Artist: A Hope For Home
Album: The Everlasting Man
Label: Strike First Records
Reviewer: Stephen M
01. The Covenant (2:11)
02. Iniquity: An Offering (3:53)
03. Affliction: The Witness, The Advocate (4:31)
04. Infidelity: Kingdom’s End (3:15)
05. The Exile (2:33)
06. Babylon: The Insatiable Thirst (6:08)
07. Absolution: Of Flight And Failure (6:28)
08. Masada: The Spiral Staircase (6:13)
09. Restoration: The Return From Exile (6:50)
10. Redemption: A Grief Observed (5:27)
11. The Thousand Years (1:18)
I had no idea what to expect with the newest CD from A Hope For Home entitled The Everlasting Man, but what I found surprised me.
The name of the first song is “The Covenant.” It begins with the soft keys of a piano, followed by the strings of a guitar, and at this moment there is no turning back, your hooked. I listened to these guys a bit on MySpace before buying this album but was surprised they had this slow groovy music. Throughout this CD you will be struck by the variety of music that this band creates. Each song was a new surprise. The second song starts off with a guttural scream that catches you off guard, quickly followed by melodic vocals all moulded together with catchy guitar riffs, hard beating drums, and an alluring keyboard. If you enjoy a good variety of sound on a CD this is definitely the one to get, it’s a creative mix of hardcore, metal, progressive and experimental beauty in eleven tracks. This is the type of band I would listen to even if I wasn’t in the hardcore listening mood because the mello songs flow so well with this CD. Don’t get me wrong though; there is plenty of mix in the CD where you will hear head banging breakdowns which will blow your mind.
The name of the album, The Everlasting Man, is a concept based off of G.K. Chesterton’s novel of the same name, “The Everlasting Man” which tells the story of mankind’s fall and awaiting redemption. The bridge in “Iniquity: An Offering” is a great example of this – “Reveal in us the failings of the ones who walked before us. Reveal in us, the truth that we all have lost our way. Reveal in us, our strength because our backs can’t hold the weight; Show us the flaws in everything that we create. To live walk and breathe. We all want to believe.”
I was very impressed, moved and yes – surprised – with this album and I will be listening to it for the months to come.
Overall 8.5/10
Go Check out A Hope for Home on MySpace