Can a sophomore release from a first time heavy hitter strike another home run?
DISCLAIMER:First of all I worked on the artwork for this album. So there, got that out of the way.
Secondly, I am not a big follower of "Prog" metal that Theocracy gets labeled with, so this is my take on this album. Thirdly, I had never heard of Theocracy until I read an article in "Heaven's Metal", and only then did I hear snippets of Matt's first album. Just recently I was able to listen to it, to compare the two. On to the review!
Do you like fat juicy choruses? Catchy melodies? Thick crunchy guitars? Soaring vocals? Technical drumming? A guest appearance from a cat? Lyrics that have substance and meaning to them? How about great production and awesome artwork (in my humble opinion)? Then get this disk! You will not be disappointed. Matt has taken the geniusness behind his first self-titled disc and taken it up a couple of notches with "Mirror of Souls". I honestly can't think of one bad song on here.
The album starts off with the keyboard intro of "A Tower of Ashes" and quickly leads into thick crunch and then off to double time. It is evident from this first song that Theocracy is back, and back with a vengeance. They do not want to be known as one album wonders. All the things you loved about the first one are here and more. Matt's voice is in it's best form. The drumming of Shawn Benson is a beautiful addition to this disc and brings a great human touch to the recording as well as killer chops. The rest of the sound is nicely rounded out with the guitar work of Jonathan Hinds.
Next off, and still running full steam ahead, is "On Eagles Wings", a wonderful song about how even in the depths of trials in our life, God will still carry us and lift us up, all to his glory. It is a personal song that speaks about Matt's wifes cancer scare.
"Laying the Demon to Rest" is one of my favorites. It comes out of the gate hitting hard and heavy with a massive fat guitar crunch and a high pitch wail that rivals some of the best vocalists out there. A great take on the struggles we face with an unseen spiritual realm. This song has some of the tastiest & nastiest guitar work. The chorus is a sweet counterpart to the verses. Sort of like "sweet & sour". The old addage, "An idle mind is the devils workshop" comes to mind as a summary.
Finally you get a chance to breath with "Bethlehem". It has a nice almost medieval guitar intro that leads into heavy choruses. This will be a great one for the holidays, with out being strictly holiday material.
Theocracy kicks it back into fast gear with "Absolution Day", a song that deals with how we are all guilty and need absolution from our sins. Who will pay that price? This is another of my favorites.
"The Writing in the Sand" peels back the veil on how we all can be hypocritical judges in life, until the light of Christ is shined upon us.
"Martyr" continues the aural onslaught. There are some parts on here which will blow the low end out of your speakers. Whew! Beyond that, the lyrics will blow the low end out of your comfy little life. All over the world (except for America it feels like), Christians are suffering for the sake of the gospel. This is a great ode to a long line of blood that has trailed through the ages to bring the news that we hold dear to our hearts. As Christians, our heritage is death. I love the little Spanish flamenco influenced break!
Finally, we come to the magnus opus. The "la pièce de résistance". The epic title track, "Mirror of Souls". It is simply a stunning 23 minute masterpiece tale of salvation. Even at that length, it never drags or weighs itself down. It is something that you have to hear. I don't want to give anything away, but it has everything in it. A metal Smörgåsbord if you will (the Swedish fans should like that term). Also it has a special feline guess star that you will have to try and find in the mix, a metal version of "Where's Waldo".
Sound wise this album is miles away from the first one. Matt has outdone himself on the quality of his production, especially in the vocal area. I had the chance to listen to the pre-mixed takes and they were pretty darn great, but the mixed version is soo much better. The main thing that I think the first album "Theocracy" lacked was clean vocals, but not this one. Also as great as his song writing was on that disc, it is THAT much better on this one. I would put this recording up against other recordings that had a bigger budget any day. It is that stinkin good. I think it also helps having a full band backing him as well. Felipe Machado Franco also did a great job with the booklets layout and images. You will not be disappointed there, it was worth the wait.
So in conclusion, this disc is a masterpiece of aural and visual beauty. It is a definite "must have" for anyone's collection, especially if you are a fan of the first one. And not only did they hit a home run, but the bases were loaded and they got everyone home. That and I think the guy who did the cover is a frickin genius!
