Reviews

Metal fans unite and rejoice...this album will make you want to get all of your chains, spikes, and hair product out of the trunk in your closet. Salt Lake City, Utah’s I Am The Ocean took their time with their recent Uprising Records release …And Your City Needs Swallowing, and I didn’t need a press release to tell me that. The album speaks for itself. Most of the songs on the eleven track LP exceed the five-minute mark, which is great if you can keep your listener interested until the end. This album really helped me to try and separate hardcore from metal.
 
The music is pretty good, but it’s not as tight or as interesting as some of the other talent Uprising has to offer. The main issue I was having with …And Your City Needs Swallowing was lead man Kellen’s “throaty demon calls” as the band put it on their Myspace (seeing as they don’t have a website yet). I’m not staging a coup on his voice, but there’s something off in the way they (music and vocals) should compliment each other, but don’t.
 
The band says that …And Your City Needs Swallowing is a concept album about finding oneself, which doesn’t really come across so well. According to the band, their views are brought forth as one big conversation. It’s a bold statement and all, but when you write every song in a “conversational manner,” it can sometimes sound…High Schoolish.
 
I mentioned earlier that longer songs aren’t a bad life choice, as long as your listener isn’t falling asleep. I enjoyed this album, but not enough to call myself a newfound fan. While I can appreciate how much thought and effort went into the production of this album, I found myself bored with how the songs dragged on.
 
Overall, …And Your City Needs Swallowing is a fine album that many metal fans will enjoy…but in a scene filled with unique and individual acts, its ultimate inability to provide anything refreshing or new leaves the listener unimpressed and uninterested.