Review Summary: If this is how they sound just barely awake, how do you think they’ll sound when they’ve fully opened their eyes?
Sleeping Giant were, at the risk of sounding cliché, still sleeping on
Dread Champions Of The Last Days. It wasn’t the worst freshman outing, in fact it was actually quite a treat. However, it didn’t manage to quite break out of the Facedown records mold, though it showed traits of an attempt.
Sons of Thunder shows Sleeping Giant maturing and going from sleeping to dozing, as they add in some new gears to build an almost-original car that is far superior to its previous model, but is still held back by some of the malfunctions.
The band’s ace in the hole is vocalist Thom Greene. He roars, he screams, he growls, he veers into spoken word and rap, and even sings . His robust vocal approach is comparable to that of Mattie Montgomery (For Today), especially with the reliance on half-spoken word/half-rap, but he still manages to hold his own.
Sons of Thunder shows him experiment a lot more on spoken word and singing, especially for the more potent material, and one or two tracks rely practically on only spoken word. Other changes to the band’s sound on this record include a more fleshed-out song structure. On the previous album, tracks like “This Calls For Patient Endurance On The Part Of The Saints” and “Behold The Pale Horse” barely made the two-minute mark and were filled with intense screams and guitar parts. This time, most tracks are around three and a half minutes, give or take a few. Speaking of guitar, guitarists Geoff and Eric have picked up a few new tricks. Palm-muting is still an essential for the men, but they move around the fretboard a little more for some interesting riffs and leads. Unfortunately, drummer Travis takes the back seat in this vehicle, whereas on
Dread Champions, he was integral. Don’t get me wrong, he isn’t a crappy drummer, but he’s just relied on less.
“Sons of Thunder” probably best represents a newfound tendency for melody. Clocking in at seven minutes, it’s one of the longer tracks on the project and relies almost entirely on Green’s clean vocals. He doesn’t have an incredible singing voice, and sounds similar to Daniel Wayandt (Zao,
Parade of Choas). Even in regard of this, Greene doesn’t ever sound strained and carries the song quite well, keeping it from becoming boring like the progressive tracks on the last record did. Both “Gang Signs” and “No One Leaves This Room Sick” are unquestionably tenacious, and both blend Mattie Montgomery/Sonny Sandoval-esque raps with Thom’s classic screams and the always-proficient axemen. “Descending Into Hell” features Bruce Fitzhugh (Living Sacrifice) and sounds like a longer version of a song off
Dread Champions and throws Travis back into the spotlight, as he keeps the song from just becoming filler. “The Army Of The Chosen One” is literally raging with passionate, righteous anger and desperation, with Thom Greene and Ryan Clark (Demon Hunter) crying for a generation that truly loves Jesus, instead of desiring the traps of the world. It’s blisteringly heavy and glaringly potent, and has become one of the calling cards of Sleeping Giant. Finally, “He Will Reign” is a beautiful worship song dominated by Thom’s passionate singing and quiet piano-playing, a fitting end to a roller coaster of an album.
With a song title like “Descending Into Hell”, one has to wonder about the lyrical content. In the vein of For Today, Sleeping Giant are unashamedly Christian. Rather raising a new generation of soldiers (“The Army of The Chosen One”, “Gang Signs”) or decrying the power of Satan (“Descending Into Hell”, “No One Leaves This Room Sick), they do so with great tenacity. Specifically, “Descending Into Hell” speaks of the disgusting filth of the sex trade, and how children are victimized while so-called Christians are only concerned about upholding the laws of their local church, instead of saving orphans from the trade. It’s heavy, but it’s also refreshing to see a Christian band push lyrical boundaries to draw attention to topics that most bands sweep under the rug.
Like
Dread Champions Of The Last Days,
Sons of Thunder isn’t perfect. There’s slight filler (“The Streets Don’t Lie”, “I’ve Seen”) and their sound has been done before and is still being done. However, don’t let that turn you off, because Sleeping Giant are still strong in their genre. And if this is how they sound just barely awake, how do you think they’ll sound when they’ve fully opened their eyes?
