Band: In The Midst Of Lions
Album: Out Of Darkness
Label: Strike First Records
Release Date: May 26, 2009
Reviewed By: Chris W
Tracklisting:
01. Awaken the Dawn
02. Tongues Of Fire
03. Out Of Darkness
04. Field Of Blood
05. Paid In Full
06. Manifesto
07. Crucifixion And Burial
08. He Is Risen
09. Herod’s Demise
10. Into The Light
As deathcore become more and more popular, just like all the other “xCore” genres, one band makes a wave and 100 more jump on for the ride. Many of them are for sure crap, some of them are decent, others are excellent. Bands in all three of those categories will gain intense followings without a doubt. The question is, which ones are actually worth your time.
In The Midst Of Lions is a 5 piece from St. Louis, MO. Having not heard anything from this band prior to signing I immediately scoured the interwebs for any old demos or EPs that may have been self released, after not finding anything I settled down into their Strikefirst Records debut “Out Of Darkness” And what I found excited me.
Falling between the speed and ferocity of bands such as At The Throne Of Judgment or Bring Me The Horizon and the slow plodding heaviness of bands like With Blood Comes Cleansing, this album should satisfy any fan of the genre’s tastes. The vocals alternate between high pitched shrieks and low growls, leaning more towards the low end for most of the album. The track Herod’s Demise starts with a vocal delivery I have yet to hear any other band of this style use. The breakdowns are more memorable and creative than most, one sticks on in my mind on the song Tongues Of Fire with its melodic guitar riffs layered overtop. And there are enough pinch harmonics to make any deathcore fan happy. As always one of the first things I look to are lyrics, one of my favorites on this album is the opening of Paid In Full “your life is not your own”. I’d like to give the band kudos as well, most bands have an intro that’s just noise, or its goofy, or it’s the heavily overdone orchestral. Not ITMOL, for them it’s scripture passages regarding praise and worship. Whereas many bands are more concerned with being the most epic or heaviest, ITMOL are concerned with praising their God. They are definitely putting their faith and sharing it far ahead of success and fame.
Overview: One of the best praise and worship based metal releases available. This debut is sure to bring scene wide recognition to In The Midst Of Lions not just for it’s music, but for it’s message as well.
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