centre…’, ‘The World is Changing’ attempts the Angels & Airwaves, 30 Seconds to Mars or Rise Against flair with very little effect. Merging into ‘Falling’ which immediately crash lands into a much heavier, metal style. Subconsciously, many perceive metal as full of anger and hatred and The Sacrificed’s attempt to eradicate this idea with terrible sound effects but decent guitaring, combined with odd vocal styles and lyrics. The worship and prayer orientation of this album is almost like a parody of more mainstream metal music.

      ‘Ark of the Covenant’ works well in terms of rhythm and instrumentation, but its aspiration to be powerful and not for the faint hearted is definitely questionable. Perhaps even laughable. However, The Sacrificed speak from the heart and make music about what is important to them, which is something to admire from any band or artist. Yet, referring to divisive topics, even amongst the Christian community, such as the reality of the crucifixion of Jesus and how horrific it was meant to have been, does not bode well with the Christian or Metal conventions as such. ‘The Nephilim Agenda’ (yes, I have no idea either!) and ‘Times Up’ illustrate almost inaudible vocals, excessive guitar solos and no worship elements whatsoever. From my experience, Christians tend to devote time to showing God, and people around them how much they appreciate him, in a joyful and more peaceful manner, with the likes of Hillsong United and Phil Wickham.

      Although, with a much lighter, more sentimental elegance, ‘Words on The Gin’ has the potential to be much more effective, but is very lacking lyrically. ‘Behold The Power of God’ may come across as another emotion or worship driven offering, but The Sacrificed opts to revert back to their odd merge of Metal and God. By convention, Metal tracks tend to be rather long, but ‘Regeneration’ is so repetitive, its 4 and a half minutes snails by, much like ‘Offended’ does.

The Sacrificed: Merging Metal and Christianity  

      Concluding with ‘Before the Storm’ and ‘24’, ‘III’ fails to provide the promise The Sacrificed propose they are capable of. With an unruly merge of Metal and Christianity, inaudible or ineffective lyrics and a few decent guitars solos thrown around, the album, especially for a third release, it abysmal and fails to reach out to either Metal heads or Christians.

0/5

Enter Shikari- ‘A Flash Flood of Colour’ (16/01/2012 – Ambush Reality/Hopeless Records)

Enter Shikari are a Post-Hardcore, Dubstep, Drum and Bass, Electrocore, Rock, Trance and Heavy Metal band. Formed in St. Albans, Hertfordshire in 2003, Enter Shikari have developed and varied their sound and style through ‘Take to the Skies’ (2007) and ‘Common Dreads’ (2009); two immensely successful albums. However, ‘A Flash Flood of Colour’ is their most popular record to date, peaking at number one in the mid-week UK Album Charts.

     ‘A Flash Flood of Colour’ opens with synth style ‘System...’ that conjoins with rhythmic string sections, harsh back beats and Enter Shikari’s signature preaching lyrics, ‘They invested in a system that was beyond repair!’ With gang vocals and vocalist Rou Reynolds’ incredible coarse vocal abilities, this track blends with ‘…Meltdown’ with offers a modern addition of high pitched beeps that somehow just work, reflecting the distinctive and unique style Enter Shikari have to offer in all their music. Running into a mixture dubstep and sound effect mayhem, with great harmonies, this two part song is certainly a positive opening to a third album; a respectable blend of their old and new sounds. 

'A Flash Flood of Colour': Artwork

      The band have pinpointed a flawless combination of styles, sounds and genres and have well and truly ran with them for create this album. ‘Sssnakepit’ was released as a single on the 20^th of September 2011 as a digital download and reached number 62 in the UK Singles Chart, number 11 on the UK Indie Chart and number 1 on the UK Rock Chart. Commencing gently (for the first five seconds), this track lures the listener in with epic sound effects and decent vocals, which are very rarely found in dubstep music. Each verse builds up into a chorus that’s nothing short of epic and the comic end to the track, with references to and mimics of Louis Armstrong, the brand prove that music with a message does not have to be all serious.


