Band: Your Memorial
Album: Redirect
Label: Facedown Records
Release: 7/16/12
Reviewer: Brody B
Tracklisting:
- Transfiguration
- Redirect
- Shipwreck
- The Substance Of Things Hoped For
- Eternity
- Change The World
- Transform
- Anthem
- Evidence Of Things Unseen
- Trial And Triumph
- Cadence For A King
I’ll never forget the first time I experienced Your Memorial. It was in a live setting, an outpouring of passionate screams, devastatingly heavy breakdowns and just the right amount of melody and ambiance for good measure. As soon as the all too short set had concluded, I hurried on over to the merch table to pick up a freshly printed copy of the band’s first effort on Facedown, Atonement.
To say the least, I was a bit let down. Besides a few tracks, nothing really stood out to me and I felt that the passion was never captured on disc in a way that truly represented the outpouring of the live show. I also found myself wishing for more melody and atmosphere to break up the monotony somewhat.
Good news friends; both of these major complaints about Your Memorial’s first effort are absent from Redirect. Is the record perfect? No, not quite, but with the band showing more maturity in song writing and ounces more passion, Your Memorial are headed for great things.
After the C.S. Lewis speech oriented opener, “Transfiguration”, the title track kicks in and boy is it a doozy. Starting out, “Redirect” sounds much like something that would have been on the previous album, however after a few moments when a beautifully sung bridge emerges out of the front man’s pleadings of, “Shine through me!”, I knew these boys had done some growing up. What follows after that is what makes the memorable as clean vocals and screams culminate with melodic leads to climax into a crushing breakdown. “Shipwreck” is a song that particularly stuck out to me due to its’ focus more on melody than in breaking the listeners teeth in (Not to say that it doesn’t have chops though). Right off the bat, some intricate leads dance in the background behind a powerful rhythm section, leading into a powerfully sung chorus ending with the singer pleading, “…Don’t let my faith be shipwrecked!”. “Eternity” offers some interesting rhythms in the main riff, with very tricky timing. The instrumental at the half way point of the song will have even the most hard nosed pit-goer bobbing their head to the beat only the be followed up by the absolutely decimating “Change the World”. The breakdown of, “Break our hearts for what breaks Yours” gets me riled up every time. “Anthem” is another stand out track that should be a crowd-pleaser due to the bouncy, chugging main riff that leads way to a melodic chord progression that finds both vocalists singing in unison, creating a massive sound. The instrumental “Evidence of Things Unseen” transitions into the slow-burning “Trial and Triumph”, a song about rejoicing in our trials as followers of Christ. “Cadence For A King” is an Explosions in the Sky sounding instrumental that fits perfectly as an album closer because it really allows the listener to reflect on the journey that is coming to a conclusion.
While Redirect is leaps and bounds ahead of its’ predecessor, it does not go without a few slight flaws. I felt that “The Substance of Things Hoped For” was a somewhat throw away track. While I don’t tend to mind instrumentals seeing as they can help break up monotony, “The Substance of Things Hoped For” never progressed as a song, it was just the same melody for a minute. While it’s just a minor annoyance, I didn’t see the purpose and wished it was as masterfully composed as the other instrumentals on the album. I also wished the band would have included more instrumental sections within the heavier songs to make the song structure more dynamic and interesting. I felt that throwing in a short instrumental in a song like “Change the World” would have been a great curveball to throw in. However, these complaints are pretty menial and do not take too much away from the album.
Your Memorial have been making a name with themselves on the road this year and are sure to make a name for themselves with this solid effort. While still not perfect, Redirect finds the band branching out and taking their place as of the the heavyweights on the Facedown roster.
RIYL: Misery Signals, Onward to Olympus, Hands