I Am Empire: Anchors

Release Date: 26 March 2013

Genre: Christian Hard Rock, Emo

Length: 35:39

Label: Tooth&Nail Records

Similar artists: Nine Lashes, Write This Down, Children 18:3, Sent By Ravens

Rating: 3.5/5

"You are worthy of a great song; so worthy of a good son that I could never be. You are evident around me, elegance resounding by grace I am restored, but inside I don't feel right." – Sing, I Am Empire

“Kings was my therapy from my upbringing, but things are getting better, which even plays out in why we named the album Anchors. It’s about throwing away and getting rid of the weight that holds you down, which is something we also experienced collectively as a band” says Andy Lyons, the bands front-man.

This, the second album from I Am Empire since their signing with Tooth & Nail Records, has lived up to a lot of expectations since the bands album Kings was released. Kings was said to show that I Am Empire were good, and given the opportunity they could become great. Well friends, they have not disappointed! Anchors has a much more polished, self-assured feel to it and Andy Lyons, has improved a lot as a singer. The progression made by the band in this album has been truly remarkable.

The album is opened with the song "Gravity Bomb", this track is upbeat and vibrant and Lyon’s vocal growth is really apparent, setting the mood of the album rather nicely and giving you an idea of what is to come. After three really awesome, upbeat songs, "Labor" is one of the first tracks that will really grab your attention. It's isn’t as high tempo as the others and relies less on heavily distorted guitars to give it greatness. This track will more than likely become a favourite to many of you because its “singability” is indisputable.

You can really feel the passion in the music, vocals, and lyrics of this album. There are no acoustic songs or real ballad type tracks to be found on Anchors. That is however until you listen to the bonus track called "On a Rainy Sunday", which is not just a ballad but it is also a love song, proving once again that the members of hard rock bands are indeed human and feel emotion like the rest of us. Additionally this track shows that I Am Empire are versatile and have a lot of talent just waiting to be unleashed.

Before listening to Anchors all I really hoped for was evidence of growth sing the release of Kings, not to say that Kings was bad, but it did need a little bit of something more. Some fine tuning if you will. With Anchors, I Am Empire has successfully managed to polish their sound and the result is a more cohesive and pleasing album that shows that I Am Empire are definitely willing to push themselves at artists, a trait that will see them go far.

As with most releases, some of the songs are better than others: "Gasoline," "Labor," "Sing," and "Daylight" have something that places them above the rest, however I Am Empire have done a really good job of crafting a solid album.

Song of the Week has to be; “Sing”

Stay silly Milli Vanilli

D