Ekklesia

Ah, Ekklesia, such a humble debut on Facedown Records by the band For Today. We have many staples here that For Today are well known for on this ten track affair; such as breakdowns, melodic riffs, breakdowns, and breakdowns! All jokes aside, this album rips for what it is. Sure, a little rough around the edges compared to the albums that came after this, but that's what happens when you progress as a band. Mattie Montgomery's vocals are the rawest they have ever been and it honestly gives the album a more unique charm when (again) comparing them to later albums, and the instrumentals are all solid and audible for a debut album. I've been told that this album had came together as a culmination of all their workings while being bright eyed high school kids trying to make a band work. All their ideas came into fruition on these ten tracks, each with their unique flair, attention to detail, and not sounding like one long song of an album.

If anyone is familiar with For Today, they are a Christian band, and the lyrics on the album are front and center here, boldly proclaiming the gospel, and unashamed for their love of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. With the choice cut Agape, it is loud and clear for their love of God without feeling overly preachy, it gives me a feeling of strength and confidence when this song comes on. The majority of the lyrics are Christ centered and inspired, and there are also positive lyrics of hopefulness and love sprinkled throughout the record.

Like mentioned in the beginning of the review, For Today are known for their breakdowns, and they deliver them in spades. However, the chugs are quality and they don't stick around for too long throughout the album. The riffs themselves are top notch for 2008; all the melodic death metal riffs you could want out of a metalcore band. The leads are also tasteful and at times take a more center stage on the album. The bass is there as well, even popping up playing melodic lines to accompany the lead guitar lines. The drums are my second favorite part of this album, they provide the background needed for how rhythmic the riffs are being performed, good grooves when needed, and they are never stale, utilizing fills and/or off beat diddles to help move the album along. As previously stated, the vocals are quite raw compared to the following albums, but it doesn't take away from the overall sound the band was going for. Plenty of variation with high screams, low gutturals, and mid-range shouts. There are sprinkles of clean sung vocals and gang vocals on a few tracks to help balance the sound of the album.

All in all, this is a solid album and a good entry point if anyone were to get into For Today, might as well start at their label debut. Things that I believe take away from the album are the instrumental track that's placed halfway through the album, and the overall length of the album. The instrumental is a nice break from the previous tracks, but I think it would have been smarter to have the instrumental at the end of the album as a real cool down as it throws off the pacing of the album. A debut album over 40 minutes is quite an endeavor coming from a relatively unknown band at that time, however I do enjoy all 40 minutes of this album front and back.

To close off this review, if you haven't listened to For Today before, and you like melodic death metal with breakdowns you'll dig it.