Free Music Friday
Free Music Friday: Week One
Day 3: “Wake” from Hail The Sun

Jensen’s Album Rating: 9/10

“Progressive Post-Hardcore” is not a common or easily accomplished genre. Hail the Sun shows everyone else how it’s really done in “Wake”. Their sound and style has matured in every aspect in the short two years that it has been since “Elephantitis” released back in 2012.

The comical lyrics that fans have grown to know and love from their previous releases have been replaced with deep and introspective lyrics. I think it is a great change, and I was a huge fan of their old style and lyrics. Much of their old songs talked about girls and ex girlfriends. “Wake” has it’s fair share of these kinds of songs, but it has many others that range from religion and disbelief, death, and even police brutality.

Vocalist and drummer Donovan Melero has gained a lot of skill in writing and even singing since “Elephantitis” came out. I think part of this has to do with his own maturity, but most of it seems to come from his participation in the Blue Swan supergroup Sianvar. He seems to have gotten a better grasp for his true sound and style.

The instruments have always been interesting, technical, and progressive in their previous albums, but they all stepped it up for “Wake”. “Cosmic Narcissism” highlights their true talent. It’s the most heavily guitar influenced song on the album and shows how they can shred and then add their progressive slower sections. “Relax/Divide” takes a more mellow and slowed down twist on their music, and it’s actually one of my favorite tracks on the album because it’s so different from the rest.

“Wake” has been playing on repeat since it came out and I could not suggest it more. If you want to download the album, follow this link: http://hailthesun.bandcamp.com/

Day 2: Between the Buried and Me Releases New Live DVD On Sept. 30, Between the Buried and Me released their long awaited live DVD, “Future Sequence: Live at the Fidelitorium”. Unlike their previous live DVD for “Colors”, this isn’t footage from a concert. It’s in a studio type setting with no crowd. “Future Sequence: Live at the Fidelitorium” is a very intimate and personal performance that features the full band along with seven guest musicians. This is the best live performance I’ve ever seen and I highly recommend everyone watching it. The DVD is available at Best Buy, F.Y.E, and online stores. If you’d like to buy it online, here’s a link: http://www.indiemerch.com/metalbladerecords/search/?q=Fidelitorium

Day 1: Jensen’s Top Five Concept Albums