Reviewed by Peter John Willoughby

If you need a break from all the hardcore/metalcore bands currently on the scene, then its worth checking out Dreamt Music, the newly launched division of Facedown Records. My Epic is a progressive rock band from North Carolina who have recently been signed. Described as "The soundtrack of a hopeful youth shimmers inside the unassuming three piece that is My Epic. Deliberately penning lyrics to subvert all basic human nature, My Epic have become the unforeseen antidote to apathy with song after song evoking raw emotion wrapped in a palpable tenderness." You immediately know that there is something different when they open with a choral chant of "May it be the real I that speaks/May it be the real Thou that I speak to," from C S Lewis' Letter To Malcolm; Chiefly On Prayer. The post-hardcore style is closest to Thrice, whilst comparisons to As Cities Burn and Cool Hand Luke can be drawn. The album clocks up 58 minutes and doesn't feel rushed. This leaves plenty of time to let the songs develop and some are almost orchestral in structure. Aaron Stone's high-pitched, falsetto vocals tend to dominate the songs with soaring refrains. "Lest We Die" is a good example of the intricate lyrical content: "My neighbour is a better man than I/And from your hands do good things derive/So if my heart should swell/And of itself think well/Then humble me till I am fully thine." Whilst listening to "Communion" I kept expecting Robert Plant to burst in with "and she's climbing the stairway to heaven" as the vocal arrangement and phrasing bears striking similarities in places. The tracks build up from delicate beginnings, only for the guitars to be reigned back in, to build up to another near-climax. This is why "Men In Little Houses" is the standout track as the guitars and drums are finally allowed to dominate the vocals and we get to hear that they can actually produce some impressive riffs.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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