Hailing from Dallas, Texas and having formed in 2001, southern hard rockers One Minute Halo are a major force to be reckoned with. Their list of musical influences include such big name bands as Trapt, Incubus, POD, Killswitch Engage, Taproot, Project 86, and Story of the Year. As mentioned on their official website, Oneminutehalo.com, their objective and desire is to reach the masses with their music and bring a positive influence to a negative world.

Their latest effort is a mix of 6 songs clocking in at just over 20 minutes that have their influences permeating the entire album. The album opener "Replaced" begins with an eclectic guitar lead-in and discusses emotional pain and the hope found in the Son as past memories begin to fade away in His unfailing love. The songs "Cherish" and "Making New" almost have the exact same intro as each other but include different arrangements throughout the meat of both tracks. The melodic feel of "Fallen" serves as a wonderful message of human frailty and a peace that is not found within the confines of this world. The musical arrangements continue to accentuate beautiful melodies and hard rock riffs with "When Words are Few" and the more Taproot-esque "Drifting." Unfortunately, I was saddened that the EP had to come to an end after just six amazingly crafted songs that exhibit virtually no flaws.

Fans of bands such as Trapt, 3 Doors Down, Stavesacre, Spoken, and even Tool will love the sounds and vocal abilities of One Minute Halo. They might not bring complete originality through their music, but the fact that they maintain a strong faith in the Almighty throughout their lyrics and having opened for bands like Nonpoint and Sevendust is proof enough to believe that they are anything but one's typical run-of-the-mill rock band. One Minute Halo's self-titled EP is without a doubt, in this writer's opinion, one of the best indie releases of the summer.

- Review date: 9/12/05, written by Paul Portell