Album Review :
TAKE - The Dead Will Rise

Although TAKE has been around for some time, this review will serve as an introduction to many. In the current climate of the long standing pillars of Christian metal being slowly eroded away with time, (Sleeping Giant, Haste the Day, For Today, Hands) it is vital that new bands come and pick up where they left off. Not only continuing Christian metal, but metal with such a strong stance in faith; this is where Take comes into play.

The 2017 EP The Dead Will Rise is anthem of what can be accomplished in faith. The short opening song gives off a feeling of old Sleeping Giant. Right Now is a fast paced hardcore with screams, yells, and breakdowns. Lyrically, it calls out the lukewarm, the complacent and calls them to devotion.

Seamlessly transitioning into the strongest song on the 7 track EP, Abandoned begins with brutal honest lyrics coming from a deep betrayal, “You ripped my heart out and fed me lies, you pushed the knife deep in to my back and watched me die, all I can say is you feel nothing at first, then the world comes crashing down on you.” However the true message of the song is the power of grace given through faith. The following verse speaks, “I couldn’t move, so You set my feet in motion, I lost my site, so You restored my vision, I struggled to love and You showed me the cross, I struggled to forgive and You showed me Your hands.”

The following is one of the catchier songs on the album with prevalent double bass and lead guitars. The song centers on the fight within oneself against the nature of sin to give up, that true atonement isn’t possible. It’s a common theme of the entire album; resisting doubt regardless of whatever troubles may come and staying true to one’s faith. A testament to TAKE’s ability as musicians and songwriters is when there is such an emphasis placed on near worshipful lyrics, oftentimes the music can be lacking with bands in this genre. However, this is not the case with The Dead Will Rise. They even travel outside the boundaries of traditional hardcore and mix a bit of rapping into the fourth track, My Story.

Never Forgotten takes another personal tone of a loved one who is no longer here. The song screams with vehemence that they will never be forgotten despite whatever time passes. It’s a sentiment and a promise that hits home. The EP ends similarly to how it began, with a fast, in your face screaming/gang vocal filled verse maintaining a theme of praise.

The timing of this EP couldn’t have come better placed, with there being a glaring hole wanting to be filled in the Christian metal world. The album is relentlessly honest, yet with the diversity of songwriting and style, can be repeated without blending too much into each other.

RIYL: Sleeping Giant, Take It Back!, Call To Preserve