At some of the recent festivals, a certain band had caused a bit of a stir. Their shows have been described as intense, the players as good musicians, and the music as simply brutal. And, after hearing Wanting . . . Waiting, I believe it. This CD opens up with Jon Edwards passionately screaming "Sound the trumpet / Prepare for battle / Your helpless struggle with self-righteous sin fades," coupled with some seriously intense grooves that just don't stop. Musically, this is brutal. A lot of it reminds me of some of the more recent Living Sacrifice or Embodyment, with that death metal-flavored hardcore. There is some serious metal riffing on this disc, lots of double bass and near blast beats, and nice changes from fast to slow to fast again. The thing that seems to stand out the most are the vocals, which are truly of the screechy hardcore variety. They almost don't match the music, as I expect to hear death vocals, or vocals a la older Living Sacrifice. And yet, the vocals still match the brutality of the music, creating an ominous wall of extreme sound. Lyrically, these guys leave no questions as to where they stand. Edwards belts out in a holy manner phrases like "I Believe in One True God, a God of mercy and forgiveness" ("Confession in Times of Tribulation"), and "UNITE we stand for the Lord / TOGETHER we cannot fall / TONIGHT we worship the Lord / WE FIGHT Satan's stronghold" ("Five, Sorry, 5 ... Drive Through"). A lot of these songs are practically praise and worship songs, if not all of them. I doubt you'll hear these on Sunday morning anywhere, but these lyrics are more intense than most songs you would sing in a typical service. And what makes them even better is that the message is not sugar-coated, but rather is pure, blatant honesty. I think my personal favorite quote comes from "Compromise Collection": "Forgiveness / Is only good / When I am in / Truth with myself / But more importantly . . . / ... with God." Bettie Rocket is a young label, and I was under somewhat of an impression that they catered more toward punk and ska bands. I am very happy that they found this talented band, and I know that I will be spinning this one often.
