Customer Reviews

Temptation Come My Way

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This second offering from the Showdown is a southern-fried hard rock masterpiece, with potential to be the definitive Christian rock album of the past year. I've yet to hear a rock album this year that drives straight into my heart the way this one does: like an '05 Harley with a modified engine and the needle pegged.
The difference between this and the Tennessee boys' first album is immediately obvious; from the thump/clunk of the opening drum and cowbell, and Satriani-esque riff on the first track, you'll likely get the impression that the next fifty or so minutes is going to be a flood of arena rock. And you'll be right. Every track smacks of Black Album-era Metallica rolled in flour, sprinkled with .38 Special, and thrown into a Fry Daddy. If you're an experienced Showdown listener, you're going to find yourself waiting for the screaming about halfway through the first track, only to find not a screamed note through the entire album. (Well, maybe a couple of growled lines in "Breath of the Swamp", but that's about it...) In fact, if you have their first album, you'll probably pick up the CD case somewhere into the second track, wondering if you misread the label. This is, in fact, the very same Showdown that blew out your eardrums about a year ago.
If you're looking for more of the same this round, you'll be disappointed. Death metal/hardcore is nowhere to be found here. However, if you like your Metallica mixed with a little Skynyrd and a dash of Nickelback on the side, you've come to the right place. Listening to the whole album reveals several late-70s-to-mid-80s arena rock and metal influences, but for me, those were the bands to which they most closely compared. (In the title track especially, it was almost as if singer David Bunton was channeling James Hetfield, right down to that extra little "yeah" at the end of most every line.) I was pleasantly surprised to find that this particular little recipe is quite enjoyable from the first listen. This is the type of stuff you put in your headphones or CD player before a nice, long drive or ride. Powerful, driving hard rock riffs and crying solos pepper each track and drive you to throw up the horns and bang right along. Not only that, the boys manage to slip in the spiritual Truth ever so subtly into the lyrics; a careful listen will reveal their message of faith without pushing too hard. Every track is fantastic, with potential to be earworthy for years to come. Near the end of the CD, they even throw in a spectacular cover of Kansas' "Carry On Wayward Son" to bring back even more memories of when rock was instantly classic.
To hear The Showdown's sound mature so much in such a short time serves as an indicator of their bright future in the Christian hard rock/metal scene. This is definitely a band to keep your eyes on; whether they choose to stay with the electrifying sound of "Temptation" or return to the pummeling dirges of their debut album, no doubt they'll be sticking around for a long time, melting faces all across the country. And with a COWBELL, even!

So I bought Tempatation Come My Way by The Showdown yesterday. I had heard the title track which is great, but was I still unprepared for how awesome this disc is. One indication of how much I liked it is that this band, which two weeks ago wasn't on my friends list on MySpace, is now sitting pretty at #3. I had actually seen them open for Flyleaf at Zydeco last year and really liked the music, but hated the significant amount of growly death metal vocals. That's one of the few things I can't seem to tolerate from a band. Well this CD has some amazing music, especially some of the screaming guitar work, and some really cool lyrics too.

The album starts off with "Fanatics and Whores" and "Head Down", which is my favorite of the two. Then we really hit full throttle with "Six Feet Under" and "We Die Young", which are both fantastic. "Breath of the Swamp" rocks seriously and has a full-on drum assault. "It Drinks From Me" is a...can I say ballad? It's a cool song about the effects of alcoholism on a family. The title track is totally sharp, especially the twangy Southern intro. The lyrics are also good, a testimony to the consequences of a life of constantly giving in to temptation. Next are "Forget My Name", "Spitting In The Wind", and "I Victim(Here's To The Year)", which are all good. But they saved the best for last, finishing with a crunchy and scorching cover of the Kansas classic "Carry On Wayward Son", and the last song, "Death Finds Us Breathing". That song rules. I listened to it so many times last night I went to bed with the chorus running through my head... "Ungrateful, the lifeless, the ocean held in sway, Torrential, A creature but for faith, As we breathe in and lash out, a juggernaut of days, Release us unto Death, Oh release us this age." This is one the most killer songs I've ever heard. If you like some heavy, crunchy metal with plenty of Southern flair pick this one up immediately. After having it for 6 days I've lost count of the number of times I've listened to it. Some will say sell-out and lament the lack of growling vocals but I welcome the change...and maybe welcome this band to the big time.

