Review Summary: This is an album that truly took me by surprise because of how great it was, and this is a band that deserves quite a bit of recognition in the future. If you're a fan of hardcore, you're going to enjoy this.
This is my first review. I can guarantee one thing, and it's that it's not going to be nearly as good as Block Out The Sun And Sleep. Their debut full-length was a very solid release, but I honestly didn't expect this to be what came next. The album starts with the song Vacant Home. It was thunderous right off the bat, and it was a tremendous way to start off the album. The lyrics are heartfelt by anyone with a broken home, and the screams are filled with emotion throughout the entire album. The second song is the first song that was released off of it, and the title to this track is Trapped. It is another thunderous track, and it's definitely a song that is upbeat and great to mosh to. After this, you have a track this is a little slower, and the title of this song is Hands Of The Clock. This is one of the more emotional and personal songs on the record. "I hated myself, and I grew tired of covering things with a smile to make it better." It doesn't seem like much for that to be written as a lyric, but when you're performing the song almost every night, it has to have some effect to have to hear yourself say that. I'm sure there are plenty of fans out there that could relate to the track, and it is one that I would definitely recommend. The next song is titled 21, and he states that he's too young to feel the way he feels, and he promises that they'll be no happy ending if you just bare with him. Alone In Life is the song that comes next, and he's Alone In Life because he has to leave. He cannot stay and die in that city. Again, it is another personal song. This is one of the personal albums that you will listen to, and that is something that I can promise you. You get an instrumental track in the middle of the record, and it serves as the title track. It's a pretty song, and it will give you a tiny break before entering a thunderous second half of the album.
The second half of the record is opened with a song titled Skin Deep. This song is about a father that walked out on the ones he was supposed to love, and it left him questioning where and why he had to leave. It didn't matter if their relationship was always bound to fall apart, he is always going to bleed his family name. Through My Eyes is the next track that you will hear, and it is one of the heavier tracks for sure. You could say that it is a song about being an underdog, and it's obvious that the vocalist is pissed that he has been walked out on and beaten. The song ends with my favorite breakdown on Block Out The Sun and Sleep, and this song gave me goosebumps almost all the way through. I HIGHLY recommend you listen to this track. As you near the end of the album, you will listen to a song that is titled Iron Rain. The song is about self-loathing, and how sometimes you can use every ounce of strength you have and it won't be enough. You have to ask yourself whether or not you want to hang the white flag. This is also a very heavy track on the album, and you can definitely hear that when the song nears it's end. If I had to guess what One And The Same was about, I would immediately say that it was about religion. Although that may not be the actual meaning, you could say that this song is about anyone who tries to preach and teach things that they know nothing about. In this song, it is love that they're teaching, but true love is all the same to him. That's what he believes. The album ends with the song Growing Numb. The idea of the song is that silence is your enemy, but it is so hard to speak when you believe that no one gives a *** about what you're saying. Say what you have to say, and let yourself be heard because silence is the enemy.
Block Out The Sun and Sleep is one of my favorite releases of this year, and I feel as if the band should get a lot of recognition in the future. Whether this first review was good or not, I had a fun time writing it because I found out some things about the album that I didn't know before just by typing this up. I hope that you all enjoy/enjoyed the album like I did. This was an excellent release by an excellent band.
