Album Review :
I Am History - Visions
By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed
Artist: I Am History
Album: Visions
Label: CI Records
Release Date: March 15, 2011
Reviewer: Eric Pettersson
Tracklisting
- Intro
- King Tut
- Only a Prime Can Beat the Fallen
- Jezebel
- Terrified
- Interruption
- Tell the Whole World
- Davy Jones’ Locker
- Visions
- Grace
I Am History’s Visions reminds me of the style that first got me into heavy music. The pounding beat has me bobbing my head from start to finish. The rich guitar work flows effortlessly, full of crisp highs and heavy lows. The vocals are fierce, using a standard mid-range hardcore vocal with plenty of shrieks and growls thrown in to mix things up. The lyrics are very focused on the spiritual in a positive and uplifting way, emphasizing the nearness of God and our infinite dependence on God. The first song, “King Tut,” has an incredible breakdown that will tear you apart, making it a very strong opener. Other highlights include the occasional clean vocals and melodic elements on songs like “Terrified” and “Davy Jones’ Locker,” pulling in a bit of an Underoath influence to this otherwise Haste the Day and August Burns Red kind of album. I Am History also make frequent use of what I call the “boom” in hardcore music, that powerful blast of bass at the end of a riff or verse. It’s stuff like this that reminds you why hardcore kids get subwoofers in their cars.
Overall: While there are a few points of experimenting, Visions focuses on taking a pretty straightforward metalcore sound (more core than metal) and doing it to the best of their ability with heavy beats and blazing riffs. The message is centered on God’s providing for us and being with us, but it does so in a way that makes God seem very big and powerful, ready to kick some butt in defense of God’s children. If you like some good chugga-chugga with strong Spirit-filled lyrics, check out the latest Pennsylvania hardcore band, I Am History.