Here is a list of Reviews for the New Album all in one place.
5 out of 5. Contest for Best Rock Album of the Year!!
September 4, 2009 at 1:24 pm
Thousand Foot Krutch unknowingly set a standard with their 2003 record Phenomenon. Fans fell head over heels for it, and understandably so, its easily one of the strongest alternative rock albums of the time. Although not a quality found directly in songs, the album was mysteriously atmospheric, bordering on ambient. Subsequent releases were good, but not as good. The distinct sound found on earlier material dissappered, and at times in its place, was a more monotone pop. However demoing a song during an online studio chat with fans, frontman Trevor McNevan reignited hopes for a return to the band’s signature alternative sound. He further made a case for these hopes saying “This album is definitely our heaviest record yet and that was intentional…theres an aggression.”
And Welcome To The Masquerade delivers. From the anticipation building intro, and rather pummeling title track, to the rousing “Fire It Up” many fans will wish this record was released following their Tooth and Nail debut. Nearly every song feels reminscient of the strong points in their previous works. The title track reminds of Phenomenon’s, while “Fire It Up” feels a blend of previous anthemic tracks with a “Move” styled vocal delievery and a “Bounce” lyrical mentality. The heavy delight “E For Extinction” brings back the nostaglic “Quicken,” and “The Part That Hurts The Most” carries a “Faith Love and Happiness” vibe and is among the strongest songs they’ve written.
Despite a genre filled with cookie cutter acts which incorporate what many would accuse of cliché lyrics, McNevan’s voice sounds authentic when delievering what he’s penned: “Its not a joke, I feel as messed up as you do, I’ve felt the feelings you’ve been feeling, been through the same things you’ve been through.” To the dismay of some, there is a new “Rawkfist” however this one isn’t as cheesy sounding, and while the thirteen song collection has a more Phenomenon tone then the previous two albums, it is not a clone copy. Just as Meteora expanded on Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory, the album takes bits and pieces of earlier work and evolves them.
As such, Welcome To The Masquerade is everything a Thousand Foot Krutch record should be, and could contest as the best rock record of 2009. As John DiBiase of Jesusfreakhideout noted, Welcome To The Masquerade combines nearly all the bands strong points. TFK couldn’t sound stronger. However, McNevan put it the best when he said “Thousand Foot Krutch has kind of been my baby my whole life,” its evident Welcome To The Masquerade has tons of time invested in it.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Street Date: September 8th, 2009
Label: Tooth and Nail
Track Listing:
Track Listing:
1.) The Invitation
2.) Welcome To The Masquerade
3.) Fire It Up
4.) Bring Me To Life
5.) E For Extinction
6.) Watching Over me
7.) The Part That Hurts The Most (Is Me)
8.) Scream
9.) Look Away
10.) Forward Motion
11.) Outta Control
12.) Smack Down
13.) Already Home
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Since their Tooth & Nail Records debut, Phenomenon, in 2003, Canadian rock outfit Thousand Foot Krutch have gone through stylistic and member changes as they continue to evolve their hard rock sound.
Their last two efforts, The Art Of Breaking and The Flame In All Of Us, were arguably more underwhelming than the aforementioned debut, but both were not without their highlights. The band's fourth Tooth & Nail outing, Welcome To The Masquerade, seems to combine just about every one of the band's strong points into one album. From the abrupt intro "The Invitation" into the pounding title track, to the blazing "Fire It Up" and even the WWE-ready anthem "Smack Down," there are more than just a few moments on Masquerade that pack a punch.
While TFK use some of the familiar traits that fans love, there are plenty of fresh elements incorporated (and a crisp but edgy production) to make the record an instant highlight ("E For Extinction," the mellow "Watching Over Me," the rocker "Scream," the radio-ready pop gem "Forward Motion," and the beautiful violin-layered closer, "Already Home").
If you can only afford one hard rock record in the coming weeks, there's no mistaking that Welcome To The Masquerade delivers, and it doesn't look likely to disappoint.
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Thousand Foot Krutch, a popular Christian rock band, is nearing the release of its new album entitled "Welcome to the Masquerade" (due on September 8th).
In preparation for such, frontman Trevor McNevan spoke with CMSpin, a Christian Music web magazine, about the album, and an interesting statement was made by McNaven as it pertains to The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
According to the interview,
According to the interview,
Nappy: Last time I talked to you, you guys were working on getting a song on the new X-Men Origins movie.
Trevor: They’re still working on that. They’re still deciding when and where for that film. I hope so, we have a song specially placed for it, as well as for New Moon, that new Twilight movie.
