Since October is Tooth and Nail's answer to the success of bands such as Decyfer Down and Red. Unfortunately, Life, Scars, Apologies does not show much improvement for the boys from Bradenton, Florida. The band and album take on the appearance of a chameleon. They play a wide array of radio rock, but it almost seems as if it is a parody album of other band's material.
The album starts with promise as the lead track "The Way You Move" gets things rockin'. This feels like the most original song on the album musically. The opening guitar riff, which is repeated throughout the song sounds like it is taken from Saliva's greatest hits album, but the rest of the song takes on a unique feel. The song is about a girl and the perfect love that is desired and prayed for.
The album then takes a quick down turn on the title track as Ben Graham and the band begin their rather poor Jacoby Shaddix and Papa Roach (Shaddix is the lead singer if you are unfamiliar with the band) impersonation. The song has a great meaning and talks about many of the problems and issues faced in his lifetime, but reminds that love can still be found despite these set backs. Graham seems to alter his voice to sound more like Shaddix, as the Papa Roach sounding guitar riffs play on, taking away from the song itself. The band goes on to touch on the musical styling of several other bands such as Korn, with the guitars in "Life of Mine," Decyfer Down, Red, and Disciple.
"Sober Love" is another highlight of the album. It is a slower love song that is admitting past mistakes and asking for a second chance with lyrics like, "Cause I need you more than you know, and I love you more than I show. Are you really gone? And what do I need to do for one more chance to love you." A couple of tracks later, "The Show," gets the pace up to a level equal to the opener. It's not a terrible song; just a generic radio rock song used to get things moving after a couple of slower songs.
"Made Up My Mind" is the second to last track on the regular version of the album and the last chance to win you over. This is another radio rock song in the vain of a band like Decyfer Down. It's a solid rockin' tune, but nothing ground breaking. The final track is by far the worst on the album, and brings things to a close leaving you with a bad memory of the record. "Don't Follow" is some sort of alt-country experiment with enough harmonica to last a lifetime. Few bands can pull off a harmonica, and Since October is not one of those bands. They change the pace up a couple of the times during the song, but never lose the droning on of the harmonica. The song clocks in at over four minutes, but feels like it's closer to ten. A better track listing may have placed "Made Up My Mind" as the final track instead; this may have given the listener a little brighter thought as the album closed.
Overall, this album is not quite as bad as this review may make it sound. There is solid musicianship throughout as well as mainly Christ-centered lyrical content that focuses on the experiences of the members' lives. The biggest issue with Since October is that they seem uncomfortable in themselves. Instead, they seem like carbon copies of other bands. You spend more time thinking, "Who does this song sound like?" instead of enjoying the music. If you're a fan of the same stuff they play on rock radio in constant rotation, these guys might be right up your alley, but if you want to hear something new in the world or rock, even solely in the world of Christian rock, you might want to stay away.
- Review date: 6/9/10, written by Michael Weaver of Jesusfreakhideout.com
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