Jesusfreakhideout.com: JFH Staff and Friends Pick Their "Top 10 Facedown Releases Of All Time"

I was not an early adopter of Facedown Records - a devout Solid State kid from the start, I was admittedly not curious enough in the '00s to discover another Christian heavy label, so nearly all of my love for the label has developed from the last nine to ten years of releases. With every new signing and release, Facedown has come to represent to me an absolute authenticity: in sound, in presentation, and in message. The quality and the variety has only improved through the years, but the faith-based message has never wavered, and the music never feels overly packaged in a way designed for mass appeal. Facedown bands and releases are always true to exactly what they are, and even if I don't love every release the same, I know I'll never find a lack of sincerity. Here are my ten favorites from the label.

And one very important honorable mention to an album by The Burial: 2013's In the Taking of Flesh. A remarkably intricate technical death metal powerhouse, it is now most memorable for the blisteringly intense drum performance by the late Kaleb Luebchow, who tragically passed shortly before the writing of this article. His ferocity behind the kit leaves a lasting memory of a fearless believer and a brilliant musician gone home far too soon. RIP Kaleb. --- Evan

10. Means, To Keep Me From Sinking
(2008)

A blend of catchy punk vibes and post-hardcore, this is the only album from the pre-2013 era that I always go back to. Means is one of many bands on the label that it feels like we never quite heard enough from.

9. Extol, Extol
(2013)

I didn't think we would ever see (or ever deserved) a return by this incredible band, but their 2013 album was such a perfect and artistic return to form, blistering with technical metal explosions and quite possibly their best album.

8. Deathbreaker, Disconnect
(2017)

I need to give some Pacific Northwest love to one of the best Facedown signings of the past five years. The grindy dissonance of early Norma Jean co-exists perfectly with lengthy interludes of quiet beauty.

7. Sleeping Giant, I Am
(2018)

I didn't actually think I was a fan of this type of straight-up fist-pumping hardcore before this, but this exceptionally-produced album captures the best parts of the energy of live hardcore music, with an impressive run of great guest appearances and wonderful choruses. "No Love" is a message that only resonates more every day four years later.

6. For All Eternity, The Will To Rebuild
(2017)

In a sea of fairly predictable and manufactured metalcore, this album completely crushes with the depth and sincerity of its anguish. There may not be a Facedown song more devastatingly raw than "September," vocalist Shane Carroll's tortured reflection on his recent divorce.

5. Everything In Slow Motion, Phoenix
(2013)

As far as "radio ready" hard rock, it doesn't get better on this label than EISM. But don't let that label be a disservice. This album is crunchy, ambitious, catchy, confident, and often beautiful. "Speak" featuring Blindside's Christian Lindskog is as good a single as you'll get from this style.

4. Hope For The Dying, Legacy
(2016)

You can certainly praise any HFTD album to the heavens (while also lamenting the fact that you almost certainly haven't seen them live), but I will take their 2016 full-length as a true example of the best of the "epic metalcore" genre. Bold and confident, symphonic and brutal, all at once, it's a whirlwind of a listen and a technical masterpiece. We need more HFTD!

3. Dens, Taming Tongues
(2020)

A spectacular, noisy post-hardcore tour de force dripping with sweaty intensity and an all-time great vocal and lyrical performance by frontman Shaun Hypes. With barely a weak moment to be found, the album's biggest strength is its 11-track message, one that should resonate with many more people who find too much value in hearing their own opinions: Even foolish men are wise when they learn to keep quiet.

2. War of Ages, Supreme Chaos
(2014)

I can't imagine much argument to the statement that no band bears the standard of Facedown Records like War of Ages, now eight full-length albums into their 15+ year career, continuing to evolve and churn out faith-centered melodic metalcore. For me, their pinnacle came after the addition of Hope for the Dying's Jack Daniels as second guitarist and producer. While every WoA album has at least a couple great songs, never have they produced an album like this without a weak song to speak of - and particularly the middle trio of "Chaos Theory," "Lionheart," and "On Broken Wings" are emblematic of the memorable leads and near-perfect choruses that fill this incredible album.

1. Attalus, Into the Sea
(2015)

A dizzyingly epic post-rock masterpiece whose scope and intricacy is at once dazzling and impenetrable. It feels like I rarely have time to listen to this 78-minute concept album all at once, and the first few times I did, I felt nearly suffocated by its ambition. As time has passed since its 2015 release, it is now a treasure for me that I cherish listening to all the way through when I can, but feel just as joyful jumping around to whatever song I'm thinking about, observing with impressed awe the scale and the craft of the composition and performances. A band whose star burned out as quickly as it arrived, but left a brief legacy of brilliance.