No Life 'til Metal - CD Gallery

1. "Rise Above" (3:09)
2. "Come On Home" (3:52)
3. "The American Jesus" (3:59)
4. "Feed the Flesh" (3:46)
5. "The Down Road" (4:46)
6. "This Book" (3:51)
7. "Sin" (2:24)
8. "Fools Gold" (2:33)
9. "Blind" (2:37)

Southern fried Texas groove core! Fans of old C.O.C., Clearview, and Eternal Decision will certainly appreciate this band. However what sets them apart is the lyrical approach, which focuses almost completely on Christianity. Vocalist Rob Colwell, formerly of Sin for Sin., has a rough, modern sound to his voice.

1. "Won't" (1:46)
2. "Fear of God" (1:26)
3. "Carry Me To Heaven" (4:11)
4. "The Devil and Me" (3:21)
5. "Escape" (4:01)
6. "Casting Lots" (3:39)
7. "Fear Within" (3:55)
8. "Receive Him" (:05)
9. "Word to the Wise" (2:23)
10. "C.L.W." (2:50)
11. "Opiate For the Masses" (4:13)

"Bleed" is darker and heavier than "American Jesus" and features better production as well. Stylistically Faithbomb has pretty much remained true to their Texas groove-core sound, although they have added some elements of more modern metal styles. The shorter songs and a lack of guitar solos adds to this feeling as this seems to be the trend within nu-metal camps. Still, Faithbomb are no Limp Biskit or Korn. Vocalist Rob Colwell sings in a raspy, low register voice but doesn't let out even one rap. (Thank God!) Lyrically, Faithbomb are what their name implies, an in-your-face explosion of Christian values, ideals, and beliefs. "Receive Him" is a short cover of a song of the classic Vengeance Rising disc, 'Human Sacrifice".

Faithbomb - Abandon in Place (independent) 2014

1. Looking Back (3:24)
2. So Far Away (3:36)
3. The Absence Of Your Voice (2:50)
4. Safe (5:04)
5. The Wrong Thing (3:18)
6. Time (4:25)
7. Rise Above (3:08)
8. Stumbling Crawling (2:40)
9. Save Me From Myself (4:44)

The long awaited fourth and final album from Texas based groove metal band Faithbomb. The band initially disbanded back in the late 1990's with most of this material sitting around unrecorded, or partially recorded for years. In 2013 Faithbomb ringleader Rob Colwell decided to finish what he had started. What he did was rescued the drum tracks, recruit some friends to record the guitars and bass and then finally recorded all his vocals. With much blood, sweat and tears "Abandon in Place" came to be in 2014. Back in the day I remember Faithbomb were constantly compared to bands like Pantera, and while that may be a valid influence on the band, Faithbomb are hardly a Pantera clone. In fact, upon first hearing the opening track I thought of the band HavocHate.

"Looking Back" is up-beat, heavy and aggressive, driven by heavy riffs and Rob belting out the lyrics with a vicious thrash-like aggression. However, for a good part of the rest of the album Rob sings in a cleaner vocal style with an almost punk-like delivery. Other songs such as "The Wrong Thing" has Rob switching back and forth between the clean singing style and the grittier, more aggressive style. "Safe" is easily one of the more memorable songs on the album. Opening with a dark, melancholy guitar riff that breaks into a slow, plodding, heavy riff. The song ebbs and flows from the melancholy verses to the heavy chorus. "Rise Above" also stood out with it's chugging riff and gritty vocal delivery.

Though I didn't dig too deeply into the lyrics, the themes here seem quite personal and introspective. According to Rob, "...half the lyrics were written back around 02-03. The rest I wrote in the last few years. You'll see the changes I've gone through reflected in the words. It is my most personal writing to date."