The Empty

I recently picked up two new CD's that are rather different, but I enjoy them both for their owne reasons. They are As Daylight Dies by Killswitch Engage and You Are My Little Bird by Elizabeth Mitchell.

I'll start with You Are My Little Bird. I heard about this album from an interview on NPR with Elizabeth amd her family. She, her husband, and their daughter are on the album. It has what I call a very personal sound and is meant to be sung with and enjoyed by parents and their children. She even has a songbook on her site with lyrics and chords to help you out! I bought it to enjoy with my kids, but I listen to it at work, too :).

Now, As Daylight Dies is quite a different album as you may imagine from the title. I accidentally noticed this album at a store the day after it was released while I was picking up something else. I have two other KsE CD's that I really like, so I picked this one up when I saw it on the rack (plus it came with a free promotional T-Shirt!). One of the reasons that I like KsE is that they are a heavy Metal/Metalcore band that doesn't have the trite double bass trill constantly going in the background. Man is that annoying. They also have lyrical content that one would usually find in a Prog Rock band. They are socially concious and talk about generally positive subjects. Also, like a Prog band, they know how to play. The heart of the band, Adam Dutkiewicz, is a Berklee grad. On a humours note, their current lead singer is Howard Jones, but maybe not the Howard Jones you are thinking of :).

This particular album is good, but it does not sound as "big" as the previous two.  I'm not sure how else to describe it.  There are some spots where I would have changed the arrangement a bit, too.  Personally, I think this a pitfall that you can hit when you produce your own albums - there is no third party to voice an opinion.  I would highly recommend pick up their previous albums, Alive Or Just Breathing and The End of Heartache.