Until We Have Faces
by
RED 4 Stars/85%
Red’s been making waves in the Christian and mainstream markets since 2006. End of Silence, of Breathe Into Me, Already Over, and Wasting Time fame, was one of the best selling Christian...
Theocracy
by
Theocracy "When you're dealing with the most serious and powerful subject matter in existence, you can’t back it up with weak music, it just doesn’t work" – Matt Smith, founder of Theocracy
Too often in any market...
Mirror of Souls
by
Theocracy 5 years ago, Matt Smith, under the name Theocracy, released one of the best albums in Christian music. So, the question on everyone’s mind is – will they, now a three-piece, experience a sophomore slump...
Until We Have Faces | Posted January-30-2011
4 Stars/85%
Red’s been making waves in the Christian and mainstream markets since 2006. End of Silence, of Breathe Into Me, Already Over, and Wasting Time fame, was one of the best selling Christian records of that year (along with Skillet’s Comatose and Flyleaf’s eponymous.) Innocence and Instinct turned everything up a notch in 2009, with better production and more in depth lyrics. The disc contains some of my favorite Red songs, such as Forever and Death of Me. Now, a mere 2 years later, Red’s put out another record and the question on everyone’s mind is whether they will keep the upward trend, and continue to improve upon the sound from Innocence and Instinct, or will they try to appease fans and the mainstream, to disastrous results.
Until We Have Faces kicks off brutally with the most aggressive song on the record, Feed the Machine. Its blend of heaviness and chaos with more calm, passive pieces makes it thrilling to listen to. The bridge features schizophrenic whispering before Michael begins screaming “Wake up!” The song, however, is very similar to something Breaking Benjamin would put out, and the extended outro tends to result in skipping the last minute-and-a-half. Faceless continues the energy output, with a song that has a much more “Red” feel to it. Faceless is the title track, so to speak, as the bridge states “We are the nameless…. we are the faceless…. we are the hopeless…. Until we have faces!” The song speaks of the struggle within all of us to be a nobody – to blend into the world, to take the path of least resistance. But then we realize the desire comes from the whisperings of a monster, the enemy. The chorus is a plea to God, asking for a solution “Can You replace this, so hollow and faceless?”
Lie to Me (Denial) has a creepy sounding string intro, before blistering guitars kick in – with one even sounding like it’s bordering on a melodic metal. The song is from God to the listener, taking the part of an abused partner in a relationship. The chorus proclaims “Lie to me! You can feel that this love was never real. Walk away, but you can learn to love again. Lie to me! You can leave; I’ll still be here when you see you’re not alone. You don’t have to run again and leave me in denial!” Let it Burn is the album’s first ballad, and while it’s not my favorite one, I found myself humming this one’s chorus, regardless. It’s not your typical kind of catchy, but still has a melody that sticks in your head regardless. The song speaks of all the negativity we endure, and asks how long we’ll be willing to endure when there’s a cure within our reach – God.
Buried Beneath sounds very much like a 12 Stones song, even the way Michael sings. Not necessarily a bad thing, but not as creative as Lie to Me or Faceless. The song is a plea to God to save us from being “Buried beneath” our sins and everyday lives. Not Alone is a very slow song, and one of the weakest cuts from Until We Have Faces. It’s not necessarily bad – I can see myself enjoying it every once in awhile, but it’s not a “hit repeat” song either. The song is again from God to the listener, reminding them that He’s always with them, through the good and bad. Watch You Crawl kicks things into high-gear again, though it sounds similar to Kutless circa To Know That You’re Alive – specifically The Disease and the Cure or the title track. The songs is basically a large middle finger to what I refer to as “the thief” in the case of songs like this (It’s Not Me from Skillet, Game On by Disciple, etc), referring to the Bible verse stating “the thief….comes to destroy….”
If Feed the Machine is the most aggressive and chaotic, The Outside is the straight-up heaviest. Featuring heavily aggressive vocals from Michael and constant riffing (rather than the guitar stopping during the verses, which is so prevalent on most other songs of the record), this song is sure to please fans of Let Go, Confession, and Out from Under from previous Red records. The chorus is slightly more melodic, but the song is pretty consistently heavy. Who We Are is my personal favorite. It’s a rock anthem, declaring “We can be who we are, now we are alive. We can fight, they cannot contain us. It’s who we are – we are undying, we are forever. We won’t hide our faces from the light, eliminate the space between us. It’s who we are – we are forever, it’s who we are.” The bridge is Michael screaming “We will not die! We’ll never die! We will not deny! Now we are alive!” It’s an awesome, positive song to just get pumped up, physically and spiritually, to.
The record closes with two slower songs. Best is Yet to Come, my favorite slow song on the record, is a reflective song that also looks toward the future in a positive light, stating “After all that we’ve been through, and after all we’ve left in pieces, I still believe our lives have just begun. Now the past can be outrun, and I know You are the reason, I still believe the best is yet to come.” Hymn of the Missing is extremely slow, piano ballad, beautiful as a record closer. As an individual song, however, it doesn’t have very high replay value.
