Customer Reviews

Conceived in Fire

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Living Sacrifice is one of those strange circumstances rarely seen in modern music. They have been able to improve with every album without failure. When the band released their fourth album, "Reborn", in 1997, I was astonished at how well the slick production worked with Lance Garvin's thundering double bass fury. 2000's "The Hammering Process" could, by no means, exceed tracks like "Sellout" and "Truth Solution" on its predecessor. However, the sheer brutality of "Flatline", "Bloodwork", and "Conditional" ruled the metal world for some time. There was no possibility that any group could surpass itself in the same manner again. Once more, Living Sacrifice has stumped the masses with "Conceived In Fire". This brilliant album begins with the searing "Imminent War". Double bass drums pound into your skull with unimaginable vehemence, akin to that of the bands previous effort, as vocalist Bruce Fitzhugh rants about the futility of peace in the middle east. "No such thing as coexist; no such thing as peace process. Exterminate, proclaim your Jihad; destroy the infidel, dig your own grave." Both the aforementioned and "3x3 We Carried Your Body" show hints of the almost industrial metal side of Living Sacrifice revealed on "The Hammering Process". Not as much song driven as by viciousness to invoke fear upon any who would lend an ear. "Symbiotic", "The Poisoning", and "Ignite" counter the few faults of that direction by evoking melodic death metal, akin to that of recent Zao. The rest of the album successfully blends both of these thoughts into one beautiful harmony of holy malice. The second half of the album brings back old ideas into the mixture of current perfection. Garvin flawlessly leads the band through thrash heaven on "Separation" and "The Martyr". This thrash/black metal mixture is what the band is best at in terms of song writing. They are at their best when meshing these old ideas with the new. Lyrically, "Conceived In Fire" shines as bright as a city on a darkened hill. These guys are not ashamed to declare things as they are. Whether screaming for repentance from a fallen world, or sobering over the suffering that comes with faith, Bruce Fitzhugh never compromises with his lyrics. Like "Sellout" two albums ago, Fitzhugh again excels on one song predominantly. "The Martyr" may not only be the best song on the album musically, but also lyrically. "Burning at the stake of faith; the witness laid out for all to obtain. The sacrifice is mine." A touching masterpiece wrapped in a mosh worthy package perfects the album by adding that one last piece of the puzzle. Living Sacrifice has once again established themselves in a world of skeptics. They have dealt out riffs that will please the most satanic of metal heads while proclaiming the holy gospel of their Savior in the meantime. One of the few bands that deserves such praise as being true ambassadors of Christ.

Anyone that was blown away by Reborn or The Hammering Process, get ready for the latest from Living Sacrifice. It seems a lot less experimental than Hammering, and also seems to have a heavier metal influence. The vocals sound as brutal and menacing as ever, almost death metal sounding, but the lyrics are still as personal and inspiring as on previous releases. Musically, I think theyve improved a lot. The riffs seem much thicker and technical than on the Hammering Process, which seemed to have more of a nu-metal guitar sound (While this isnt a bad thing, its just not as demanding for such a technical band like LS). Im still blown away by this band, putting out such spiritual and hope filled music while sounding just as heavy and talented as any other metal/hardcore band. Dont miss this one.

Call it hardcorethrashgrinddeathmetal, or what you will this album rocks. There is no let up in the raging guitars and deep roaring vocals. If you didn't know better you might think the guys of Living Sacrifice were in desperate need of counseling. The truth is they just love music infused in raw energy and that is what you get. Fans of Disturbed might not enjoy this as it is much harder and lacks the pop elements that have marked most of the so called hardcore bands you hear on mtv (played right after Brittney on TRL). The only downside is their songs tend to sound fairly similar.

This album is just the thing to show all those people who think that Christian is always nice and slow and beautiful and using worship words in every sentence. Wrong. I know lots of Christian bands, Living Sacrifice is one of them, that are harder, faster, heavier, and scarier than any secular band I've ever heard. Some of these bands are: Zao, Underoath, Blindside, Demon Hunter, Norma Jean, As I Lay Dying, Extol, Overcome, No Innocent Victim, Mortification, Eso-Charis, Soul Embraced, Embodyment and so on and so on. Anyway, about this album: it's got one of the most talented musicians in the world of heavy music. Rocky Gray is a phenomenal guitarist and continues to produce intense music in all of the albums he took part in. Lance Garvin is pounding his drums like there is no tomorrow and it makes a beautiful sound. Okay, he does have some rhythm to his drumming, and he's great. Bruce might scare you with his deep growls. I personally think his vocals improved from The Hammering Process. Arthur Green is a great bassist who adds to the awesome sound of LS. Matthew is great, he hits just about anything he can, being the amazing percussionist that he is. And I recently found out some parts of his music include hitting toy dinosaurs, tires, crayons, and anything else he can find. This also is a beautiful sound. I think this album is a must buy and well worth whatever you pay for it. You won't be disappointed, although your parents might be, but I can't stop listening to it. It is definitely one of the best Christian hardcore/heavy metal cds available.

