Customer Reviews

Set It Off

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This has got to be my choice for Christian rapcore/hard rock album of the year. I've been steadily wearing this CD out for the past five months or so, and I'll probably continue to do so until it's bequeathed to my kids. You want a description of what these guys sound like? Take a generous portion of Limp Bizkit, some early Green Day, and a small lump of Rage Against the Machine, put them all in a blender, and hit "Frappe". (Sprinkle on a little Beastie Boys for added flavor.) What you get is some of the most raucous hardcore, rap, and punk you'll ever hear. When lead vocal Lipsick makes the announcement at the end of the CD's old-school style intro that the Krutch is "gonna get this party started", they do just that, launching right into the frenzied first song, "Puppet". This song alone knocks Limp Bizkit's alleged best stuff right into the dirt. The party just gets wilder from there. While most of the songs have a rapcore flavor, the boys dip into pure punk a time or two with "When In Doubt" (a salute to teenage angst) and "Come Along". They also put a Christian spin on a rocking cover of EMF's club hit "Unbelievable". The last track ("Lift It") makes an excellent cool-down ballad for the heavenly adrenaline rush this album brings. DJ Dove (the album's co-producer) found a great talent in the Krutch boys, and once people start experiencing this CD, I think they'll be making heads bang for a long time to come.

A year ago, Thousand Foot Krutch released Phenomenon, and the world found them. They were nominated for a Dove Award for "Best Recorded Album of the Year", received a Vibe award for "Hard Music Album of the Year", and had tons of radio airplay. The disc sold over 100,000 copies and was supported by extensive touring.

What everyone didn't know, however, was that this was their second CD. Now they have re-released their first CD, Set It Off, adding six new tracks. Recorded five years ago and independently released, the songs really don't sound dated at all. If you're a fan of the "rapcore" style made popular by groups like POD and Pillar, you'll find a lot to like here.

"Everyone Like Me" starts the disc off and it's a brand new song. This one really does sound like it could have come from Phenomenon. I loved this one and it started the CD off perfectly.

"Unbelievable" is another great song. The chorus is really catchy and like every other song on this collection, it rocks! You've probably heard this one before on the radio.

The last five songs on the disc come from their 1998 indie release EP "That's What People Do". All of them are good, but it's easy to see the band was really just hitting their stride about this time.

At 18 songs you really can't go wrong with this disc. I've never heard the original CD so I can't speak for the improvement in quality thanks to the remastering, but this one sounds as good as Phenomenon. They definitely rap a lot more here than they did on their sophomore release, but that's not bad. While I like the direction they went in after this one, you'll need to add this one to your collection. If you're looking for another great Christian rock CD, grab Set It Off!

The great thing about this band is they don't sound quite like anyone else in the genre. The bad thing about the band is that they sound like they want to.

The band does a great job emulating (and often improving on) all kinds of sounds ranging from alternative to hardcore, rapcore, funk, and punk... often all in the same tune. "Puppet" is POD mixed with Limp Bizket. "When In Doubt" is MXPX mixed with Eve 6. A friend confused "Set It Off" with Rage Against the Machine. In "Small Town" and parts of "Supafly", the singer croons like Our Lady Peace. "Lift It" is almost a Vineyard praise tune. And throughout is a pretty distinctive white-kid punk-rap that could be from several of the bands listed above. There's no one way to describe them, and they mix it together well.

Also, I like the lyrics. Some words, like "earthquake" and "party" show up a little too often to feel fresh by the last track, but generally the rhymes are interesting. I especially like that the whole album thematically mixes "having a rollickin' good time" and "Jesus" in the same place. Albums need to have more of this; joy is a big part of what Jesus is about. I imagine if someone had a so-called ghetto blaster at Mary's friend's wedding party, Jesus would've been spinning this album when He turned water to wine.

On the downside, I feel only "Puppet" and "When In Doubt" really come together completely. Tuning in to the other songs, I couldn't really say, "Ah, this is TFK's style." I'd be more likely to get mixed up in the various influences, which don't always fit together smoothly or transition well in a song. Moreover, the band really excels when the singer carries some tonality -- the rhymes are good, but there are better rappers out there with Christian lyrics (The Cross Movement, KJ-52), and the songs loose texture when they fall too far into generic Rage-style rap-core mode ("Rhime Animal" especially).