     ‘Search Party’ begins as a limp club song would, but hits the listener in the face with more strong vocals and sound effects. The gang vocals on this track are perfect for Enter Shikari’s future live shows, and prove that they are considering their live sound as well as recorded. In fact, said gang vocals are nothing short of emotional and depict that beyond anything, this band have heart. ‘Arguing with Thermometers’ is rapid, yet wonderfully rhythmic and punchy and surprisingly, does not lack commercial value. With music inputs from several types instrumentation and genres (including an almost pop worthy chorus), as well as an environmental message through full on scream vocals ‘You know there’s oil in my eyes!’, this track is dazzling.

Enter Shikari's vocalist Rou Reynolds and Reading Festival 2011

     Following track ‘Stalemate’ is, in a word beautiful. It showcases Enter Shikari’s indefinite range of musical talents and their endless versatility. Somehow, they flawlessly jump from pop-style dubstep to an almost acoustic, gentle track and it just works as this album’s ‘Gap in the Fence’. But when the latter progresses into a rougher Drum and Bass style, it enhances the track and unfortunately, ‘Stalemate’ is tarnished somewhat by seemingly random bursts of background sound until it comes full circle with simplistic piano and vocals. 

     ‘Gandhi Mate, Gandhi’ jerks into action with spoken lyrics; ‘I don't know about you, but I don't think the primary purpose of your life, of my life and the entirety of the human race's is just to blindly consume to support a failing economy and a faulty system…’  until its jolts into sharp sentences, ‘We’re sick of this shit!’ Even Enter Shikari’s instrumental sections are abrasive with sound effects smashing into their controversial lyrics. The start stop motion of this song allows for the input of spoken light-hearted banter and clever lyrical techniques ‘Yabba Dabba Do one son, we don’t want your rules!’ as well as a melody that is undoubtedly that of Gorillaz’s ‘Feel Good Inc’.

Enter Shikari

      Third albums from bands or artists are notoriously known as the most difficult of their career in an attempt to please as many fans as possible and attract a wider audience, but ‘A Flash Flood of Colour’ does both admirably well. ‘Warm Smiles Do Not Make You Welcome Here’ is pulsing and although good singularly, does not represent the best that Enter Shikari can do. ‘Pack of Thieves’ with its eerie opening, calming vocals and metal style guitaring that effortlessly mixes with Dub- sounds is what this band are all about. Penultimate track ‘Hello Tyrannosaurus, Meet Tyrannicide’ begins with a Greek style sound and reflects the band’s push of messages to their listeners and showcases of what they can do, ‘But remember, empires always fall!, and even comes to a conclusion with a great string section that invites the listener to understand Enter Shikari’s softer side as conveyed in ‘A Flash Flood of Colour’s’ final offering, ‘Constellations.’ With flawless vocal harmonies, The Streets esque spoken verses and with instrumental sections worthy of 30 Seconds to Mars, this track is an emotional termination of a fantastic album. 

     'A Flash Flood of Colour’ proves how inventive Enter Shikari are with style, sound and genre and how ground-breaking their music is. They have managed to build and maintain a large fan base despite sound variations through the years and their underlying messages about the world. The energy exploded from this record is mind-blowing and the future looks bright for the most hybrid band ever to grace the Earth. 

5/5

Kids In Glass Houses- In Gold Blood (15/08/2011- Roadrunner Records)

    Kids In Glass Houses, a quintet from Cardiff started life with support slots for the likes of Lostprophets, 30 Seconds To Mars and Manic Street Preachers in late 2006 and early 2007. After several variations in line up, their third full length EP ‘E-Pocalypse!’ was released in October 2006 and despite that they remained unsigned at the time, they received much praise within music media from Kerrang, NME, XFM and BBC Radio 1. It was clear that there was much attention surrounding Kids In Glass Houses and although they were beaten by Gallows for Kerrang’s Best Newcomber Award in 2007 followed by supporting Funeral For A Friend on tour in December.

      Their first album, ‘Smart Casual’ was primarily pop-punk based and a more mature sound arose from their 2010 album ‘Dirt’, which left them with a great deal to live up to. Frontman Aled Phillips explained that ‘In Gold Blood’ would throw the band into a ‘radically different direction’ which is never something fans can take lightly. The album aims to fundamentally be conceptual and illustrate a journey through its tracks. The first track ‘Gold Blood’ was the first single to be released from the record on 5^th June 2011 and it certainly portrays the variation in sound. Beginning with a heavy, undefined and almost unrhythmic riff, it is clear the pop punk days of Kids In Glass Houses are well and truly gone! However, the steady beat and anthemic sound are welcoming and convey the band’s capabilities as individual musicians. Lyrically, the track is rather complex, especially for potentially young listeners and although there is no sentimental value, the song is catchy and effective, ‘When the golden gods and clowns come to save you, with gold blood...’.