It’s been cool seeing that come together.
So, do McNaven's words seem to indicate, to you, that TFK is likely to contribute to New Moon's soundtrack?
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Welcome To The Masquerade Posted September 01, 2009
One of Christian music’s most popular Canadian bands, Thousand Foot Krutch, unveilsits fifth studio album Welcome To The Masquerade. This project marks the return ofAaron Sprinkle, who produced the group’s break-out album Phenomenon.
Welcome ToThe Masquerade invites you to take off your mask and confess “I’m not o.k.”“The Invitation” serves as a foreshadowing of what’s to come - aggressive guitars,haunting piano parts, and thumping beats.
From the opening verse of the title-track long-time fans will be pleased to hear Trevor McNevan bringing back the rhythmic vocalstylings of Phenomenon. Setting the stage for the album McNevan raps “Take a lookaround at the sea of masks/And come one, come all, welcome to the grand ball.”Getting it’s title from a 1960’s X-men comic, “E for Extinction” picks up on the album’stheme of “camouflaging” flaws and pain - “When we move/We camouflageourselves/We stand in the shadows waiting/We live for this and nothing more/We arewhat you created.”
Expanding on the theme, the string-laced ballad “Look Away”encourages listeners not to hold their pain inside, instead give it up to God. He will “takeall these cuts and make them shine.”“Smackdown” sounds like a fusion of “Rawkfist” and Queen’s “We Will Rock You.”The anthem is sure to translate well into a live setting, as well as the gutsy “Fire It Up.”
Along with fist-pumping anthems, Welcome To The Masquerade contains some wickedbreakdowns, the best one being found on “The Part That Hurts The Most (Is Me).”Remaining rather tame at first, the mid-tempo song lets loose after the bridge withMcNevan screaming “No! Stay away from me/Get up! I’m tryin’ to walk away/It justwon’t let up!”
The softer songs seem to be the weaker points of Welcome To The Masquerade, mostwould have been better suited for McNevan’s side project FM Static. However, theballad “Already Home” is a definite highlight of the album.
One of the more spirituallyovert songs, McNevan humbly cries out “Now I am on my face/And I’m calling outYour name/And I won’t run away/’Cause I’m already home.”Combining the catchy hooks of The Flame In All Of Us and the rhythmic elements ofPhenomenon, Welcome To The Masquerade finds a happy medium that will likely satisfyTFK’s massive fan base.
Though ambiguous at times, the album’s message is a solidone, letting listeners know it’s okay to take off your “mask” and reveal your innerstruggles or hurt because that is the first step toward healing.
Closing Thoughts:Trevor McNevan describes Welcome To The Masquerade as “… pedal to the metal.”That it is. Upon first listen, it is evident that Welcome To The Masquerade is one of thebest rock albums of the year.
http://www.christianmusicreview.org/thousandfootkrutch_masquerade.html
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Thousand Foot Krutch is back with their most ambitious release to date, Welcome To The Masquerade, produced by Aaron Sprinkle (The Almost, Anberlin, Demon Hunter) and mixed by Randy Staub (Nickelback, Metallica). When asked about the new record, singer Trevor McNevan explains, "the main concept is that we all hide things and wear masks at certain and places in our lives. The longer we hide things, the more they eat away at us. The closer you get to 'knowing the truth', the harder these things are to hide". The album, anchored by the radio singles "Forward Motion" and "Bring Me To Life" hits stores and online September 8th. The band will support the release this fall on the 2nd annual Creation Tour.
Thousand Foot Krutch has sold a half-million copies to date of their albums Set It Off, Phenomenon, The Art Of Breaking, and The Flame in All of Us. The band hit the musical scene with the "Phenomenon" album and branched into active rock radio with the hit songs "Rawkfist" (Phenomenon) , "Move" (The Art of Breaking), Absolute (The Art Of Breaking) and "Falls Apart" (The Flame In All Of Us). At Christian radio the band has charted with eight #1 rock songs, and three top five CHR hits. TFK has shared stages with a wide mix of headliners including Switchfoot, Skillet, Chevelle, Three Days Grace, 311 and Sevendust.
Thousand Foot Krutch have shown that their musical talent & diversity still is full throttle. Welcome To The Masquerade begins with “The Invitation”, a instrumental track that is something uncharted for Thousand Foot Krutch, with grateful addition of keys in the background.
