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JFH Music Review


A Plea for Purging, The Life and Death Of...
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A Plea for Purging
The Life and Death Of...



Artist Info: Discography
Album length: 14 tracks: 55 minutes, 9 seconds
Street Date: November 8, 2011


A Plea For Purging returns a year after their last release with their newest effort, The Life and Death of A Plea For Purging. At first listen I was a little disappointed, that is, until "Room for the Dead" kicked in seven tracks into the album.

The dissonance in the guitar was exactly what I was waiting for. While there was a little of it early in the album, it really stepped up for this track. To top off the best music on the album came lyrics that absolutely made me smile as Andrew Atkins screams out, "There's a battle for my soul between God, the devil, and rock 'n' roll." As a musician who has been in a few bands myself, I get it. As Christians, we all fight a battle between God and the devil as each desire to be the center of our lives, but it is interesting, and worthy of consideration, to throw music into the mix, especially when it's your career. This amazing piece of music could probably carry the album to a three star rating on its own if the rest of the album was weak. Thankfully, it is not.

Going back to the beginning with a new look, the album started falling into place as a logical progression from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, and is possibly the band's best work to date. It is probably their least "metal" album so far. I will explain by saying it is still metal, but the music is more diverse and softer at times, the guttural growls are gone (aside from a brief section in "Heart of a Child"), there are clean vocals throughout the entire album, and there are three completely clean, and mostly acoustic, tracks. Atkins' vocals are predominately deeper screamed vocals that are easily understood throughout most of the album.

The album may be disappointing for those who like a lot of growls and grunts, but for those who tend to stay away from metal because they like their music sans the lyric sheet, this may be right up your alley. While on the topic of lyrics: This isn't the most spiritual album you will find from the Facedown family, but it isn't devoid either. It is, however, dark and angry at times, especially in "My Song." Atkins screams, "In the winter of 2010 I lost my mother to the barrel of her loaded gun. Two weeks later my dad lost the battle of his lifelong suicidal run." and, "If there's one thing I've learned, we're all put here to die." In contrast, the acoustic, "Hands and Feet" gives some hope as Atkins sings, "There's healing in His voice and freedom in The Name."

The Life and Death Of... is most definitely another solid musical foray for one of Facedown's most notable bands. While some may feel slighted with an overall softer album, I'm intrigued and looking forward to see where they go next. It's always good to see a band progress, and A Plea For Purging is doing just that. Even if you're not a big metal fan, this one is worthy of your time.

- Review date: 11/3/11, written by Michael Weaver of Jesusfreakhideout.com



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JFH Staff's Second Opinion



The Life and Death of A Plea for Purging is a logical next step in A Plea for Purging's continuing diversification of their sound. Where once we had a band committed to steady, grinding breakdowns, we now have a band that can crank out dirty, riff-filled grooves and acoustic ballads simultaneously. More significantly, they can do so without seeming contrived or artificial. The Life... is also Plea's longest album, clocking in at nearly a full hour. Yet the album successfully avoids boredom or repetition, thanks in large part to the aforementioned sonic diversity. "Room For the Dead" is catchy enough to be a legitimate single, with a jumpy, vaguely rapcore rhythm, while "Words Misread" features some lovely de-tuned crunching that will make the headbangers very happy. Meanwhile, "Hands & Feet" is an all-clean-vocals acoustic track similar to "The Jealous Wings" on The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. As was true in that album, the clean vocals strengthen the rest of the album by providing a nice point of contrast. A Plea for Purging have shown that they're willing to expand their sound and experiment in new directions, and the end result is another great metal album for us to enjoy. - Timothy Estabrooks, 11/10/11

 

. Record Label: Facedown Records
. Album length: 14 tracks: 55 minutes, 9 seconds
. Street Date: November 8, 2011
. Buy It: iTunes
. Buy It: Amazon Music (MP3)
. Buy It: Amazon.com

  1. The Life (4:20)
  2. Music City (3:46)
  3. Heart of a Child (3:50)
  4. Miss Fortune (1:47)
  5. My Song (feat. Chad Johnson from Hundredth) (3:41)
  6. Skin & Bones (5:08)
  7. Room for the Dead (5:14)
  8. A Fight for Peace (4:41)
  9. Hell at Our Backs (1:42)
  10. Words Misread (4:32)
  11. Hands & Feet (5:39)
  12. Living The Dream (3:29)
  13. The Death (feat. Chad Urich of Venia) (5:04)
  14. The Setting Sun (2:23)
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