Band: Sobre Todo Nombre
Album: AbbaFather
Label: Come&Live!
Release: 6/19/12
Reviewer: Brody B
Tracklisting:
- Intro
- I Give It All
- Strengthless
- The Voice Of The Righteous
- Soneto de Gratitud
- Abba Father
- Children Of Light
Come&Live! is not known for having heavy bands. While they have a handful of said heavy bands, they are more well known for having ambient or indie bands. However, the one thing that transcends any sort of genre is the label’s reputation for music centered on spreading the good news of Jesus Christ; this major factor is what ties the somewhat odd band out, Sobre Todo Nombre (Or to English only readers, Above Every Name), to such a mild mannered label.
With the reputation of being a Christ- centered label, one would expect a passionate and worshipful outpouring from any band on the label, and Sobre Todo Nombre are no exception. After the calming electronic “Intro”, the band turns the volume up to eleven and blazes into “I Give It All” which immediately finds the vocalist declaring, “I give my all to You/ I give my heart to You/ My hands reach out to You”, lyrically setting the tone for what’s come.
Speaking of tone, the musical backing of the band is solid, with chunky breakdowns, slick leads, and a pulverizing rhythm section. The musical prowess of Sobre Todo Nombre is most evident in the track, “Strengthless”. Guitar sweeps and solos abound, backed solidly by bass grooves and a plethora of drum beats, ever changing throughout the duration of the track.
“The Voice of the Righteous” is nothing less than epic. The track starts out with a riff reminiscent to something Dragon Force might bring to the table, which is soon backed by blast beats and a hefty groove. The musical journey continues to rapidly progress and change until about the minutes and a half mark when leveling breakdown of, “We will raise a nation of hope/ Hell trembles because the inhabitants of heaven will dominate” lays waste to your speakers.
“Soneto de Gratitud” is a track sung in the band’s native language. There has always been something that strikes me in a significant way hearing praises in foreign languages, especially when things of a magnitude such as, “Show me your ways/ Teach me to follow/ Hold me in your eternal love” are being spoken. The vocalist is at the top of his game on this track, changing pitches more frequently than any other track on the album.
Things are mixed up a bit with the mostly acoustic track, “Abba Father”. While I thought the overall tone of the song was cool; very stripped down with light drums, acoustic guitar with a distant electric leads, and minimal bass, I felt that the singing rubbed me the wrong way. It seemed too disjointed, like one pitch could not be settled on. The coolest part of the song is the breakdown that comes in full band, however, it felt a little too drawn out and outstays its’ welcome.
This short album comes to an end with, “Children of Light”. It starts disjointedly, showing a ton of talent from each member, but it all feels too cluttered to really focus on one thing. Much of the song continues to feel disconnected to me with all the instruments fighting for the forefront and some strange tempo changes along the way (Coming from the guy whole loves The Chariot). This is not to say all that is brought forth is not talented, it certainly is.
For as surprised as I was with all the positive aspects this record has going for it, I had a few flaws with it. I felt that it was a front loaded release, with most of the memorable moments coming before “Soneto de Gratitud”. I found myself becoming bored during most of the remainder of the record. I also found myself wishing for a little more vocal variation. While I think he has a strong and somewhat unique voice for the genre, I would have loved to hear him push his limits and try to hit some different pitches.
Overall: Sobre Todo Nombre are a band that certainly have talent and a bright future ahead of them if they are willing to make some minor improvements and their Come&Live! debut, AbbaFather showcases that. Yet, what AbbaFather does more than show talent from this group of guys is show their heart for Jesus. This combination of faith and talent is a great fit for Come&Live!, hopefully meaning a long lasting partnership and more music to come from a great group of musicians.
RIYL: Shai Hulud, Life In Your Way, War of Ages