Out of Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, comes Akissforjersey with their sophomore release, titled Victims. Now, Akissforjersey may not be the most heavily advertised band in the world, but they do have a lot of potential.

The album opens with the melodic, upbeat track, "Devises." Zach Dawson's clean vocals blend perfectly with the speedy guitar licks from Cory Wood and Matthew Bean. And near the end of the song, you find that Zach's vocal range is abnormally high, allowing him to reach all of the higher notes without any trouble. The next track, "Oh Infamous City," is another upbeat and very catchy song. In this one, you hear more speedy guitar, brutal double bass drum riffs, and more clean vocals from Zach that totally blend in with the song. And other tracks that stand out in the album are "Believe," "Faces," "Parallels," and "The Flood."

And besides the fact that Akissforjersey contains brilliantly talented musicians, there is also a spiritual message behind each of their songs. Like in "Oh Infamous City," the message behind it is that society has a lack of faith, so if we stand up for what we believe, we could change that. And in "Believe," they are saying to never lose faith because God is always by your side.

Despite the great musicianship and spiritual messages the band provides throughout the whole album, the songs do seem to get a little bit repetitive. For example, the songs "II" and "The Evidence" sound quite similar. But overall, this is an album that all of you screamo/experimental fans have to pick up and give a listen.

Review date: 10/1/08, written by Tyler Hull for Jesusfreakhideout.com