For Today - Breaker

01. The Breaker’s Origin
02. Devastator
03. The Advocate
04. The Breaker’s Valley
05. Seraphim
06. Arm the Masses
07. White Flag
08. The Breaker’s Encounter
09. Phoenix
10. Psalm of the Son
11. King
12. The Breaker’s Commission

I received this CD a couple weeks ago, right before it hit the shelves, and while I wanted to listen and jump right in with an early review, I decided to wait, listen more, and let it sink in.

I admit, I did not discover the band until their second album was released, but at the time I was immediately impressed with the sheer power and feel of their album; and this time around it is no different. For me, this band stands above many other in their genre for a few main reasons:

First off, in the world of extreme music, where at times the vocals can get so extreme that they are indecipherable without a lyric sheet, this band has an extremely heavy vocal style yet still understandable. Vocals cover a mix of mid-range death growl type style, with a poetic spoken-word and hardcore feel at times, and the addition of a brief death metal shriek here and there.

Lyrically the band is bold and unashamedly Christian, and the album bounces between songs with a stand up and fight theme, brutal praise, and songs of victory for the broken. Musically the guys are tight, and handle their instruments amazingly. Their music is ultra heavy and low ended as expected, filled with chunky riff after riff, blazing little lead runs, and the familiar little bell cymbal ting from start to finish. Musically not a drastic change from their last album, but even though no new ground is really breached, they do what they do well, and this slab of heaviness continues to offer us brutal music with a real, important message for our generation.

The opening track (after the brief intro) Devastator is one of the most powerful songs of battle I have heard in a long time. This ranks right up there with the power and force of the brutal battle themes of bands like War of Ages. This song alone would be enough for me to want to buy this album again, and what a way to start a powerful musical journey.

Hell, fear me
I am the one that will bring you down
And when you fall, fell me
You'll see my face on the battle ground

The closing tracks King and The Breakers Commission end this album with praise to the most high. King is metal to the core, proclaiming:

This is my generation,
and I will not watch it die.
But you are the only hope
It's our destiny to stand tall at your side
You are the only hope. Beyond comprehension
your voice will shake the earth
You are the only hope
So I bring you praise

And is followed by the closing track, which is a spoken word excerpt from the poem Breaker which leads into a praise chorus to close out the final moments. Quite powerful indeed.

From start to finish, they have given us a consistent, heavy, powerful music and lyrical platter to feast from. Definitely one of my top favorite extreme albums this year.