You all thought I had stopped giving these crappy little reviews, didn’t you? Well, no longer cry, for here is another one!
Thousand Foot Krutch (TFK) has definitely expanded their listener base since their main release, Set It Off (SIO), in 2000, with two smashing albums (Phenomenon and The Art of Breaking). They also re-released SIO in 2004, along with their first indie CD from 1998.
In this CD, Trevor promised that this CD would go back to their rock roots (a la SIO). At the time the CD was released, I was wondering if the CD could be any different from Phenomenon and The Art of Breaking…and today I definitely found out!
Vocally, Trevor maintains the consistent range of highs and pseudo-screams that he always employed in previous CDs. There was one point, in New Drug [??], he sounds exactly like Rain Maida of OLP. Then again, he sounds like Rain in a lot of the new songs.
Instrumentally, we return to the hardness we were introduced to in some SIO/Phenomenon tracks, which is a good thing. Though everything is louder, by no means does it make it less comfortable to listen to. Of course, this is a CD you want to turn the volume up for, in order to catch all of the musical parts, harmonies and rock-age. There are a LOT of harmonies, which I am loving. There are also a lot of under-lying string parts, as heard in the title (and opening) track, as well as throughout the CD! something I didn’t expect.
For those that were concerned about the “[w]ussy, slow songs” as described by some (referring to This Is A Call?? which I liked), TFK presents What Do We Know and Wish You Well…with variable “wussiness”. But really, these two songs are not considered wussy at all. There’s a track called Favourite Disease, which brings up thoughts of Demon Hunters’ Infected, which can also bring up some confusion as to what ideas/thoughts Trevor was trying to convey, but in the booklet Trevor explains…
My Favourite Disease (Explained)
The idea of having a “favourite disease” is obviously a little contradictory. I don’t usually like to explain the personal meanings of songs, because I want the listener to be able to raw their own conclusions and connect with the song on their own terms. But in this case, I felt the need to explain so that it could not be misunderstood. A persons’ passion and the thing that drives them can be given many names. I like to refer to it as a God given passion, and a blessings, and not something I have achieved, or obtained. If you’re passionate about something, it drives you, and sometimes even consumes you. If something consumes you, than other things in life, even if only for a brief period of time, take a back seat to that thing. In my case, music is one of the things I’m passionate about, and at times it has consumed me. In those times I remember feeling like the thing I loved so much, and have always used as a tool to heal, confide in, and share my life with, was actually killing me. It’s a very confusing feeling to have when you’ve spent your whole life devoted to a gift. I then realized more than ever, how easy it is to lose sight of the reason we do what we do, and why we started doing it in the first place. I thank God every day for his grace, and for allowing me to be a small part of what he wants to say and do through music as an art form. Our goal as a band has always been to share honesty, truth, and integrity with our listeners, and we’ve tried, and are still trying to achieve that. With that said, we hope you enjoy the song and the record.
-Trevor McNevan
And though there are slow songs, the CD still goes through pretty quickly…something that’s expected of a T&N release. But then again, if a band’s music is magical, the length wouldn’t matter too much would it? And that is the case here, we are presented with another quality recording (albeit testimony) from TFK discussing topics ranging from being filled with passion (The Flame In All of Us?), to the importance of preparing yourself for struggles (Learn To Breathe?).
Some useless stats:
CD Presentation (booklet, print): 9.5 / 10; The label is pretty (like the minimalistic booklet), and nice to touch
Extras (bonus sampler CD, ringtones): 7/10; The ringtones are basically useless unless you spend the money to buy them and are using AT&T. I’m not, so it’s basically useless to me. The bonus sampler CD, which is accessed through a site (and Java, which detects your CD), contained many tracks from other T&N artists. Some tracks were really new, such as Hotel Aquarium by Falling Up, from their upcoming CD Captiva…while some are already released, such as Kutless’ track from Hearts of the Innocent and Spoken’s from Spoken.
Replay value: 9/10; I think eventually, the CD might start sounding exactly the same as the others…but once songs are heard hundreds of times and lyrics are memorized, it could be on repeat forever?
Value: 10/10; I got the CD for $14 with taxes (and got 2 free CDs with it)…then again, I’m special! Later, retail will be 17.99 and then 21.99…so get it fast!
Things I’ve missed…I have no recollection, so leave a comment and I’ll get back to you!