I was definitely not disappointed. These guys have a unique blend of heavy as hell and soft, almost to the point of emo. Normally I hate that kind of music, but something about these guys just makes me all warm inside. Or something. They’re a pretty badass sound.

My favorite track is probably the opening track, Deceiver, for its tasty riffs and perfect blending of heavy and light. If you’re looking for a good metalcore track to groove to, it’s great. In addition, The Fall starts out deceptively pop-ish but then turns into a pretty good metal track about a minute and a half in, and just sort of does this screaming vs. singing battle throughout, reminding me a little bit of As I Lay Dying’s style.

I won’t do a long-winded review, and I will mention that the album is a short 7 tracks long, but it’s definitely worth checking out, especially if you’re open to more than “it must be absolutely 100% full on death metal all the time forever”. Give the album a listen, check it out, perhaps buy it. You know the deal.

Bottom line: 7/10

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I pre-ordered my copy of the album through cmdistro.com. They told me it would ship on 6/23, a full week before the album officially releases. I figured that even with a few days shipping I’d still be able to get it early. Yesterday, it arrived. I tore open the packaging and plugged it in to give it a complete listen.

Here’s the tracklist:
  1.  Wake Up (3:48)
  2.  Lifted (4:08)
  3.  Smoke (3:08)
  4.  Something Invisible (2:57)
  5.  No Time To Bleed (2:22)
  6.  Suffer (3:56)
  7.  …and Then She Bled (3:55)
  8.  Wasted (3:13)
  9.  Your Creations (3:59)
10.  Genocide (2:17)
11.  Disengage (4:04)

Runtime 37:47

The first couple tracks, Wake Up and Lifted, are both heavy as hell, but I’m assuming you’ve all heard these already. Track 3, Smoke, starts out with this horror movie sounding effect, which is sure to shatter your eardrums if you turn it up too loud. A little drumming, and then the song starts. It’s loud, it’s angry, and it’ll throw you all over the place.

Right now, my favorite track on the album is No Time To Bleed, by far. This song is packed with so much brutality it’s insane. Some of the lyrics are “AND THIS IS NOT A CHURCH, AND I DO NOT PREACH, AND I HAVE NO TIME TO BLEED”. About 1:45 into the song is what I love so much about it. This breakdown is so immense and loud it’s hard to fight back the desire to destroy something whenever I listen to it.

Track 7, …and Then She Bled, is a bit of an interlude. This track has no vocals, overlaying what sounds like a 911 call where a woman is getting murdered. Ironically, this is probably one of the more relaxed tracks on the album. Wasted has one of my favorite ways to start a metal song; a loud blast from a drum and then the whole band starts in with all the grindcore rage that they do.

Overall, this album is an easy 5/5 from me. The vocals on this album have a bit of a different sound to them, but overall it definitely still has that brutal unique sound that only Suicide Silence seems to have. I think back to The Cleansing, with tracks like Unanswered, The Diseased, and In A Photograph, and I realize that they don’t really have directly comparable tracks. Some may dislike this, but personally I love it. The whole album is fresh, I don’t feel like I’m listening to The Cleansing, and that’s definitely a good thing.

As previously stated, For Today is pretty popular in the Christian community, but don’t let that scare you off if it isn’t your thing — whether you bow to Budha or Mark-Paul Gosselaar, there’s something here for everyone. A great follow up album since their release of Ekklesia (2008),  Portraits is everything that I could hope for from a new release. Vocals, guitar, drums, and bass — they’re all a bit more polished this go-round, and all-in-all it’s pretty tight.

As I’m writing this, Drew would like to contribute from the peanut gallery: “That album art is awesome.” Seconded.

Hit the jump to read more.

Track 1: Immanuel (The Challenger): Just your basic “metal intro” full of tasty breakdowns, triplets ‘n’ riffs.

Track 2: Saul of Tarsus ( The Messenger) – This is full of delicious breakdowns. I can see this song getting ridiculous during a show.

Track 3: Nicodemus (The Seeker) – Vocals are prime and ready to metal your face off.

Track 4: Joel (The Watchman)  – This one is a pretty slow starting, but awesome riff around :27 seconds in. I feel a ringtone one this one. Holy shit, wow. This song just got gross. From 2:21 till the end of the song. YES! brutal. VERY. (favorite)

Track 5: Immanuel (The Redeemer) -This (so far) is more of a punk-hardcore style. It’s a lot lighter on the ears, not as dark. Wait, yea, it changed to an awesome breakdown around the 1 minute mark.

Track 6: Elijah (The Forerunner) -

Track 7: Benedictus (Song of Zechariah) – I really like the melodic ending to this song. Really, like really really.

Track 8: Ezekiel (The Visionary) – Love the intro, emotions. “I will be afraid, for I am a chosen one of God”.

Track 9: Isaiah (The Willing) -This really has a good follow up to the previous track, really nice transition. But yet it still keeps it’s own pace. This has a trippy guitar “jingle” through a couple of parts. I digg it.

Track 10: Talmidim (The Servants) – This also has a good mix from the previous song. I had a feeling that this final track would be a good outro. Loving the vocals, no screaming. Just good on’ singing. WAIT – This is one thing that I personally don’t like; when you have a nice vocal track then mix a chant over it? No, not my thing. It flows nicely? It projects a good message.

Myspace: For Today

Buy Portraits

Buy Merch

Well, today is here, I have my copy of the album, from Amazon. I’ve been listening to it all morning, and I must say it’s a good album.

We start with The Greyman. This is truly the way to introduce your record. Running 1:12, without words, and full of badass, I was immediately impressed. The double bass here is perfectly timed, as I have come to expect, and overall the track gets you amped.

The first thing I notice once we get into the tracks with vocals is that the vocals have changed drastically from the Persephone Demos. Personally, I find this new “shouting” style to be inferior to the previous growling, and for me this detracts from the overall sound.

That’s not to say that it’s bad. The rest of the band continues to deliver that totally badass brutal sound, and while it’s different and I don’t personally like it the vocals are still pretty good.

All said, I’d rate it at a 4/5, and definitely advise you pick up a copy