Living Sacrifice. First impressions of the name gives one the image of a band who is deeply involved in a local underground cult and has a fascination with mutilating household pets. Ironicly, such is not the case for this metal basket-case from Little Rock. This group of five evangelicals makes Pantera sound like elevator music. "Conceived in Fire" is a record that displays variety in timbre, texture, and form. Every metal cliche that is found among the super-metal acts is no where to be found on this disc.
This album contains more sonic clarity than the band's previous efforts partly due to the outstanding mixing job by Andy Sneap. Unlike Christ, the sound is unforgiving. The first track "Imminent War" hits the sinner in the face with machine-gun blasts akin to the US military air-striking terrorists boot camps. Meshuggah influence is found particularly in the precise rythmic ensemble ("3x3", "Reach for the Sky"). But unlike Meshuggah, Living Sacrifice knows how to write a song with a cohesive structure that doesn't sit at the same monotonous level ("Symbiotic", "The Poisoning"). Bruce has extended his voices range with this album and is more articulate than before. Vicious vocals, as if a lion were just let out of a cage. The percussion is very heavy on this record and adds much texture to LS's sound. The minimalistic instrumental "Into Again" reminds me somewhat of Mogwai's stuff but is even more hypnotic. Philip Glass would be proud. This album contains many different aspects of metal: thrash, speed, death, hardcore. No two songs sound the same even though LS could do more to vary in guitar tones. But metal doesn't leave much room for variation in that department. Living Sacrifice has done more with this genre than any other metal band. This is by far their darkest record. Raw brutality at its best. Slayer, Sepultura, Machine Head, Meshuggah, Pantera........ don't amount to much compared to Living Sacrifice. This band's big break is long overdue.

I know they aren't death metal, however if you like that sound then this CD kicks a$$. I must admit that they are probably heavier than any Slayer, Pantera CD i have. The vocals appear mature and not just a high pitched screaming, a good growl yet you can actually understand the lyrics. To top it all off it is a Christian band/were (broke up). The band is talented and each song is different in it's own unique way.
If your Christian, get it to support this style of music. If your into death metal it still rocks. I've seen Pantera live several times and It's a shame I'll never get to see LS live.

I have to start off by saying im not even really a metal fan. I'm what most people would call an "emo boy" though i do try to listen to all kinds of music cause i hate limiting myself. Anyways, this album blew me completely away. I've heard all kinds of metal bands and alot of them just don't grab me at all. These guys definately play with conviction and urgency and its plain to see, the first time i threw this album on i almost peed my pants. The breakdowns are incredible, the guitars hammer away amazingly, the drums are right-on and the vocals complement the overall attack very well. I'd have to say if you're into metalcore, pick this one up RIGHT NOW. I promise it'll blow you away.

I realize that this is LS's last album, and I do like it (in fact, I'm listening to it as I'm writing this review), but it doesn't change the fact that there is one small problem. The "death metal" portion of the album (specifically the last 4 songs) offer nothing new to the music world. If you've never heard Ethereal Scourge, then you don't know what I'm talking about, but the last four songs (esp. Ignite and Distrust) sound like they came right off Ethereal Scourge's album "Judgement and Restoration" (which is also a solid album). I do like LS's music, and I realize there are some small differences in most of the songs (when compaired to ES), but, being the stickler that I am, I just don't like buying a CD and hearing something I've already heard (even if it is done in a better way). Still, I would recommend this album to all, but I would recommend The Hammering Process (or Inhabit) over this if you've already heard ES.

this is one freakin' heavy Album from Living Sacrifice!! They have quite a few albums out, but this one, this one is just awesome. If you're a fan of hardcore, death metal and grindcore, THERES NO WAY YOU'RE GONNA BE DISAPOINTED!... Bruce (the lead singer for Living Sacrifice), with his low deep growls, he puts every hardcore screamer to SHAME! he is deff. an influence on me vocal-wise. If they got up there and played right before Ozzy, they'd scare everyone away with their power!
Slipknot fans, BEWARE: Living Sacrifice just took things up an notch.

Holy moly, this cd is amazing. One of the best hardcore bands out right now, not to mention THE best christian band. This CD is so fast, and the vocals, its like, your in heaven. The lyrics are spiritual, and the music is insane. It is no doubt one of the heaviest CDs I have ever bought, and it is defenitely the best CD of 2002. If you thought Reborn and The Hammering Process was good, you will be blown away with this. This CD is a MUST! for ANY metal fan. Pick it up right now!

Favourite Songs-
Imminent War and Reach For The Sky