12 Stones – Anthem For The Underdog
Musically, 12 Stone’s ‘Anthem For The Underdog’ is a really good modern rock album. 12 Stones was able to work through their sophomore jinx (‘Potter’s Field’) and came back in a big way with a very refined piece in work in ‘Anthem For The Underdog.’ The band has a much more mature sound; gone is a lot of the needless screaming that has tarnished a lot of their previous work. Not saying that 12 Stones has ‘gone soft,’ but it’s just a lot cleaner sound.
From a purely religious perspective (they’re a Christian band), they left me somewhat disappointed. I ripped Paramore’s ‘Riot’ for it (on another site), and I’ll say the same thing to 12 Stones; you should announce your allegiances in your music, and don’t try to straddle the fence. If you’re going to go that route, don’t allow yourself to be marketed as a Christian band. The messages in the music are very vague; as a Christian, knowing I’m listening to a self-declared Christian band, I could pick out them out. But this album could have easily been dedicated to any ‘god’ or religious movement. The words ‘God,’ ‘Jesus,’ or ‘Christ’ aren’t used in any of the lyrics. 10 tracks, no deity. That’s very disappointing to me.
‘It Was You’ was easily the best track available on the disc in my not so humble opinion. I find it no coincidence that it is also the track that had the most overt spiritual overtones. The ballad’s message gives a moving and motivational perspective on the feelings that a new believer will typically feel. The vocals are very strong, the band plays powerfully but not to the point of being over powering, and the message was great. Excellent track.
‘Adrenaline’ was probably my least favorite. Nothing really ‘wrong’ with it, just wasn’t my style. It’s a track that probably would have been better off being saved exclusively for live performances, but it’s now a ‘single.’ I guess that’s why I’m a blogger and not a record exec. There’s no real ‘message’ or ‘story,’ it’s just a ‘get pumped up’ track. You might like it, and good for you if you do, but it’s going to be skipped frequently by me.
The remainder of the tracks on the disc seem to have an overall theme of over coming bad relationships, and then relying further upon God to help get us through our problems and issues. Everything is quite good; I don’t ever give corny ‘star’ ratings in my reviews, but I do use them as a personal reference when forming my initial impressions. Only one track was below a ‘three’, out of the ‘five’ that I use. That’s pretty good, because I’m really picky. Final word, this is a great album for Christians who miss their secular rock, but don’t have any intentions of going back to the ‘dark side.’ ‘Anthem For The Underdog’ is not worship material, but there are some good messages, and they sound better all the time as a band. Mildly recommended.
–Jeremy Hobbs
12 stones, anthem for the underdog, christian music, christian rock, music, rock
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February 14th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
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