As a Christian who is also a huge metal head, it can be hard finding a common ground between the two. Finding a good Christian metal band is always a huge bonus for me, because very few people in this world actually understand loving metal as a Christian. It would often seem that the two wouldn’t mix, but that is not the case. Christian metal heads are some of the coolest people around (myself included).
My Heart To Fear is a band I found a few years ago now, and when I first listened I had no idea they had any religious conviction. It was the music I fell in love with first, and finding out they were Christians was just icing on the cake.
Some History
The band comes from Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and formed in 2008. In 2009, the band independently released Invictus, their first full length album. They went on to release two more EP’s independently before signing to Solid State Records, where they have recorded and released one more EP and an additional full length.
Their motto is “Family. Faith. Pride. Brotherhood.”
I honestly think it’s really refreshing to see a band standing so strongly behind something like this. Don’t get me wrong, there is no shortage of bands that are full of decent people and have a very strong and inspiring message that they carry, but to see a group actually promoting and standing behind a mantra like this is really awesome.
Their Sound
Their lead singer Trevor Pool has been quoted as saying “When we write music we don’t stick to any one formula,” … “We don’t write to please a certain group of people or to fit into specific genres.”
To me, this is pretty obvious as their music is very unique to them. To a lot of people, screaming in music is just screaming and that’s all there is to it, but if you really listen to a lot of screaming/a lot of metal, you will come to know that there are all different kinds of screams, and an individual’s voice can differ greatly from the next person’s, even with screaming.
The singer of this band has a very unique sound to his screams. Maybe some people are good at this, but I often find I can’t really describe a voice someone has when screaming like you would with someone singing clean vocals. I think a good word for this bands screaming would be, sort of… soft. Don’t misinterpret this, their sound is not soft, but his voice kind of is. It’s a little smoother than a lot of screams are, and just sounds a little softer, which I really like.
Another thing I like about this band are the clean vocals they pepper throughout their songs. They don’t really do the post-hardcore thing where it’s essentially half and half, but there is some singing here and there and they use it strategically. When placed in only one verse or perhaps the bridge of a song, a line or two of clean vocals can really take the edge off a song for a minute, or offer a break in the aggression, perhaps right before they charge into another breakdown. It can also be an effective way to build some tension and suspense before a song’s grand finale. Whatever the goal may be, they use clean vocals sparingly and they use them well.
This band has an insane amount of energy. That is without a doubt the first thing that stood out to me about their music. I remember thinking that maybe it was just that one particular song that I had found, so I looked up a few more and I was pleasantly surprised. Their energy is so captivating and their music is some of the catchiest metal I have ever heard.
Conclusion
There are a lot of things to love about this band. Aside from the fact that they share my own faith, the energy possessed by all of their songs is my absolute favourite part of this band.
Technical and catchy with some of the most insane guitars I’ve ever heard, my only regret is that I don’t listen to these guys more often. I should probably start.
You can read my review of their most recent full length album Algorithm by clicking here
Have you ever heard of My Heart To Fear? What do you think?
Discography
- Studio albums
- Invictus (January 8, 2009, Independent)
- Algorithm (July 9, 2013, Solid State)
- EPs
- A Ship Built to Sink (2010, independent)
- My Heart to Fear (2011, Independent)
- Lost Between Brilliance and Insanity (2012, Solid State)
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