GRITS' second installment, titled Factors of the Seven, came about three whole years following Mental Releases, their Gotee Records debut. While Mental Releases captured the inception of their clever rhythms and rhymes, their sophomore project was made to develop and expand them. Todd Collins did a great job here of mixing beats with the guys to give them a fresh new record that would acquire more attention in the Christian music industry than their previous one.

The messages in this album are also more directed to the heart of each issue that Coffee and Bonafide reach into. New issues covered include misconceptions, false appearances, hypocrisy, and other troubles in life. Three years in the making and now we have been given the Factors. So why such the long wait, you ask? Let us dive into it to see if we can answer that...

We begin with an intro repeating "This is no simple reform, it really is a revolution," before getting into "People Noticin' Me" which appropriately picks up from where Mental Releases ended. Other songs such as "Mirage," the gloomy "What Be Goin' Down," and "Comin' Home" will feel like they came from their previous work and were cleverly remastered. We also have "U.S. Open" which picks up the momentum while introducing newcoming artist, Knowdaverbs, and is the first track that will stand out on the album.

"Alcoholic Plagiarism" and "Ain't Sayin' Nothin'" are probably the best songs that will prove to listeners that GRITS have increased in maturity and talent. Knowdaverbs (now known as just Verbs) appears once again in the song "Hopes and Dreams," where you can also hear the background vocals from Out of Eden's Joy Kimmey. "Blame It On You" begins with a smooth piano, which deepens into a hip hop ballad explaining the troubles we as humans have experienced throughout the years while wrongfully casting blame on each other. This slower song would be an excellent closure to this disc, but then we have "Fragmentation" which sounds very irregular. Although it served as an awesome finale to the GRITS live set, it seems as if it should have been placed before "Blame It On You" on the album.

The second half of Factors of the Seven really justified why these guys have been hard at work touring and writing music in the three year span. The sophomore effort indeed was an improvement of a record that seemed almost unheard of. More importantly, it served as a classic stepping stone album that would eventually lead us on to their next exciting project. I truly believe without Factors, you could not have reached the Grammatical Revolution.

- Review date: 10/24/07, written by Patrick Anderson