Sleeping by the Riverside "A Breath Between Battles" CD
[Indianola]
What a surprise that this band comes from Florida, loves the lord, and plays melodic metalcore not unlike many of the other bands from their region. By no stretch of the imagination is these even a fraction as good as Shai Hulud or Strongarm or anything like that, but they're alright. They've got some good riffs, the writing is competent, and I can listen to it. Unfortunately for this band fucking stellar riffs do not a good song nor album make, because they've damn sure got some amazing riffs in their arsenal, but the songs tend to be moderately paced and same-y, so it's riffs that stand out rather than individual songs. And truth be told, the best riffs on this record sound like they were flat out lifted from old Shai Hulud songs. That's fine, I mean, I fucking love all that stuff, and if a band could sound identical to Shai Hulud (which these cats do on "Vincere Vel Mori"), original or not, I'd be all for it... but this isn't quite cutting it for me as a whole. The production isn't cutting it for me because it's not clear enough for the details to shine through and drums and vocals dominate the mix, and the guitars are easily the most important element here, so... they need more force and more volume to be prominent enough. It doesn't sound that bad, but a better sound would have an effect on the way these songs come across. Like other releases on this label, the layout is a bit conceptual and quirky, here made out to look like a miniature newspaper. It's pretty involved and somewhat cool, they really stick to it throughout the entire booklet, even if that does make for a jumbled presentation at times. It does have a catchy look to it, however. The lyrics aren't my thing. The band is apparently a christian band as subtly expressed through some of the additional text in the booklet, but some of the cheesier lyrics proclaim that fact as well. "How can you honestly believe your treasure pleases him? As if money is the sign of a successful god. How can you stand there and use him as a sex symbol, and not fear for your soul? Your crucifix means nothing to me. Your crucifix embarrasses me. Melt it down and give it away. Your crucifix holds no meaning." Yeah, take those last few lines and substitute the word "lyrics" for "crucifix", because I'm not down with the preachy bullshit, okay? With a better recording this would be worth a 6/10. I'd maybe give it a 7/10 if it had a better recording and it was a 15-minute 7" with the three or four best songs. But as it stands it's a few great songs, a lot of great riffs, but a bland record. (5/10)
Running time - 27:36, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: Vincere Vel Mori, Something to Say]
Indianola Records - http://www.indianolarecords.com

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