This Darkened Heart wasn't a bad album... it had just been done before way too many times. Nothing was too original about it. But July 7th was a day that this band made a stand and showed that this was a force to be reckoned with. They released The Fall of Ideals. Not only was it a massive step above This Darkened Heart, it raised the bar on the metalcore scene.
This Calling: the song opens up with a powerful eight second scream. The guitars sound great backed up with the double bass. The drums are blisteringly fast and the clean vocals are unbelievable. This song alone shows how well the band has improved in almost every aspect of the word. Sadly, after too many listens, it does get slightly boring. 4.5/5
Not Alone: Neat little guitar riffs for the opening of the song. Then Phil has another long scream with some neat screams that send a chill down your spine. The cleanly sung vocals here, again, are perfect. The drums seem to pound your eardrums with every quick beat they throw at you. 5/5
It Dwells in Me: Starts off with a heavy guitar sound for a second, then Phil’s screams come in, probably the most ferocious sounding yet. The lyrics in this song are excellent and almost inspiring. The chorus is nice with the singing and the screaming. An awesome guitar solo hits near the half minute mark. 5/5
We Stand: A cool mix of guitars and drums open this song. The guitars stay brutally beautiful through the entire song. The drums stay well within the song and throw quick blast beats. The screams are very cool and go pretty high in this song. The chorus again, is undoubtedly awesome, and then around the 2 minute mark, another guitar solo opens up and mixes the old school slow guitar solo with the newer and faster one. 5/5
Whispers (I hear you): a beautiful acoustic piece opens up the song which I think is the best on the entire album. Something about this song, the screams are perfect, the lyrics are awesome and Phil does his first death metal type scream in the album. The chorus is heart stopping awesome and his singing voice really shines in this song. It manages to keep the light beginning through the entire song while still being as heavy as the next track. Plus, one of the best, yet shortest guitar solos hits at the 2:10 mark. 5/5
The Weak Willed: Fast and brutal guitars are a far departure from the last song. They open up on this and Phil’s death metal growl is soon heard after. The guitars don't lighten up and neither does Phils voice. This is easily the darkest song on the album. I like it, but it’s not as good as the last track. But Phil’s vocals do stand out a great deal in this song. 4.5/5
Six: Lighter guitars and neat riffs are the first thing you hear, followed by another long scream by Phil. Now after looking at these lyrics, this is the "emo" song of the album, but don't let that make you hate the song, his death growls are still heard in this song and his screams are very awesome. His singing is set at random spaces in the song which is pretty neat too. 5/5
Become the Catalyst: Another Death growl opens up the next song and followed by more awesome guitar riffs. Phil seems to be... rapping the lyrics? He’s still screaming, but it almost comes out as rapping in this song. His screams again break the limit at points of the song, but it’s probably my least favorite song on the album. There is a neat guitar solo in this song as well. 3.5/5
The Air That I Breath: This used to be my favorite song on the album until I heard Whispers for the second time. Palm muted sounding guitar riffs open up the song to be joined in by the rest of the band. The lyrics are well written as well as everything else. The chorus is again; almost inspiring, as well mixing screaming as well as singing is a really neat move. Around 2:33, an awesome guitar solo opens up. Probably one of the best of the album. 5/5
Empty inside: Another song opened up by cool and fast guitar riffs. Although this song is excellent, its a song that seems to have been done before. not too much stands out to be mentioned. 4/5
Indicment: This song has a really dark background to it. its kind of like an anti religious song with the lyrics "your god is voilent... your god is unholy" The guitars remain very heavy throughout the song and its the only song on the album withought singing in it. at 2:20, another fast solo is unleashed. The album ends with some distortion drifting off into the back.. 5/5
this is an excellent album and should be listened to by all metal fans along with some rock fans that want to get into heavier music. it shows that a band that has a decent debut can evolve to almost godlike status within a short time.
