I have decided to do a few album reviews for the month of July. It’ll definitely be a music month if I don’t put up anything else than these and my Tune Tuesday posts! It’s going to be a hectic month as my sister gets married soon so things will quickly turn and I’m not going to have a lot of energy to come up with content. Once August comes, you’ll be seeing the wedding posts and whatever comes next, but I think it’s going to be somewhat quiet on here for this month.
The first review I have for you is from a band based in Pennsylvania called The Letter Black. They are a Christian rock band that consists of Sarah Anthony on vocals, while her husband Mark Anthony does backing vocals and guitars. Other members are Matt Beal on bass and Justin Brown rounding out the group on the drums! They’ve had two other albums but this one is pretty unique because it wasn’t paid for by recording company, their fans pitched in and raised $25,000 to help record this album. It was finally released on May 26th so without further do, this is Pain!
The first song is “Fear” and it has this ominous sound to it, almost like a horror movie kind of introduction to it. I don’t like horror movies but I like it here! Sarah has a very easy going voice until she goes into her screams and that sweet tone just disappears. I actually like the lyrics, very catchy! I just love how this one sounds! It’s a typical rock song but it’s great! Next is “Last Day I Cared” and I like the slow introduction with Sarah screaming the title in the distant, this one isn’t as heavy as the first but it’s pretty good! Third is the title track “Pain” and I always get this confused with their previous song “Pain Killer”. I love how this has another creepy beginning, it gives me a Deftones kind of vibe while hearing it. It has a slower tempo throughout, but I think it gives has an interesting edge to it.
This one was just recently released as a single, it’s called “Rock’s Not Dead” and I love seeing these titles because it makes me remember Gene Simmons of KISS saying that “Rock is dead” a few years ago… Just to clarify, it’ll never be dead. I really like the heaviness of the song, I also love the meaning behind it too! It’s definitely telling people that even if pop music “rules” supreme in the world, rock music is still here and it’s not going anywhere! I love that kind of attitude! Next we have is “Kill The Devil” is pretty tame despite the title itself but it’s not bad. One thing that I like about The Letter Black is that even though they categorize themselves as a Christian band, you can’t exactly tell that they are! They don’t preach it as much as Skillet would, but I still love both bands!
Number six is “Meant For You” and it has some electronic notes throughout, has a static kind of sounds like going in and out in sections of the song. It’s not bad, but I’m not meshing with it at the moment. The next has a more quiet atmosphere, Sarah’s voice is much softer and feminine. It is called “Alive” and you mostly hear the piano with her beautiful voice. It’s a gorgeous ballad! Next is another upbeat banger, “Rise From The Dead” this is the second song that has this creepy sound, this one gives me more of a carnival type of vibe! I’m a weirdo I know! It’s very heavy, almost reminds me of Motionless In White’s single “LOUD (Fuck It)” but I won’t lie, I like this one a lot better! They are that similar!
We have “Tear You Apart” and this one again has a electronic beginning, but you can also hear some strings in the background too! That’s a bonus! It’s not bad, nothing’s really giving it a special edge besides the guitar solo! Next is “Breathe” and you hear this sound going in and out, and it’s very loud and in your face, which I do love a lot. The last two start with “I Am” and this has a couple big bangs and you know it’s about to get heavy, this is what every rocker looks for in a song! I really like it! I really love the screams and it makes me wish I could do that too! Last one is “Holding On” and I was hoping that it was going to be another ballad since they only have “Alive” as their ballad, and I believe on having more than just one slower song on an album; at first when I heard this I was like “well, I’m not going to get my wish” but then it finally started and I realized it would be slower just not as much as the other track. You hear the piano and violins in the background, it’s very interesting so that’s a good sign!
I was slightly bummed with this album. I only liked about five songs out of the whole thing, but if I’m being honest here all of the songs are what I generally want to hear and so I’m a little puzzled as to why I don’t like as many as I should! It does have a ominous undertone, very meaningful lyrics, and great guitars and vocals, I just didn’t mesh with it really well and I’m even ticked off at myself.
Have you heard of The Letter Black’s newest album “Pain” yet? What do you think of the way of fans help raising money to help their favorite bands create new music? Have you ever contributed to the campaigns before?
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