Robert
DISCLAIMER:First of all I worked on the artwork for this album. So there, got that out of the way.
Secondly, I am not a big follower of "Prog" metal that Theocracy gets labeled with, so this is my take on this album. Thirdly, I had never heard of Theocracy until I read an article in "Heaven's Metal", and only then did I hear snippets of Matt's first album. Just recently I was able to listen to it, to compare the two. On to the review!Do you like fat juicy choruses? Catchy melodies? Thick crunchy guitars? Soaring vocals? Technical drumming? A guest appearance from a cat? Lyrics that have substance and meaning to them? How about great production and awesome artwork (in my humble opinion)? Then get this disk! You will not be disappointed. Matt has taken the geniusness behind his first self-titled disc and taken it up a couple of notches with "Mirror of Souls". I honestly can't think of one bad song on here.
The album starts off with the keyboard intro of "A Tower of Ashes" and quickly leads into thick crunch and then off to double time. It is evident from this first song that Theocracy is back, and back with a vengeance. They do not want to be known as one album wonders. All the things you loved about the first one are here and more. Matt's voice is in it's best form. The drumming of Shawn Benson is a beautiful addition to this disc and brings a great human touch to the recording as well as killer chops. The rest of the sound is nicely rounded out with the guitar work of Jonathan Hinds.
Next off, and still running full steam ahead, is "On Eagles Wings", a wonderful song about how even in the depths of trials in our life, God will still carry us and lift us up, all to his glory. It is a personal song that speaks about Matt's wifes cancer scare.
"Laying the Demon to Rest" is one of my favorites. It comes out of the gate hitting hard and heavy with a massive fat guitar crunch and a high pitch wail that rivals some of the best vocalists out there. A great take on the struggles we face with an unseen spiritual realm. This song has some of the tastiest & nastiest guitar work. The chorus is a sweet counterpart to the verses. Sort of like "sweet & sour". The old addage, "An idle mind is the devils workshop" comes to mind as a summary.
Finally you get a chance to breath with "Bethlehem". It has a nice almost medieval guitar intro that leads into heavy choruses. This will be a great one for the holidays, with out being strictly holiday material.
Theocracy kicks it back into fast gear with "Absolution Day", a song that deals with how we are all guilty and need absolution from our sins. Who will pay that price? This is another of my favorites.
"The Writing in the Sand" peels back the veil on how we all can be hypocritical judges in life, until the light of Christ is shined upon us.
"Martyr" continues the aural onslaught. There are some parts on here which will blow the low end out of your speakers. Whew! Beyond that, the lyrics will blow the low end out of your comfy little life. All over the world (except for America it feels like), Christians are suffering for the sake of the gospel. This is a great ode to a long line of blood that has trailed through the ages to bring the news that we hold dear to our hearts. As Christians, our heritage is death. I love the little Spanish flamenco influenced break!
Finally, we come to the magnus opus. The "la pièce de résistance". The epic title track, "Mirror of Souls". It is simply a stunning 23 minute masterpiece tale of salvation. Even at that length, it never drags or weighs itself down. It is something that you have to hear. I don't want to give anything away, but it has everything in it. A metal Smörgåsbord if you will (the Swedish fans should like that term). Also it has a special feline guess star that you will have to try and find in the mix, a metal version of "Where's Waldo".
Sound wise this album is miles away from the first one. Matt has outdone himself on the quality of his production, especially in the vocal area. I had the chance to listen to the pre-mixed takes and they were pretty darn great, but the mixed version is soo much better. The main thing that I think the first album "Theocracy" lacked was clean vocals, but not this one. Also as great as his song writing was on that disc, it is THAT much better on this one. I would put this recording up against other recordings that had a bigger budget any day. It is that stinkin good. I think it also helps having a full band backing him as well. Felipe Machado Franco also did a great job with the booklets layout and images. You will not be disappointed there, it was worth the wait.
So in conclusion, this disc is a masterpiece of aural and visual beauty. It is a definite "must have" for anyone's collection, especially if you are a fan of the first one. And not only did they hit a home run, but the bases were loaded and they got everyone home. That and I think the guy who did the cover is a frickin genius!
Robert
