Nine Lashes
World We View

Release Date: 2012 | Tracklist

Tooth & Nail records is a pretty small name record company that is usually a stepping stone for Canadian Christian rock bands to get noticed. Bands like Thousand Foot Krutch, Demon Hunter, Underoath, Anberlin, and Hawk Nelson are the biggest names to come out the company, and I believe they've all left for bigger companies (or independent projects). Nine Lashes is a band still in the process of being built up by the record company, and the company has done Nine Lashes a monumental favor by providing them bigger names to feature in their 2nd album (first with Tooth & Nail). Trevor McNevan from Thousand Foot Krutch and Ryan Clark from Demon Hunter both do their parts to add a different feel (Trevor's raps and Ryan's screams/growls), which brings up this otherwise dull record. Nine Lashes first record went basically unknown and the only reason I found them was because of the guests featured on the record. That's how great advertisement should be.

Now, to the music. "Adrenaline" is the easy fan favorite with a fantastic feature in Trevor. The verses feature a more interesting guitar part than expected mixed with Jeremy Dunn doing a fantastic job matching the energy the guitars bring with his best vocal performance on the record. The pre-chorus introduces Trevor as he comes in with a rap that blows away every rap he's done since TFK's debut (which focused much more on the rap element) and introduces a brilliant chorus where Jeremy sings long, held out notes and Trevor raps over him. Easily the high point of the band's career and it will be difficult to top. "Anthem of the Lonely" is the other big-seller on this album. The synthesized beat at the beginning is a great intro, which open into guitars that quickly transition into straight riffs for the verses. The vocals pick up in the pre-chorus for my favorite moment of the song. The chorus features less emotion vocals in comparison to the pre-chorus and features some chants from the other members. Good anthem song, just not as good as the hype it gets. "The Intervention" was the surprise on the album for me. I enjoy the piano part in the intro a lot. Reminds me of the many similar intros in the Dawn Escapes album from Falling Up. The guitars kick in on the verses and the vocals mix in well. The drums are also a standout with creative beats and cutouts. The chorus is better than "Anthem" but the entire song doesn't out-perform it.

"Our Darkest Day" is the song featuring Ryan Clark, who does less for the song than Trevor in "Adrenaline". He does background vocals during the chorus like he did in the song "Let You In" by Kutless. He does dominate the bridge though, but it sounds awkward with the lack of heaviness. The rest of the song isn't as good instrumentally as the rest of the album, even with the heavier sound guitars at the beginning, but those are ditched quickly. The chorus is kind of lackluster as well. "Get Back" would be better if they cut out the "Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh's" before the verses. He doesn't do a bad job with performing them, but they just kill the song for me. The chorus isn't bad, but far from original. "Write It Down" has another great-synthesized intro with a catchy lead guitar part. The riffs in the chorus match the drums well and the drum part is an easy favorite of mine from the album. The chorus picks up-tempo with more of a pop/rock feel. The chorus is nice, but the second chorus specifically is the best. It features some great guitar additions and cutouts to catch attention. The whispering bridge is nice as well. "The Void" is probably a filler track, but not one of the worst on the record. The verses have a ballad feel with simple instrumentals, then the chorus kicks up a little more than expected, but is not as well thought out as all the other songs mentioned.

Lastly, we have "Afterglow", "Believe Your Eyes", "Memo", and "My Friend". "Afterglow is a stupidly titled song that tries to hard to be original. It ends up as a generic ballad, even though the chorus isn't bad and makes up for the otherwise boring feel of the rest of the song. It's not the most original, but the piano in the chorus is a nice touch. "Memo" is a similar ballad with the same setup (boring verses, simple instrumentals, and a decent, unoriginal chorus). "Believe Your Eyes" is an obvious filler track where the chorus holds notes out to long and kills the feel of the song. "My Friend"is a little more interesting with acoustic guitars, but ends up boring me quickly. The chorus is simple, but doesn't grasp me like it should. It aims for a tear-jerking topic that doesn't touch my soul as intended; without any emotional connection, I lose interest quickly.

The debut album (with Tooth & Nail records) isn't anything we haven't heard before, but some brilliant guest appearance add extra hype and sound to the album, which makes this a worthy listen, but not Earth-shattering.

Tweet

Recent reviews by this author
Bulletproof Messenger The Crucial Line	Since October This is My Heart
We As Human Burning Satellites	Linkin Park Meteora
Jars Of Clay Jars Of Clay	12 Stones Potter's Field

user ratings (68)

rate it Awful - 1 Very Poor - 1.5 Poor - 2 Average - 2.5 Good - 3 Great - 3.5 Excellent - 4 Superb - 4.5 Classic - 5

3.3 great

Rank: #0 for 2012