Gray Lines of Perfection - Reaching the Ends of the Earth

[Klatzke]

Gray Lines of Perfection - Reaching the Ends of the Earth
Record Label: Harvest Earth Records
Release Date: May 20, 2008

While they may have a pretty obtuse name, Gray Lines Of Perfection is a solid band. Their debut album Reaching The Ends Of The Earth is a perfect indication of the direction in which metalcore (christian or otherwise) is headed. They've departed from the repetitive breakdowns and unnecessary heaviness of most contemporary metalcore bands, and have moved into areas that are a bit more progressive.

You won't hear breakdowns, but you will hear plenty of instrumental breaks. The music is never really all that heavy and remains uplifting throughout the entire album. It's not entirely unlike all other metalcore though; it sports the normal growl/scream combinations and there are sparse clean vocals throughout. The growls and screams sound almost too good. That is, the vocals sound like they've been haughtily enhanced by production.

Speaking of production, it's the one thing that could really use some help on this album. While some people prefer it raw, there are some places in this album where some extra production could help. For example, there are a few guitar lines throughout the album that are almost completely overpowered by vocals, and inversely, some vocals are overpowered by guitar. The production also could have helped some of the tracks stand out from one another, as they tend to meld together.

Overall, Gray Lines Of Perfection has released a great metalcore record. By departing from the normal formula of most bands from their genre, they've created a great album. While not particularly great or amazing, it's easily above average. With a better producer, I don't hesitate to assume that Gray Lines Of Perfection can make themselves a place in the metalcore scene.

Oceana; Agraceful
myspace.com/graylinesofperfection (http://www.myspace.com/graylinesofperfection)

originally posted at highbeamreview.com on August 8, 2008

[BruisedxBroken]

A 66 percent for this album is a fucking joke. Yeah, the production is weak, but unlike every other shitty fashion-death-core band with their endless breakdowns and "boom" growls, GLoP keep it melodic and fresh (and catchy). 66 percent is just misleading given the fact that they're better and more original than about 90 percent of their peers...

[Klatzke]

Yeah, read the text. These were brought over from another site that goes on a 1-10 with 5 being average, and I do the same with the rest of my reviews. 66% = 7/10 = above average.

[BruisedxBroken]

A 66 percent is a D. Ergo, below average. A 6/10 can be perceived differently, but that's not how it translates on this website, and nothing in your text clarified that specifically. Comparing GLoP to Agraceful doesn't help matters either. Nonetheless, I'm done. Hopefully nobody just skims this shit and passes on a potentially enjoyable listen...

[Klatzke]

A 66 percent is a D. Ergo, below average. A 6/10 can be perceived differently, but that's not how it translates on this website, and nothing in your text clarified that specifically. Comparing GLoP to Agraceful doesn't help matters either. Nonetheless, I'm done. Hopefully nobody just skims this shit and passes on a potentially enjoyable listen...
Don't be an ass about it. The text is what matters, not the damn score. Here's a little disclaimer then:

This score should be viewed as if out of 100% and as a 7.10 and thus, above average.

Better?

[xsinkshipsx]

love this album. saw them at life in your way's last show....so freakin good. I agree the production could have been better. nice review too. score could have been a little higher and the "recommended if you like" section is a little odd, but as for the review itself I was into it

[ddrmr85]

NOTE: I am not agreeing to be an ass, I just think it is useful criticism that you can use on future reviews to help gain more audience.



I agree with BruisedxBroken and disagree with the comment about the score not being important.. most of the time I only read these reviews if they're 70% or above, and that's only average:

Grades in the United States are generally assigned by a letter: A (highest grade, excellent), B (above average), C (average), D (usually the minimum passing grade), and F (fail).

Grade Percentages:

A 90-100
B 80-89
C 70-79
D 60-69
F 0 - 59

As you can see, your score is below average to the normal person... I understand 6/10 is above average where it was taken from but I don't see 6/10 anywhere on this post besides the comment you made. I would bump this to at least a 79% so it's on the higher side of average if anything, but it should be in the 80's if not low 90's. Most of the time I am lazy and make other people (i.e.: you, the reviewer) tell me what I should and shouldn't AT LEAST check out.. just keep that in mind

Power to the people!

[Klatzke]

NOTE: I am not agreeing to be an ass, I just think it is useful criticism that you can use on future reviews to help gain more audience.



I agree with BruisedxBroken and disagree with the comment about the score not being important.. most of the time I only read these reviews if they're 70% or above, and that's only average:

Grades in the United States are generally assigned by a letter: A (highest grade, excellent), B (above average), C (average), D (usually the minimum passing grade), and F (fail).

Grade Percentages:

A 90-100
B 80-89
C 70-79
D 60-69
F 0 - 59

As you can see, your score is below average to the normal person... I understand 6/10 is above average where it was taken from but I don't see 6/10 anywhere on this post besides the comment you made. I would bump this to at least a 79% so it's on the higher side of average if anything, but it should be in the 80's if not low 90's. Most of the time I am lazy and make other people (i.e.: you, the reviewer) tell me what I should and shouldn't AT LEAST check out.. just keep that in mind

Power to the people!
I've said numerous times that I'd rather grade on a 1/10. And where this came from, yes, it should be taken as a /10 score, not a letter grade. For example, you wouldn't say that something that was 2.5/5 stars was failing at 50%, and the same thing should be looked at here. If you read my comments and see what I've said, then the score SHOULDN'T matter. I've pretty much realized that all anyone looks at is the score at this point anyways, so whatever.

Not you, but the above kid that got all defensive just pisses me off. Being an ass about me reviewing a band that I said some pretty good things about and bashing just because he thinks the score is a little low just completely undermines the point of the review. I didn't have to ever review this album, and although it is a big aged, I stand by what I said in the text.

That being said, 90% of the time when I go to score one of these albums it ends up coming out a lot lower than I expect. However, those are the values I would give them for each individual thing and I don't really see it right to go back and increase it based upon people complaining.

As for the RIYL, Agraceful wasn't the best pick, however, they both are fairly standard metalcore, and Agraceful uses many of the same kinds of atmospheric riffs and such that Gray Lines do. With all of that said, i do want to stress that I did, in fact, enjoy this album and definitely said that it was a good album in the text. For those of you too lazy to read, then that's your own loss.

[shimmyshakes]

I really like this album.