| With Rise, Army Of Me walks a dangerous line between taking risks and trying way to hard to blow your mind. Thankfully I can tell you that while the pieces of my mind are still safely in my head they came pretty damn close to shooting out my ears. Army Of Me prove that there's nothing to lose with "Rise" they have sucessfully put out an EP that matches the intensity of full-fledged albums that also showcases lyrical content that's brilliant yet catchy at the sametime.
As the great group Poison taught us, ever rose has it’s thorn and "Rise" has a pretty glaring one for me. The demo of "Saved Your Life", adds a ton of bonus points for Army Of Me, a classic heartfelt rocker that is bound to get you swaying back and forth. Yet there are two demos out of the five tracks we're offered, these demos aren't your typical demos they sound clean, crisp, and clear.
Army Of Me prove that with only five tracks to show they pack a punch and it just makes you anxious to hear what they have in store for 2007. This level of growth and maturity on a EP is almost unheard of and frankly it’s inspiring from the demos to the true tracks it's really hard to believe. I can’t think of another band right now that could make fans of The Starting Line, Thursday, and any sort of mainstream pop artist as happy as "Rise" will make them. Screw a genre, buy this record when it drops so you don’t have to when it’s popping up on end of the year top ten lists.
~ Wayne
October 31 2006 |
