36 Crazyfists are back with their new album Rest Inside the Flames, their third album under the Roadrunner banner. The band's last album, A Snow Capped Romance, was a seriously solid effort. It showcased the band's marked progression from their previous outings, adding more catchy melodic choruses, and a healthier dose of aggression to their sonic arsenal. On the new album, they manage to not only capitalize on that, but expand upon it in a way that alot of "bigger" bands never will.
Opening track "I'll Go Until My Heart Stops" is classick 36 Crazyfists, and is a great way to start off the new album. There are elements in this song that bring to mind the previous albums opener "At the End of August", only with more dynamics. "Felt Through a Phone Line" is where the band really starts to shine. There is a noticeable level of maturity in the song writing, both musically and lyrically. More melody is injected into the sound, and there are more "clean" vocals. This helps to off-set the song in a good way, causing the melodies to sound much softer, and when the band does shift into overdrive, the aggression sounds much heavier. This is consistent throughout the duration of the album.
"Elysium" features guest vocals from Howard Jones of Killswitch Engage. This is without a doubt, the most aggressive track on the album. Musically, this is still very much in line with what 36 Crazyfists is known for. But there is a nod to the metalcore stylings of the above mentioned vocalist that set this track apart. In direct contrast to "Elysium", "Aurora" is by far the albums catchiest track. Brock's signature clean vocals are present throughout the majority of the song, and the chorus has a Pop "sing along" quality to it that immediately sticks in your head.
The albums closing track "The City Ignites" is interesting in that it's an acoustic track, which is definitely NOT typical of 36 Crazyfists. It shows a completely different side of the band, and is really a great "ballad", minus any sappy lyrical content. What makes it even more interesting is that it's an acoustic rendition of one of the albums previous tracks, "A Midnight Swim". Some may not catch that the first time around, but after repeated listens you'll find yourself singing the same set of lyrics that you just sang along to several tracks prior. This is not a bad thing though. Most bands are truly hard pressed to successfully pull off good acoustic renditions of their own songs. Fortunately, that's not the case here.