To answer the question I posed in the intro, the trend is still upward. Until We Have Faces is not only more overtly Christian than Innocence and Instinct, it fixes one of the main complaints I had about the record – the production and songwriting focus seemed centered around the first 2 tracks, and few other songs, but others were left obviously weaker in both departments. On this album, all track gets equal treatment, especially in production – they all sound great. However, a few things do stick out that could have been better – first is the track order. This is supposed to be a hard rock album, and is. However, a few things, such as ending with two ballads in a row (Alien Youth, anybody) and having a ballad-heavy-ballad section throw the momentum slightly. Another rocker or two and a slight rearrangement of the track order might have made this record better. Also, three of the ballads are fairly weak, and 2 of them are really record-only – that is, they fit in the record, complete it, but I wouldn’t listen to them outside of it. Finally, all the songs follow the same verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus format. Variation, anyone? I guess not. Expanding on that, in the bridges, there is not one song that contains a guitar solo. None. That’s slightly deterrent, however Red’s sound manages to make it seem like the songs are complete anyway, so that’s not a huge complaint.
My favorite tracks:
Who We Are
Faceless
Lie to Me (Denial)
Best Is Yet to Come
Unbelievable | Posted January-15-2011
5 years ago, Matt Smith, under the name Theocracy, released one of the best albums in Christian music. So, the question on everyone’s mind is – will they, now a three-piece, experience a sophomore slump or up their game even further? Well, without a doubt, the latter.
If you read my review for Theocracy, their self titled album, you know I found it to be exceptional, with only two real complaints – the production and the drum machine. Well, both problems have been taken care of, and Theocracy managed to not make anymore. In fact, not only did they fix the problems, but they also have grown and developed into their own form of Power Metal. Not only can they no longer be compared with relative ease to bands like Iron Maiden and Blind Guardian, the diversity makes it hard to draw abstract comparisons as well, though, if I had to, I’d say Sonata Arctica, Blind Guardian, and Dream Theater are close.
“A Tower of Ashes” begins with an organ intro, before some nice riffing kicks in, all eventually giving way to some speed metal licks. The song speaks of how we construct our lives with pride, but in the end it’s just “a tower of ashes and lies.” “On Eagles’ Wings” should be a radio single. Simple, catchy, yet heavy and epic. The bridge is very powerful, with layered choral and counterpoint vocals. The song speaks of recognizing your blessings, and thanking God.
“Laying the Demon to Rest” is the heaviest Power Metal song I’ve ever heard. It almost sounds like thrash (which isn’t a long shot, both evolved from Speed Metal). It has a Dream Theater quality in the intro too, with an eerie keyboard taking the lead for a few bars. The bridge however, is completely amazing – it features a breakdown with a solo that leads into dueling solos. And, despite the absolute devastating heaviness, the chorus is still catchy and melodic, featuring a choir of Smith’s vocals. Bethlehem is a beautiful metal ballad about the coming of Christ. It also features counterpoint vocals during the final chorus.
“Absolution Day” is really the only throwback to their first album. The speedy licks are a nice breather from the heavy riffs that dominated Laying the Demon to Rest. The song is two-fold – it speaks of the overwhelming joy of being forgiven on Judgment Day, and also speaks of how anything religion or manmade will fail to get you into Heaven and that “Faith alone’s the key – absolution for all who believe.” “The Writing in the Sand” tells the story of “let he who hath no sin cast the first stone” from a new perspective – one of the would-be stoners. The song itself is a mid-tempo rocker, offering a breath of air after the intense Absolution Day.
“Martyr” is just heavy. The song is about receiving glory for dying for your faith. The song also features an interesting section in the bridge that shouldn’t work, but does. The bonus track, Wages of Sin, is another radio-made hard rock song about certain people who would have people punished, making a mockery of Christ’s sacrifice. It’s a great introduction to your non-theocracized friends.
The title track stands at 23 minutes long, and is epic in every way. It has fast parts, slow parts, heavy parts, soft parts, epic parts, stripped down parts….pretty much everything you could want. The main theme is imputed righteousness, though it also touches on themes such as not relying on other’s opinions and instead looking to God and Christ being a literal, physical savior, not just a spiritual one. I won’t spoil anything for you, but it’s a fantastic story and a fantastic piece of music.
If you like metal, get this album. If you’re a Christian, get this album. If you a metal loving Christian, you should have had this album before you read the review.
Incredible One-Man project | Posted January-15-2011
"When you're dealing with the most serious and powerful subject matter in existence, you can’t back it up with weak music, it just doesn’t work" – Matt Smith, founder of Theocracy
Too often in any market of music, Christian or Secular, the airwaves and even the underground scene are oversaturated, polluted even, with uncreative dribble that sounds exactly like the other 99 bands from the top 100. Matt Smith, who does all Lead, Choir, Backing, and Gang Vocals, all Lead, Rhythm, Acoustic, and Bass Guitars, all Keys, Piano, and Orchestration, as well as the drum programming and production of the entire album, aims to break that mold.
