Indian Valley, Pennsylvania's native Christian melodic hardcore quartet rework some older songs, but keep pushing the envelope with their second full length. Live Again is a promise from Armory Infirmary that they will continue to make leaps and bounds with their sound, and will never compromise their faith along the way.
In January of 2014, Armory Infirmary released their first EP, entitled Rest. The EP was comprised of 5 songs, and showed a drastic shift from the more straight metalcore-driven sound on their first full-length, When Ships Were Wood & Men Were Steel, released in April of 2013. For the full length, Armory reworked 4 of the 5 songs on the Rest EP ("Departed", "Rest", "Fraud" and "Keeper") whilst pumping out 6 brand new songs. The record shows its diversity pretty quickly into its life...track 3, "Departed", kicks right in with vocalist Jon Crossland shouting "my thoughts are eating me alive." and powers through as a banger, sure to get listeners pumped. Yet track 4, "Confession", taps into the softer end of the band's music spectrum. The lyrics, which paint a portrait of watching a loved one die in a hospital, almost brings the listener to tears. The record's final track, "Keeper", is essentially a statement from Crossland that, no matter what hardships he endures in life, he will always be able to find peace with Christ. Perhaps the most important lyric on this album ("every time, it never fails, you always pull me back.") plays out as the record's final message.
While the band's sound might be a little hard to get into at first due to Crossland's more rough and coarse vocal style, the band will rope in fans with their distinct melodic hardcore sound and Christian lyrics.
The album can be purchased here.
Songs to check out: "Departed", "Confession", "Keeper"
Rating: 8.5/10