Friday, July 17, 2009

Finally Awake (Seventh Day Slumber)

RANDOM REVIEW!

8/10
What do you get when you take heavy, face melting songs; emotional ballads; and quality production, then throw them all in a blender containing lyrics inspired by an awesome testimoney? Seventh Day Slumber's Finally Awake. My only complaint is the usual "too MANY ballads" one.

I'll take what God has made me, I'm not an empty shell!
Awake
The first song on the album blasts it's way through, declaring a resistance to worldy things with lyrics like just so you know, I'll never be like or how many times have I hated who I was, lost sight of what defines me 'cause of airbrushed magazines. The chorus declares a realization, that we must focus on God.
I hope they see instead of following. I'm finally awake, I feel alive today (I feel everything). It's all so clear to me!

Lost in the game, finally I can say I'm proud of me. No hope at all, day that I believed would never come. No one to blame, the shadows of my past have been erased. A life that only God Himself could change.
Last Regret
Starting off with almost dual guitar riffs, and a screaming-singing antiphony (call and answer vocals...a screamed line, a sung line), this song is possibly the heaviest on the record. Lyrically, it's one of my personal favorites, because, for me, it is one of those songs that really hits home. It's about Joseph Rojas's redemption from a felon and drug addict to man of God, but is worded vaguely enough that it can be taken to mean any sort of redemption, on any level. The chorus proclaims I never dreamed that life could feel this way! Don't wake me please, I've finally found a place where I belong. Only one regret: all those years I lost for nothing at all, meaning that now that Rojas has found God, he is living a life he never dreamed was possible. The only thing he regrets is not finding Him sooner.
Lauging in pain, searching for a reason to exist. World torn apart, excuses left me breathless and ashamed. Slipping away, I've found a purpose that's worth fighting for. The memories don't haunt me anymore.
**I would like to note that I love the line "the memories don't haunt me anymore"**

On the outside, all they see is clay that hides the pefect lie, and no one really knows the pain inside. I understand how much it hurts to be the one who's never seen; the missing pages in a magazine.
Missing Pages
The albums first ballad, and my personal favorite ballad of ALL TIME. From any band. Ever. The lyrics describe a person who has become so calloused by the world, that everything that they do is an act, charade, or facade. They are sick of the lie, and turn to earthly habits to try and calm the pain of living a lie (your addiction is a symptom of lost and dying soul, and without Jesus there's no hope at all) but realizing that Jesus is the only One who can help, and also the only One who has known the true person, beneath the lie concocted to please the world. I think this song describes everyone, on some level (even if not as extreme), and I know I do sometimes.
No one knows you anymore, you're lost inside the walls you've built. No one knows you anymore, a prison deep within your soul. There is One who sees it all, He'll give you life you never dreamed. He can see the pain underneath your skin.

The silence of what's left is waking me, I never sleep.....
My Only Hope
Another heavy song, this speaks of something, anything really, tormenting someone to the point of breaking, and the person realizing that the only way they can be set free from the nightmares, visions, and memories.
So I pray this all will end, take it a million miles away, and I can't go through this again, You're my only hope!

There will come a day when I'll explain all the mistakes your dad has made. I hope you see that it was Christ, and only Him, that rescued me. Even when I fell away....
Always
Another ballad, this is an excellent one as well. As far as I can tell, the song was written to Rojas's son, from him. A song that says "I want to be there for you, but if I feel, remember God won't"
And when you feel like giving up, I will walk you through the pain. And when you feel like life's too much, remember Jesus is your strength.

And all these memories will be erased
Breaking Away
A soft-ish song. It gets a little hard during the chorus, but has a more pop feel to it than the metal edge earlier songs in the record had. The song is about leaving behind all your mistakes and failures, and realizing that you cannot be pefect. If you could, Jesus died for nothing.
Breaking away from everything that's hopeless, the road ahead look wonderful

Am I too blind? I can’t see, it’s killing me. I feed off abuse, nothing’s changed, it always bleeds like this.
Burning Bridges
Another song with a metal edge (about time!), the lyrics are darker than previous songs. The lyrics are about not being able to break away from our sins, despite trying to kill all the ties we had to them. Proverbs 26:11 even says As a dog returns to it's vomit, a fool repeats his folly. We are condemned to repeat our mistakes, for as humans, on earth, we cannot change ourselves. Only God can help us be rid of our sins.
The holiest of liars, what have I become? I’m holding on to nothing once again. Addiction holds the keys to my freedom....could You take it all away?

These hollow things have replaced You. Lord, I need You back again.
Undone
Another ballad. Not a bad song, but there are too many of them. The song is good. It's about losing our love for God in the world, and focusing on worldy things, and asking Him to forgive us and put us back on the right path.
Take me to where I should be, 'cause I don't belong here, I know. Without You there's no hope for me. I'm undone, make me whole.

So I'll run to You, despite the shame and leave it all behind.
On My Way Home
Another ballad, with almost the same theme as "Undone" The song is actually a continuation. If Undone was about realizing whe need God, On My Way Home is telling God that we want Him back in our lives.
On my way home...I'm running back to You!

I'll never know what you see in me.
Broken Buildings
A song that isn't quite a building, but not as heavy as the first half of the record, it's a little lighter than Breaking Away. The song is about failing in life, loved by no one, including yourself, and trying to figure out why God would send His Son to die for us.
What did You see in me? What did You see in me? Is there beauty in these broken buildings? What did You see in me? What did You see in me? You found beauty in these broken buildings.
**Obviously comparing himself to "broken buildings" Just saying**
And how could I repay the priceless gift You gave? I'll never understand why You would take my place! You saw me at my worst, and still You never left, even when my world came crashing down.

Saturday's have never been the same, and I still can't believe you're gone.
Every Saturday
Ending the album with another ballad, the song is about losing someone close to you, and instead of getting over your mourning, you are stuck in despair. But you hold on to the knowledge that, however much you hurt, you know that God has a plan, even if you don't know what it is, and still believing in Him
I'm barely hanging on with all these empty feelings, I'm hurting in so many ways. And though I can't begin to understand the reason, I still believe that You're God.

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