This band is incredibly talented, and I predict that if they stick with it, they'll be pulling some serious awards by their third release. Already they're innovating in a tired genre and it's exciting to hear. A friend once told me, "I don't listen to Christian music because it's not likely to be innovative." That's as ridiculous as saying, "I don't listen to womanizing, gun-toting, drug addicts' music, because it's not likely to be innovative" ... but that type of people have been pushing the limits of hip-hop for almost a decade now. Sadly, though, until recently, it's been true: Christian-themed music falls behind the mainstream. It shouldn't be that way, and bands Thousand Foot Krutch are turning that around.

(If you like this style, I also recommend POD and These Five Down.)

This was the last of the 3 TFK albums I bought, and I was surprised to discover that this is their best, and also most versatile. They sound like everyone from Linkin Park(only much better) to Sublime(again only better) to their new sound found on The Art of Breaking album. Trevor is a blessed and gifted musician, he is good at whatever style he decides to use.Unbelievable is the best song on the album, previously done by EMF in the mid '90s. The first song is good, sounds more like their new sound. The 4th song is a must listen too as well. I strongly recommend this album.

This is definately the best cd ever!! I love it so much, I listen to it every day! I may only be 12, but I know good music when I hear it! This cd is better than good music though, IT'S GREAT!

This cd is awesome. I just got it today after hearing a bunch of samples over the web and THESE GUYS ROCK. What's their style? a huge mix up of punk, rap, and hardcore. This cd rules. Their singer can sound like Limp Bizkit, Matchbox 20, and Linkin Park thru the whole disc. The cd art and photos rock too. BUY THIS CD!!

This is probobally TFK's best work and really shows how much they've changed, the rap aspect of their music was pretty much completley deleted in phenomenon, in this album it shows Trevors silver tounged skills and ha ability to write good meaningful lyrics. The highlight of this album when i first baught it (the origional release) "When In Doubt" was my favorite song because it had a certain punk rock feel to it along with "Come Along" but after the re-release the best song on thsi album has become "Moments Of The Day" it's one of the first songs they recorded, and probobally the best of their career (coming in second to "Last Words") I would definatley reccomend this album if you liked Pillar's First album.

This album is just awesome. Thousand Foot Krutch may not be one of the most well-known bands around, but this early album shows that these guys have some major talent. By the music alone, you would never know that they are a christian rock (hip-hop back then) band. Listening to some of the lyrics you would probably catch on, but this album absolutely rocks if you are a rock/hip-hop/rap fan. Some of their songs have kind of a "Rage Against The Machine" sound, but you would be surprised how well the singing is on the other songs. This album is a great mix of both, having a near perfect balance. If you have never heard this, it is definately worth checking out!

I have been following Krutch since their first cd(that no one knows about) This cd is the perfect christian rock album for anyone, even though I HATE rap, this cd has a little bit in it, its pretty good, these guys put limp bizkit to shame!!Theres this one song about a girl in a small town, that shows how jesus christ can make an influence in your life, the melody is an awesome pert of the song as well. BUY THIS ALBUM, U WONT REGRET IT

What can more is there say? The first thime i heard TFK they blew me away and I knew I had to get their cd. This cd is amazing the talent of this band is a rare thing today. Not only do they write creative rock songs, the blend in rap,punk, and a little metal aspect to where you have a must buy cd. I'm warning you now that this cd is addictive Ive had for about 7 months and still everytime I hear a song I still get as excited about it as the first day I bought it. Its a cd that you wont get tired of, I'm sure I wont at least until they come out with a new one. But more than just creative music they have lyrics that actually mean something that actually you can relate to and get something out of. The song lift it is an amazing song with uplifting lyrics with a positive message and to me was a great way to end the cd. i've seen them in concert 3 times now and every time they they were amazing. I haven't been in such a crazy mosh pit in a long time. Do yourself a favor, no matter what kind of music you like get this cd as soon as you can. you wont be dissapointed.