Reviews

Solid State Records, the angry yet religious sister label to Tooth and Nail Records, is probably one of the best recruiting labels in its genre. Norma Jean, As Cities Burn, Haste The Day, He Is Legend, and Underoath all rep SSR. Life In Your Way recently released their first album with SSR, titled Waking Giants. Having passed over them earlier, this album proved itself almost immediately with the introductory thrill-ride “Reach The End.”  
 
A good “hardcore/screamo” band needs a decent drummer. In LIYW’s case, John Gaskill comes through on every track. The drums aren’t perfect, but they stand out straight through. While everyone would love for John Feldman to make your drums sound godly, they don’t necessarily need to be overproduced (not a crack at John Feldman). For me, this kind of music starts with the drums, but the guitar and vocals here drive the entire band. The screams contradict the music in a way that surely deserves recognition. While the music isn’t as hard as the screaming would let on, it sounds awesome and encourages you to turn it up.  
 
“We Don’t Believe” struck me as a perfect example for displaying LIYW’s range. It starts with a fast verse, followed by a somewhat catchy chorus, which goes into a pretty extensive and very exciting breakdown. I keep trying to compare them to other SSR bands, but they just won’t let me. The head-jerking breakdown is immediately followed by a showcase of their scarce but effective melodic side. Fortunately for Life In Your Way, their experience playing and recording with Indianola Records (in addition to their new, bigger label), has given them an opportunity to get it right. For a label debut, Waking Giants will make you want to add LIYW to your favorites on MySpace…for those of you who are into that sort of thing.  
 
So, there’s no wait necessary, Waking Giants is already available. If it’s Norma Jean and The Chariot you’re into, don’t expect too much, but this one should make most fans of the genre happy for the time being. If you’ve already got it, let me know what you think.