Reviews

For over a year the band that has been on the tip of everyone's tongue at hardcore shows across the country is Trapped Under Ice.  From the punks to the thrashers to the street kids, I've heard every type of hardcore kid confess how much they love the band. When I hear so many people talking about a band it makes me not want to like them; unless I can't resist. I mean I can't remember a show that I've been to in the past year where someone didn't bring up Trapped Under Ice  (T.U.I.) and for a while,I was able to resist getting into them. A couple months ago I started getting into the Demo and a bit of the "Stay Cold EP," I still couldn't say that I was sincerely into them like others. So I was going to give the full length a chance. Not only did this record convince me that this band is worth all of the attention, but it made me finally see what everyone else had been seeing.

If you're familiar with T.U.I. you know that the band has gotten better with each release. This remains the truth for "Secrets of the World."  With just the first two tracks "See God" and "Believe" the tempo for the rest of the album is already set. At the end of "Believe" there is a sample from the musical Hairspray, making Trapped Under Ice's connection to Baltimore even stronger. I was happy to see that they put "Gemini" on the full length, as it is my favorite song by the band. It was originally released on the split with Dirty Money. The album ends in about 30 minutes in 12 tracks; pretty much your typical hardcore LP length. The entire album is listenable from start to finish. Every song is solid and worth your attention.

For production the band had Dean Baltulonis for the position. Dean also recorded the "Stay Cold EP."  The result is a decently recorded hardcore album. I actually think he did a better job than on "Stay Cold"; the guitars, vocals and drums all sound noticeably better. The guitar playing has improved and the solos in several songs are impressive. Justice's vocals sound a little different on this release, not sure if he was going for something different or if the final outcome just sounded different. It's not a major difference, but it's noticeable. There are several guest vocals on the album, but I have no idea who any of them are. Lyrically, not much has changed from the past releases. The lyrics are still very honest and basic, focusing on situations that most people can understand and relate to.

This release will definitely be making a lot of best of 2009 lists. It may be on the top of the list in a lot of those lists. I think that the album lived up to the anticipation and the amount of talk about the band. It without a doubt took what they band had been doing and took it further. I feel like the album doesn't really disappoint anywhere. I would have liked them to re-record one of the songs from the demo, like "Soul Vice" or "Heavy Thoughts", but looking at their material now, it might not have fit on the album really. I gave the album 4 stars for a few reasons: first it's a debut full length, so giving it 5 stars is like against the rules, second I still feel like there was room for improvement and I think the next release will be that improvement.