We Came As Romans – To Plant a Seed
Record Label: Equal Vision
Release Date: November 3, 2009
If you haven't heard of We Came As Romans, get ready because they're headed at you like a freight train into a brick wall. Amongst the chaos and wreckage, you'll find strings, heavy and intricate guitar work, magnificent vocals, and most importantly, love.
What separates WCAR from acts like The Devil Wears Prada and Attack Attack! is their range; they don't just do one thing and repeat. Each song offers a new taste. They play music to plant the seed of love, something they hope can grow in everyone that listens to them or sees a show. They are the best band I've ever seen at practicing what they preach. You will not find a nicer bunch of guys than Andy, Dave, Eric, Joshua, Kyle and Lou.
The CD opens up with the title track “To Plant a Seed,” which boasts some heavy guitars and vocalist Dave Stephens tearing it up like it’s 1983. At the first taste, this CD is heavier than the Dreams EP, and yet even more melodic. The guitar work is intricate and blends so well with the synthesizer. It becomes apparent that synth player/vocalist Kyle Pavone has stepped up his game on this CD, sounding even better than the Dreams EP, which is quite an impressive feat. On drums you’d never believe that drummer Eric Choi just turned nineteen, blasting out complex fills and impressive arrangements of drums that make WCAR that much better.
“Broken Statues” was the first track to be placed on MySpace prior to the release and is definitely their best track to date. Featuring excellent strings combined with duel vocals, gang vocals and excellent breakdowns it will catch your attention in a heartbeat. It also is one of the best examples of what WCAR is here to do with the lyrics “Show me your hands let me wash them clean. Show me your heart and let me heal you.”
“Roads That Don't End and Views That Never Cease” is a song about being out on the road and missing home, but what it isn’t is a stereotypical song about being on the road. There is vocal layering that makes it hard not to sing, and breakdowns that make it hard for you to stay sitting in a chair.
The songs “Dreams” and “Intentions” have be redone from the release of the Dreams EP with minor tweaks. The singing sounds cleaner and there is some extra guitar work in parts, as well as heavier screams. Normally I’m not a fan of tracks that are redone, but these were done tastefully and definitely add to the flow of the CD.
“We Are Reasons” starts off with strings that have a familiar sound; they sound like the music played between songs at WCAR shows. It's pretty cool to see them used in a song. It’s got twangy guitars and an overall heavy feeling that inspires fists pumps and singalongs alike. Some moving lyrics at the end of the track “I plead to change my life, just before I dream. And wake to realize that change is inside me.” Bold words to end a song on, and they leave a lasting mark on the listener.
“Beliefs” starts very slow and laid-back but transitions to heavy synthesizer and alternating guitars. It builds to a climax at a chorus which features both vocalists dueling back and forth. Guitars ring out like shots fired, and the drums and keyboard play very well together. In the middle of the song the keyboard is the focal point with a breakdown with vocalist Dave Stephens belting out “Find faith in life. In whatever will keep you breathing.”
The CD closes with “An Ever Growing Wonder” and the line “So let us restore each other, not with haste, but gently. For an empty cup cannot fill another.” It does a great job to leave the listener thinking about the message they have just received.
We Came As Romans is currently on tour with The Chariot and Oh Sleeper. Following that tour, they are on tour with I See Stars, Broadway and Of Mice and Men. Be sure to check them out soon while they are at small venues, because as you'll see by my ratings, this cd is that good-- no gimmicks, no filler, and before you know it We Came As Romans will be headlining at Warped Tour.
I don't know...yes, this band is talented but at the same time...the whole singer with high vocal range mixed with a low end screamer has all been done the same. Yes, its how the music is meant to be because of the genre but to say they stand apart from other bands in the genre is kind of hard since they all seem to blend into one honestly. But yes, on a technical level the instrumentation is good and on a level of the "screamo" genre they've got all the ingredients so they'll go far within their scene but thats probably about it since this genre is pretty played out now.
This review wasn't very balanced, but I still agree with it :D I mean they're not the most original (synth, strings, scream/sing) but I enjoy them. This album put them into a more post-hardcore genre than the synth style of their EP - which takes some use to adjust to, but they are addicting as ever!
Shit sounds generic as fuck and belongs on Rise Records, not Equal Vison. How are they different from all the other sing/scream scenecore bands?
It sounds this way because it has been produced by Joey Sturgis.
Though I'm not putting him down in any way possible, and I don't mean to offend anybody, but he definitely has his signature style and I can recognize one of his albums right away.
And what separates this band from the others are their solid musicianship, precise and impressing guitar work, melodic and often orchestral arrangements, and their message of love and brotherhood.
I've watched this band grow since 2006, and the changes have been incredible. They deserve to make it.
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