"For all those who have been worshiping As I Lay Dying (or any other band like that) for the past years prepare to bow before your new masters!"

Follow up:

8.5/10

1. "Titanomachy - The Beginning" - 2:42
2. "Hephaestus - The Hammer Of The Gods" – 4:18 Listen to the song!
3. "Aphrodite - The Disillusionaire" - 4:14
4. "Achilles - The Backbreaker" – 3:59
5. "Prometheus - The Fires Of Deliverance" – 3:57
6. "Cerberus - The Hellhound Awaits" 4:27
7. "Odysseus - A Song of Hope" 3:57
8. "Aries - I Am Vengeance" – 3:25
9. "Infernus - You Will Move" - 4:00
10. "Nemesis - Give Us This Day" 3:53
11. "Medea - One Foot In Hell" - 5:12

The Showdown is a Christian metal band from Elizabethtown, TN. Now do not let the word Christian fool you. These boys are METAL all the way through. Their first CD, "A Chorus of Obliteration" was a thrashy metalcore release with good ole southern fried flavoring, that would make a fan of any type of metal stand up and say "now that is nice". However their sophomore release, "Temptation Comes My Way" was a big change of pace for the band. It was a groovy Southern hard rock album, (which still after a year and a half finds its way into my cd player) that had riffs on it that would have you swearing it had to be a new Pantera Album.(R.I.P Dimebag) This album helped them win some older fans but a larger portion of their fan base which loved the heaviness of their first CD felt let down. Well the good ole boys from Tennessee have done OZZFEST and have hit the studio and put out their third album, which is a return to their heavy thrashy ways.

"Back Breaker" is the band's first release on Solid State Records, which is still an indie label but it is leaps and bounds better than their early label MONO VS. STEREO. As such, the production quality on this album is better than any on their first two.

"Back Breaker" is a concept album with all the songs being named after Greek gods. It starts out with an instrumental track "Titanomachy - The Beginning" which contains some intense riffing that just draws you in. The tracks "Hephaestus - The Hammer Of The Gods" and "Aphrodite - The Disillusionaire" are the stand out tracks that will implant themselves into you brain and have you singing the words "all I need is a good mistake" and " she cant kick you, if she don't know your down" at the top of your lungs. "Achilles - The Backbreaker", "Odysseus - A Song of Hope", "Aries - I Am Vengeance" and "Infernus - You Will Move" show the bands ability to make great thrashy metal with crushing breakdowns. The band's Southern roots can be heard on the track "Prometheus - The Fires Of Deliverance". On "Cerberus - The Hellhound Awaits" and "Medea - One Foot In Hell" singer David Bunton gets to display his amazing metal singing voice, (deep, full and raspy). If you are hoping for a nice gentle track like the closer on "A Chorus of Obliteration" you will not find it on this CD, it is all metal.

The only real complaint I have about this album is that is not really technical and The Showdown is a band with the skill to put some technical material into their work. Also there are some times on the album that it sounds like they are trying too hard to catch the attention of younger hardcore/metalcore fans.

All in all it's a great album. For all those who have been worshiping As I Lay Dying (or any other band like that) for the past years prepare to bow before your new masters, because The Showdown Rocks!

ROCK ON!!!!

Links

The Showdown on Myspace
Buy the album

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