Reviewed by Peter John Willoughby

I've been keeping an eye on Dreamt Music, a division of Facedown Records, because of the alternative artists that they have signed. My Epic are a post-hardcore rock band from North Carolina that appeal to fans of Thrice, Cool Hand Luke and Copeland. When asked about the album, the band said "'Yet' is about the distance between that which has already been travelled, overcome, and discarded, and the journey still to come. It is about the evidence, even now, of what will be. It is about a God who is so brilliantly and blindingly big that our rational minds can only be left to cower at His depths. He is so magnificent that we cannot yet look him in the eye and yet He desires to live within us. It is about the hope that arises when one truly realises that we will be completely undone when we stand before him and yet he loves us still and makes us what we could never be on our own." On this release the band sound more immediate which I suspect has a lot to do with spending three weeks with producer Matt Goldman (Underoath, Anberlin) at his Atlanta studio. Opening with reverberating feedback in "Author" My Epic interpose huge riff-laden soundscapes with clean sections. My favourite track is "Lower Still" with down-tuned rumblings, guest vocals by Micah Boyce (So Long Forgotten) and raging emotions and a hugely powerful lyric about the crucifiction ("Beat in his face; tear the skin off his back/Lower still/Lower still/Strip off his clothes; make him crawl through the streets/Lower still/Lower still/Hang him like meat on a criminal's tree/Lower still/Lower still/Bury his corpse in the earth like a seed, like a seed, like a seed/Lower still!") Then there is "Lashes" which shudders with the intensity of broken relationships and using the hurt to lash out at others. It ultimately asks if God can bring redemption ("Have I loved too many daughters to ever be whole?/I'm ashamed that you love me/Send grace for the hearts that I stole.") The band take a more thoughtful approach in the following section, particularly showcasing their vocal harmonies in "Patience And Silence". After a melodic start there are guitar histrionics ending "Sound And Fury" and linking through into "Pour". My Epic have matured into a force to be reckoned with.

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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