The title track “Welcome To The Masquerade” brings disappointment in it’s eerie resemblance to the album’s first single (”Bring Me To Life”), although the chorus is quite catchy. The third bombshell on this album, “Fire It Up” has already garnered it’s mainstream success with it’s use in G.I Joe trailer & on NHL 10. “Bring Me To Life”, the band’s first single from this album, fits quaintly in this album’s genre. “E For Extinction” demonstrates Thousand Foot Krutch’s talent in soft rock, while bringing Trevor’s heavy vocals to the chorus, & with lyrics such as ‘We Live For This & Nothing More, We Are What You Created’ shows that spiritual integrity is still an important part of Thousand Foot Krutch’s lyrical repertoire. “Watching Over Me” could easily be a FM Static song, which makes you wonder why it’s even on this album. “The Part That Hurts The Most (Is Me)” & “Scream” fill the middle of the album with typical Thousand Foot Krutch-style rock.
But, that all changes when we reach “Look Away”, an acoustic brilliance that might just be the greatest song ever written by Thousand Foot Krutch. Honestly, words cannot describe the impact that this track had on me. “Forward Motion” & “Outta Control” create a nice transition to reach “Smack Down”, a toe-tapping & hand-clapping track that could easily have been on someone’s album in the 80s. We are then greeted to our departure with “Already Home”, a soft outro track, with a hint of violin at the beginning, simply hearing ‘I Am On My Face, & I’m Calling Out Your Name’ in this final track’s chorus brings us back to reality of our spiritual thirst for our God.
Overall:While many may disagree, Thousand Foot Krutch has grown to a more mature group with Welcome To The Masquerade. Yes, some of their tracks do have what seems to be a repetitive nature, but the sheer brilliance of their stand-out tracks (”Already Home” & “Look Away”) is definitely something that should not be overlooked. Trevor once again has shown us that his lyrical repertoire is filled with great spiritual excitement, spiritual thirst & a knowledge that we are only a small piece in this puzzle we call the universe.
Reviewer: Shawn H.
Reviewer: Shawn H.
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Everyone’s favorite Canadians are back with 14 tracks of rawkin’ goodness! Thousand Foot Krutch has made a name for themselves with their high-energy live shows, and their versatile muscial style. Welcome To The Masquerade definitely takes TFK to a higher level as Trevor McNevan and his musical companions continue to stretch themselves musically and professionally.
After seeing songs like Move, Rawkfist, and Phenomenon used in everything from MLB games, to ESPN Sportscenter, to video games, the band recieved a great honor this year, being one of only three bands to win Taco Bell’s Feed The Beat contest. As part of the contest, they released the song Bring Me To Life as a free download at www.welcometothemasquerade.com. At first listen, you know that this is the Thousand Foot Krutch that fans have come to know and love, with their powerful guitars, chest pounding drums, and soul piercing lyrics. Our death and spiritual rebirth and revitalization is displayed through the lyrics “Bring Me To Life, Breathe Air Into Me. It’s Taken My Whole Life To Realize All The Things I’ve Never Seen.”
The overall theme of Welcome to the Masquerade is that 1)we are not perfect and 2)we all have something to hide. That is why the imagery of the “masquerade” is so brilliant, because we all hide behind our “masks”. Whether it be in E for Extinction how camoflauge ourselves, or Scream(my personal favorite track on the album) and the mask that I don’t want to wear anymore.
Also included on WTTM is the rock anthem Fire It Up. When you listen to this song, you will understand the reason for the title of the song. Its hard to listen to this song and not feel “fired up” to “let your light shine”. The whole song is encouragement to know who the opposition is, and to know who to lean on so that we can stand strong.
Forward Motion is about pushing our differences aside and working together to reach our common goal, which is reaching people for Christ.
Look Away is a slower track that deals with feelings of hopelessness and the reality of suicide. The lyrics cry to Take all these cuts, and make them shine, and all this pain I’ve held inside, so I can find my way home again. Finally, Smack Down, well, what can you say about this song that hasn’t already been said about this song? It just flat out rawks, and I won’t be surprised to hear song this echoing through sports arenas and wrestling rings for years to come.
TFK has always pushed the limits musically and lyrically, sometimes delving into topics that most bands won’t even approach.
Welcome to the Masquerade is no different, and is an album that will surely gain them much more noteriety in not only the christian music world, but the secular realm as well.
In fact, Welcome To The Masquerade is not only TFK’s best album yet, it has the potential to be the best album of 2009. Be sure to purchase your tickets for “the ball”, get your tux or dress and mask ready, and hit the lights, because the Masquerade has begun.
p.s.- My daughters will not stop walking around singing “Get Ready For The Smack Down!”. I guess thats not a bad thing!
p.s.- My daughters will not stop walking around singing “Get Ready For The Smack Down!”. I guess thats not a bad thing!
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