At first I admit that i was disappointed with this cd when i first listened to it, but after the second time it hit me that they have matured a great deal since The Chorus of Obliteration. Granted, it does not have the same death metal elements as Chorus, and it has slowed down about 20 steps. It still doesn't change anything. In my opinion, the song-writing on this album is no less spiritual than Chorus. They just took a more personal step towards writing their songs than just using stories from the Bible as songs. If anything this album deals more with the songwriter's personal walk in life and the things that he has experienced. I myself am a born-again christian and i was stoked when i first heard these guys because i came from an atheistic background and used to listen to bands like deicide, morbid angel, cannibal corpse, and pantera. So i was excited to listen to their cd for the first time. Well in closing, i felt that this was a huge step forward for these guys. A step in the right direction. Oh and the Kansas cover, AWESOME. By the way, their new drummer is A.J. from Still Remains. Until next time, "Good night and God bless.

-Chris

I have been on the hunt for a good Christian Metal band. I've been a fan of Pillar and Skillet, but wanted something fresh.

I picked these guys up without knowing anything about them, listened to the sample tracks in the store and the CD immediately came with me to the checkout.

I think as far as lyrics go, these guys could easily pass for a secular band. The difference is that all of the lyrics are positive messages.

What you will find are excellent drummer, fantastic guitar licks... including some melodic guitar showcasing their talent. and the vocals are some of the best I've heard in awhile. Their rendition of "Wayward Son" would make Kansas (the original band to play this song) shake in their boots.

Their 2004 album was definitely hard core metal, and I don't usually care to go to that extreme, and opted not to buy it. They took a turn for the better here by showing their audience that they can actually hold a tune and play some melody.

In short... if you like hard rock/metal, buy this album! You won't be disappointed.

This southern rock christian metal band is off the chain! They are very diverse in ther style. it's christian but not very preachy at all. it is oldschool 80's metal, but it is new school hardcore at the same time. all the musicians are good and work together well there is no super star in this band trying to get all of the glory. I love the guitar tone and the over all bite, and aggression in there songs, mixed with old school chorus and cathcy riffs. Very cool!

It has been a very long time since I have been as excited about a band as I am with The Showdown. This album ROCKS!!!! from the get go. I happened upon the band as I was browsing the i-tunes store a few months ago. So I gave it alisten and the rest is history. Im not familiar with their earlier material,however; im sure its awsome. And the moral is.....buy the album you will not be dissapointed.

Here it is... take the best of Metallica, Motley, Black Label Society & Pillar and blend it into musical gumbo. Haven't heard the 1st album yet, but as a stand alone cd it's outstanding. Tight band, good groove, great melodies. The only that could be improved on is the arrangements. The producer got a great songd out of the band (guitar, drums and bass are a MASSIVE wall of sound) but there's no texture & the few harmonies in there are buried in the mix

THis has to be the best album ever... Every song is absolute superb:) From the very beginning of the first song, through the ending of the last is pure magic. I'm never getting tired of listening to this CD.

Wow! What a great sophomore effort from the Showdown! Very little screaming, especially when compared to their debut, and that's a good thing. This band is clearly finding its voice. Edgier and harder than traditional Southern rock (Skynyrd, Allman Brothers, 38 Special), The Showdown reveals maturity beyond their years. Begining with the raucous Fanatics and Whores, possibly the best track on the CD, Temptation hits on all cylinders throughout. The fact this is Christian Rock should not sway you from purchasing. These guys hold their own against any secular band out there. The Showdown rocks!

New album = good. Old album = metal masterpiece.

Ok so the new album is a huge change from A Chorus of Obliteration, and I, like many others, was at first a little unsatisfied after the first listen. I'm gonna say that a few songs got me snakebit, but probably more of a python bite as opposed to the full on venomous Black Mamba bite that the A Chorus of Obliteration will strike you with. The name of the game for the Showdown has always been High-Voltage heavy metal. It stands true, just not quite as true as it did on the first album. The songs are incredibly slower than the first and there is definitely a lack of screams. That said, I am not one of those metalcore guys who only gets their kicks of screaming. BUT David Bunton has the best scream known to man. Hands down. So I was hoping for more of that on this album and was slightly disappointed in the lack of it. Fact is, David just has an amazing voice all around. Every song on this album is full of his voice which compliments the songs perfectly, like peanut butter and jelly. If any of you have ever seen The Showdown live, you have experienced getting snake bit, lightning bolts and all, and this new cd doesn't quite fit their live shows as well as A Chorus of Obliteration, but it still gets the job done. Now I find the cd very satisfying, it just took me a while to deal with the total change of pace. The cd is a great listen all the way through (with the possible exception of "It Drinks from Me" i still can't get into that one). I highly recommend this record, but not quite as much as I recommend the first one. Buy them both.

P.S. I don't mean to bash anyone else, but please for the love of Pete, do NOT believe what someone else said about there being a dash of Nickelback in there.

Pax