      Without conventional rock hooks it can be difficult to entice the listener but with a title like ‘Teenage Wonderland’ the second track should be full of cheer and contentment. Instead, it is reminiscent of being young ‘When we were young, we made the mistakes that make us what we are today...’, without a trace of a tear jerking breakdown. Although a similar sound to ‘Matters At All’ (‘Dirt’), the track demonstrates how much the band have developed. ‘Diamond Days’ is also somewhat similar to ‘Matters At All’ and is the first song from the album to reference specific relationships of any kind, ‘I feel your body shaking...could be the devil talking...’, which is extremely rare for a rock band. The 30 Seconds To Mars esque, rapid back beat and strong instrumentation portray how hard the band have worked on the arrangement of each track and to (cliché as it may be), to appear as individual as possible but retain their appeal. The blend of each instrument is flawless and the unedited vocals of Aled Phillips are very refreshing and encouraging for up-and-coming live shows.

Artwork: 'In Gold Blood'

     Fourth track, ‘Not In This World’ is the signature crowd pleaser as it commences with light gang vocals, ‘na, na na na na...’ and proves how much Kids In Glass Houses intend to be accepted. Although the track takes over thirty second to actually come together, it is remarkable how well Kids In Glass Houses have managed to pin-point precisely who they intend to be as a band. Particularly within this song, Phillips’ voice is both unique and powerful, especially when he truly opens up his vocals. The riff, drumming and continuation of gang vocals blended with the melody is faultlessly faded out and is clearly an intended final song for future performances. ‘The Florist’ exposes the vocal range of Phillips’ and how a melody with a collective pronoun, ‘If we want what we need...’, can bring musicians and fans of music together. The wave of full power to a gentle melody and back again and later into a horn section followed by a classic rock riff is seamless.  Additionally, the personal element of the lyrics establishes a connection with the listener and charts the progress of Kids In Glass Houses’ audience connection techniques; ‘I remember the day the music died, I remember the way my mother cried when daddy went to war...’.

      Released as a single on 7^th August 2011, ‘Animals’ begins with steady drumming and guitaring and evolves into an off beat, soulful rock song. ‘Only The Brave Die Free’ utilises a brass section as it commences, proving the potential diversity of the rock world as well as the extensive production process carried out by Jason Perry, that has obviously been necessary to create ‘In Gold Blood’.  Although this track would not be out of place in a hope-filled musical, it is provides a glimmer of the band’s former ‘Smart Casual’ sound and ‘Easy Tiger’ in particular. It is interesting to note that Kids In Glass Houses have remained with Roadrunner Records since their very first record yet have retained their sense of self, expanded their fan base and enhanced their production and style in four short years.

Kids In Glass Houses: 'Gritty, refreshing and sharp...'

     Eighth track ‘Annie May’ appears as the weakest track of the album thus far with its limp verses yet the chorus is the saving grace due to how raw and rough around the edges Aled Phillips’ vocals are. Even though this song is by no means a conventional ballad, it depicts how diverse Kids In Glass Houses are as song writers and musicians. The track also acts as a potential half-way point in a gig set list.  ‘Fire’ is full of funk, wit and eventual vigour although lyrically, it is somewhat disappointing in its simplicity and bluntness; ‘We walk into the fire, fire. We dance into the fire, fire. The flames are getting higher, higher...’.  The saxophone section is very ‘Mellow Magic’ but somehow appears as the track’s missing link as violin solos seem the perfect addition to Yellowcard’s work. It also adds an exciting element for tours yet to come. Moreover, the curious drumming solo to close the song is something very rare and effectual. ‘Black Crush’ is unavoidable but unfortunately very weak whereas ‘A God To Many Devils’ is astounding vocally, particularly the medley of the album’s content towards the end.

    Gritty, refreshing and sharp, ‘In Gold Blood’ is a record that, if nothing else, is likely to establish Kids In Glass Houses as mature musicians full of energy and enthusiasm.  Even though the two singles from the record are actually the heaviest tracks which is misleading to say the least, each chart-ready chorus is unblemished and distinctive.

4/5