Customer Reviews

Saints

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

So, as the title says, Solid State now has a band that is basically an As I Lay Dying knock-off. I listened to "Shadows Are Security" right after, and I swear that the guitar riffs were the same.

That said, this is a very good album if you like As I Lay Dying, which I must say I do. I find it hard believing that I am saying this, but I absolutely loved the intro and outro. The album in between is strong, typical stuff.

I enjoyed this, and do not regret getting it, as it takes what is typical and does it very well.

Awesome stuff from a young band. This is not just mindless head-banging thrash. Take the time to read the lyrics and you'll see there is surprising depth. The drummer for these guys ROCKS!

If you enjoy As I Lay Dying's "Shadows Are Security" or Still Remains' "Of Love And Lunacy", you'll enjoy this. If you dislike both CD's, however, you will no doubt hate this. This is just a more-of-the-same metalcore release. Sounds very similar musicwise and vocal-wise to both bands. They may incorporate more singing than AILD, but still, that doesn't change much. You'll be the judge on this one.

The boys seem to have some good talent, with song-writing, lyrics, and just doin what they do. This genre of music seems all the same with slight variations here and there, and yes their guitar riffs and some of the screaming sound just like As I Lay Dying, but heck thats not a bad thing.

Good: The album seems atmospheric with their beautiful guitar right after some good ol growling. His "growling" has a inbetween metal and screamo sound, which is pretty good. I also enjoy the moments of harmonic singing in the chorus. I like "My Darkness", "Saints", and "The Aleph."

Bad: I know I gave it a five, but there are some things that they can work on. Yes, the riffs are good, but it seems like the songs start repeating. Some diversity in sound will keep attention of the listener through-out the whole album.

Conclusion: They got some room to work with, but if they work hard enough, they should become a Solid State favorite. They deserve more credit than they have gained so far.

4.5/5

I recently purchased this off of Amazon to recollect it. I actually had this CD once before, clear back around when it was released, but something happened to it along the way and I wasn't sure where it went. I finally just decided to break down and get another copy off Amazon, because it's really a pretty dang good CD. I never really much cared for their follow up album, I Lucifer, spare maybe a couple of tracks, but overall this one is pretty awesome and I love it!

Every track is a banger and i could put this on repeat and not get tired of there sound. This is a great band and i wish that they didnt dis-band

I was very pleased with this record by Destroy the Runner, it is a good mixture of heavy sound and melody, good instrumentation and lyrics, and arrived much sooner than expected. Highly recommended!

I'm a little dismayed by the other reviews. For some reason or another, people rate this album poorly simply because "It's been done before." Well if you're a music listener that's constantly looking for something original, you'll have a tough time enjoying a lot of good music.

That said, the band is similar to As I Lay Dying's release "Shadows Are Security." I own both albums, and I can honestly say I find myself enjoying this album more than the aforementioned AILD release, and this is not due to a partiality to clean vocals in metal (there are more clean vocals in Saints than Shadows), of which I have none.

While this album breaks no new ground, what it attempts to do it does very well. This is a very enjoyable and solid metalcore album that only falls short of 5 stars due to a couple of filler songs. Anyone wishing to get their fill of a metalcore release with good production, great vocals (both the clean and growled), interesting riffs, solid drumming, and positive meaningful lyrics to boot, fill up on Destroy the Runner's "Saints."

Opening with a short melodic instrumental, Destroy the Runner takes no time in showing us their influence with their true opening track, ""My Darkness."" The song reeks of the self-titled Killswitch Engage album, which isn't quite a bad thing if you're looking for a riff oriented growl intense verse mixed with a melodic verse... basically, the same thing that everyone else is doing right now. Couple this with Kyle Setter screaming My Darkness... and you'll get a solid punch in the face of just how much they really enjoy Killswitch! This isn't an entirely bad thing if that is your style of music. Unfortunately for these Seattle natives, most of the American metal head population is tired of it.

There are a few interesting bits here and there that lead you to believe that Destroy the Runner are a little bit more than the common breed of metalcore band. They make it clear as day that their lyrics are uplifting as opposed to most other bands (that is, besides Killswitch who write a lot of uplifting songs). Choruses like the one in ""Columbia"" only suffer because you've heard them before--the clean harmonized vocal followed by a growl echoing the last few words; it's become a cliché--and it's a shame because the solo in the song is truly excellent and will get no attention due to the rest of the package being so blasé.

""Saints"" breaks the monotony but only because they stick with the clean vocals and mostly stay away from straight metalcore behavior (besides the part where they inadvertently pay tribute to another metalcore band screaming, As we lay...as we die!). The song is not that impressive but it at least breaks the album up.

Overall the album sounds like As I Lay Dying and Killswitch Engage wrapped into one. Practically nothing new but strong if you want more of the same!

For Fan of: As I Lay Dying, Killswitch Engage, Still Remains

I mostly wanted to correct some errors from the other reviews. Firstly, Destroy the Runner is from San Diego, NOT Seattle. Secondly, Kyle Setter does lead vocals, which in this case is the screaming/growling/etc., while their guitar player handles the singing.

That being said, this is a solid debut by an extremely talented metal band. Admittedly, I haven't heard much of As I Lay Dying's stuff, but the little I have heard did not sound at all like anything on Saints. However, any similarities would make sense considering that Tim Lambesis (As I Lay Dying's vocalist) did some additional production on the album. I would also draw some comparisons between Destroy the Runner and their labelmates August Burns Red, with the obvious exception of the singing vocals that are not present in ABR (which is fine by me).

Highlights include: the guitar solo in "Columbia", pretty much all the lyrics, and also guest vocals on "From the Red" by Saosin's lead singer Cove Reber. This is a great metal album, and I especially look forward to what's ahead from DTR.