Blessthefall

You should be ashamed of yourself if you don't own this album and you claim like metal. I love every song on this cd. Starts hard. Ends hard. I listen to this album constantly.

The first album by this band, and the album with former singer Craig Mabbitt , who many miss ( Craig now is the singer for Escape The Fate, of all bands)

Ive seen this band twice in concert, and they are good live. They impressed me at Warped Tour and i even got to meet Craig.

This cd is a decent first try by a new band. It has some spirtual meaning, and displays some definate potential. If they can keep playing good live and making more songs like "Higinia" and "Black Rose Dying", which were what caught my attention most of all.

In "Higinia", theres a part where hes screams " You will not die" over and over and finally finnishs the last word "die" with a raised, chilling , voice that i must admit was kinda powerfull. Together with the deeper spirtual meaning contributed by the members faith in something higher than themselves, i think its commendable. They impressed me right there, and im not some enormously uptight religious person, though i try to be honest with who i am. But thats me.

And "Black Rose Dying" has some honestly guinely powerfully savage screams that are authentically despret and cathartic, as the singer gasps franticly and lets out blood curdling screams. You can feel the emotion so much in it, it definatly isnt forced. And to me, that was blessthefall's hint at genius.

They are very young and just starting out, and havent harnassed that brillance through out the album, but i just wanna mention that i noticed a spark of greatness. Nothing tremendous. But i saw something.

Im not typing out a real thorough review becouse i dont have much time. But i think this album is worth checking out and the band is worth supporting. Hopefully things wont fall apart with Craig Mabbitts departure.

This cd as a whole has a good amount of songs on it that arent extremly memorable. But its their very first album. Its good effort. You wont find great musical innovation or anything though. The songs might speak to you, they might not. Its not bad. Theres lots of room for improvement.

This CD surprised me. I have pleasantly been surprised on how good this CD is. Can't wait for their new CD.

The Good
"A Message to the Unknown" is an in-your-face assault of fury with shades of melody thrown it for good measure. "Higinia" focuses more on vocal harmony, but still tosses in plenty of blood-thirsty howls. The rapid-fire drum work is simply devastating. "Rise Up" displays some heavy riffs, as well as ear-piercing vocals. "Pray" is a dark horse track, due to its soothing acoustic rhythms and tuneful vocals. Don't be fooled into thinking the group is going soft, because half-way through, they bring the thunder. "With Eyes Wide Shut" sets a haunting tone.

The Bad
"Guys Like You Make Us Look Bad" sounds just like the song that preceded it ("A Message to the Unknown"). As the album plays on, you'll swear that Bless The Fall's guitar player only knows one guitar lick.

The Verdict
A decent mix of hardcore and melody, but it's a bit stagnant in the diversity department.

You've heard it before from a lot of other reviewers about a lot of other bands like this one, "it's all been done before, not another 'screamo' band!, there's no originality left in this genre." While some of that may be true (the market of this type of music is getting pretty saturated), this does not mean that new bands can't come out on the scene and impress. This is one of those bands. While not necessarily bringing anything majorly original, they are very good at what they do, and write very catchy and memorable songs that stand out compared to most of the rest of the bands with this style. Musically, Blessthefall reminds me of Alesana, very up-tempo and energetic, which carries you through the song from start to finish before you know it's over. Vocal style reminds me of a cross between A Day To Remember and Vanna (not 'Curses' era, but rather around the time of 'The Search Party Never Came'). Like Alesana, Blessthefall are Christians, but this is not a praise and worship album. The lyrics can relate to anyone, and they bring a positive message, which comes from their Christian background. I am a Christian and am somehow drawn to Christian bands more than non-Christian bands. I discovered Alesana and Blessthefall and loved them before I found out they were Christian and somehow end up doing this for most of the bands I end up listening to and liking. However, if the whole 'Christin band' thing scares you off, don't worry because, like I said before, the lyrics are pretty generalized. Overall, a great band for anyone who loves this type of music and is continually looking for new bands that bring fresh talent to a genre getting pretty stale.