The musical intensity of Symphony In Peril and Norma Jean. The harsh screaming vocals like that of Underoath. When you combine the two, it seems it's safe to say that Solid State Records' newcomers Oh, Sleeper and their debut album, When I Am God, will be hard for any hardcore lover to pass up.

Whether it's the loud and crunchy guitars in "I Will Become The Reaping," the technical drums with plenty of double bass in "To Flagship," or the throat-shredding screams in "Building The Nations," When I Am God is full of all the aspects of hardcore. Oh, Sleeper even pulls a page out of Demon Hunter's book, slowing it down a bit halfway through the album in "The Color Theft." And if you're one to never stray from the hardcore scene, you can rest assured that at about the halfway point of the song, it picks up and redeems itself with more of the loud stuff you came for.

Lyrically, this project focuses on humanity. In "Vices Like Vipers," vocalist Micah Kinard screams, "Why do we keep what holds us? Why do I keep what holds me down?." They're simple lyrics with deep meaning. This song also reveals the meaning of the album title, which might cause some confusion at first. "When I am God this church is unsound" is all about how life and the body of Christ is torn apart when everyone tries to be the most important thing in life, and not let God be God. A theme of God's mercy is present in "Charlatan's Host," when Kinard says "Oh, Forgiver! Where is justice in letting me live?" But through all the thoughts of failure and aching for God, the knowledge of His provision is existant as well. "We Are The Archers" talks of God being in control and always there for us, though sometimes we have no idea what exactly He is doing, "The Captain, what will He send? I know He will send, but what will be sent?"

There aren't a lot of flaws on the album. However, the songs seem to lack a sort of rhythm in the vocals. While it's not quite like the chaos of The Chariot, there are times when it seems like Kinard is trying to take one line and elongate it through the music to fill more time. But other than that, there's really not much to find fault with. I'll be looking forward to seeing what these guys do next.

- Review date: 11/10/07, written by Scott Fryberger