Icon For Hire's The Grey EP kicks off with "Carried Away," which has a very interesting intro. Icon for Hire is definitely harder rock, so if you like hard music, you will like these guys. The lyrics speak of going through hard times, yet being strong and pulling through. "Carried Away" is overall a decent song; I just find that it doesn't break the mold to pieces. The lyrics really pull this song from about a two to a four, and the music fits the song perfectly; it just seems a little too familiar.

"Fall Apart" is a personal favorite of the band's. Ariel's vocals are strong and the music is also rock solid. "Fall Apart" carries on the theme of never giving up, declaring "Seize our families, take our homes away, we don't fall apart, we don't fall apart!" The only problem I have with this song is the guitar on the verses sounds a bit rough, but perhaps it was intentional. It's not horrendous, but it did catch my attention. The bridge gives us another yell, and it's a little creepy (in my opinion), but it actually fills out the song quite nicely.

Rounding out the EP is another fantastic song, "The Grey." The lyrics are really raw and relevant. The theme of this song is how we can be caught in sin, yet in our most horrible times, we are still loved by God. This song isn't quite a ballad, but does slow things down a bit. Ariel's vocals once again shine, and the music is beautiful. It's the perfect closer for the short EP.

Icon For Hire shows great promise, and I can't wait to hear their new stuff. If you're a fan of Flyleaf, Paramore, I Am Empire, etc, I think you will like Icon for Hire.

Review date: 4/27/11, written by Lisa P for Jesusfreakhideout.com