Plenty of people have tried, though, so what makes Theocracy great? Smith succeeds. The 26-year-old from Athens, Georgia, crafts a masterpiece for the ages with his unique Power Metal. What makes it unique? Outside of the combination of the Progressive styling, Smith combines American Power Metal (more riffs and demanding guitar work, truer to original speed metal) with the more popular, iconic European Power Metal (keyboards, long solos, basically what you think of when you hear Power Metal) as well as undeniable classic metal influences that sound like they could fit in with Iron Maiden’s Powerslave album.
The album kicks off with "Prelude" an instrumental bit that shares melodies with the first real track, "Ichthus." Remember what I said about Iron Maiden? That’s this song, in a nutshell. It contains some keyboards under the guitars, but other than that, it’s clear Smith is a fan of Maiden. The song talks about the immortality of the Truth of the Gospel of Christ, and even being willing to die for it, knowing “this will live on without me.” However, don’t get too complacent, thinking this album is a Maiden rip-off. The 12-minute epic “The Serpent’s Kiss” follows, beginning with a slow, piano led intro which builds up to fast paced verses, epic choruses, and lengthy, twiddly musical interludes. This song is everything that is right with Euro-PM in a nutshell. It speaks of how the lies of the world may seem appealing to us, but in the end, they will be the death of us.
“Mountain” begins with some organs before going to riffland and obtaining citizenship. It speaks of drawing on God’s strength when we are at our weakest and realizing “when You’re all I have, I find You’re all I need to help me rise, taking flight, to the zenith of life…” The title track follows with some more Maiden-esque progressions, and a schizophrenic sounding bridge. For those of you unaware, a Theocracy is a government controlled by God. The song speaks of being “Flesh and blood theocracy(s)” – that is, dethroning all the secular pleasures we allow to control our lies, and instead putting God at the helm. It’s such a freeing concept – we don’t have to be slaves to our parents, spouses, friends, or bosses. We don’t have to be slaves to Washington, London, Moscow, or the Vatican. We were bought by God for the Kingdom of Heaven. We owe our allegiance to Him, no one else. Furthermore, the bridge in the song is a prayer - “Father, use me to be Your hands down here; a mirror to reflect Your glory into hurting eyes. And let me see the world with vision clear, and not through selfishness and lies. For, if I am consumed with my own cares, what right have I to speak the words ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ and if I am consumed with my own will, what right to pray ‘Thy Will Be Done’? As all around me I see bleeding souls, please give me strength to never pass them idly by, and as the angry storm clouds start to roll, may they see comfort in my eyes. For just as You are full of mercy and love, the same to others You have called me to be. By the covenant of grace above and below, within our souls – Theocracy”
“The Healing Hand” is an 11-and-a-half minute epic that tells the tale of Christ. I won’t spoil the poetry of the lyrics with quotes, for those of you who want to listen themselves, but it’s horrifying and beautiful. It opens with “The Gift” – Christ’s coming. “Restoration” and “Adulation” are of His works and the praises He was given. “Betrayal” describes the scene of His crucifixion. “Eternity” describes His reign in Heaven, which will last forever. It’s another riff heavy song, and it seems that Maiden wasn’t the only influence on this record – I’m also hearing some Blind Guardian and Iced Earth. “Sinner” is the ballad on this record, and it reeks of filler. It’s the only song on the record that is lyrically simplistic. It’s not bad by any stretch of the imagination, it just lacks the profoundness that permeates the rest of Smith’s songs.
“New Jerusalem” also seems to have been a last minute addition, lyrically. It’s about Heaven, which I’m all for since Heaven is a reality we need to embrace, and be striving for, even longing for, on Earth, but it’s not very descriptive. Musically, it’s decent up until the bridge, where the orchestration gets epic, and gives way to the most creative solo on the album. “The Victory Dance” features heavy Celtic influences, and has some cryptic lyrics that, once deciphered to essentially translate to being a good friend to someone who’s hurting and pointing them toward God, make the song more enjoyable.
“Twist of Fate” sums up what Theocracy is all about, and is a fitting closer. Long, heavy, epic. Centered around the theme of the man-made concept of Fate not controlling you, but rather God controlling everything through a flawless master plan. The ending features counterpoint layers in not 2, not 3, but 4 different layers, one of which being a choir. The cohesiveness is astounding. I know I mentioned Smith did all the vocals, but did I mention that there were over 70 different vocal pieces on the record? 70! That’s more than the last 3 Skillet records combined, and they have more than 1 vocalist.
The only real drawbacks to the record are the production (which could have been better had the label not rushed the album out the door) and the drum machine, while normally doing its job well, gets stale in some parts (another problem that could have been addressed had the album been given more time).
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