After touring their act independently for several long years, Kingston Falls has earned the support of Facedown Records to present the national hardcore scene with their grandly titled debut, Armada on Mercury.
The record sets sail with a valiant intro of strings, bells, and snare rolls that feels just like a soundtrack for a magnificent fleet of ships "destined for glory" and segues into the title track with a few tasteful bars of acoustic guitar before launching into the predicted electric surge with a scream of "GODSPEED!" The five minutes that follow are played out with more passable screams and a harmonized chorus accompanied by conventional guitar riffs, off-beat snare, double bass, and a few dings of a triangle. The rest of the album remains in the same vein, taking a steady course of the band's enjoyable punk metal style with an evident element of randomness (short interruptions of cowbell, acoustic guitar, bells, strings, etc…)
The lyrics are mostly written about romance and relationships, but God is present and Christian value can be found. The commendable words of "On Contentment" chant, "compassion must be our calling… put yourself aside and bring someone to life". "The Illusionist's Dream" screams against hopelessness in depression saying, "When you're between redemption and suicide, hate is all you have. This is the illusionist's dream. There's no happy ending. Alone, condemned, disguised… Grace defies the masquerade."
Armada on Mercury is decent for a debut album that will probably sell successfully at the merch tables while on tour. It may not make big waves in the competitive modern Christian hard music market and there are definitely moments that bring the skip button to mind, but there are also a good number of gratifying moments throughout the 50 minutes of play time that prove the potential of Kingston Falls. It's a thumbs-up album achieving the next level for a band with determination that should be expected to mature and improve in the future.
- Review date: 4/6/08, written by Tim Harro of Jesusfreakhideout.comRecord Label: Facedown Records
David And Nicole Binion Release First of Three New EPs Today Thu, 28 Mar 2024 16:19:00 EST |
iNTELLECT Shares How Christ Took Away His Blame On New Single Thu, 28 Mar 2024 16:15:00 EST |
Spoken Worth Debuts New Double Single Bundle, "Holy Week" Thu, 28 Mar 2024 16:05:00 EST |
Jeff Deyo, Brenton Brown, Charlie Hall, and More Reimagine Powerful '90s Worship Songs on "Break Through the Stars" Thu, 28 Mar 2024 15:55:00 EST |
NEEDTOBREATHE's Sold Out Red Rocks Performance Set to Stream Globally May 19 Wed, 27 Mar 2024 14:25:00 EST |
Hezekiah Walker Celebrates 30th Anniversary of Love Fellowship Tabernacle Wed, 27 Mar 2024 14:15:00 EST |
Alex Henry Foster Announces New Album, "Kimoyo" Wed, 27 Mar 2024 13:55:00 EST |
Demi-Leigh Tebow to release debut book this August Mon, 18 Mar 2024 21:20:38 +0000 |
LIFELINE CHILDREN’S SERVICES, GRUPO NELSON PUBLISHERS CO-HOST BOOK LAUNCH AND SIGNING FOR “WHOSE AM I?” Thu, 14 Mar 2024 15:49:00 +0000 |
EEM’s Bibles for Kids Initiative to Provide 570,000 Free Bibles to Children & Teens in 2024 Mon, 04 Mar 2024 22:33:43 +0000 |