Artist: Manafest

Album: The Chase

Release Date: 3/30/10

Label: BEC Recordings

Have you heard of Chris Greenwood, otherwise known as rap rocker Manafest? Well, now would be the time to learn his name with the release of The Chase. Although rap rock has become somewhat of an outdated sound, Manafest brings it back in high style. With a collection of catchy rap rock tunes in the vein of Linkin Park, The Chase offers a sound that may not be all too original, but still a sure success.

The anthem "No Plan B" sets the pace of the album, which features Manafest's rapping talents, mixed with guest vocals from Koie of Japanese band Crossfaith. "Fire In The Kitchen" contains some big riffs, along with vocals from Trevor McNevan in the chorus. Trevor also appears on the rocker "Renegade" and the soft piano laden "Every Time You Run," one of the album's highlights. With a great message, the song shows a softer side of Manafest that works just as well as the high-energy rockers on The Chase.

The KJ-52 esque "Avalanche" tells the story of a prodigal, followed up by the fun "Married In Vegas." It talks about the importance of marriage, while containing a fun pop rock rhythm. The Chase isn't perfect, but still has a good sound to it, making for a good and enjoyable listen.

Rating: 8/10 Manafest is back with his new album The Chase, reviving the sounds of quality rap rock. Although not completely perfect, this album will guarantee a good listen, full of plenty of good messages on not giving up on God and how He changes lives.

Here is the album art for Since October's sophomore album titled Life, Scars, Apologies due out June 8th on Tooth & Nail Records.

Check out The River Empires! They are formed of Jessy Ribordy and Josh Shroy formerly of Falling Up, as well as Casey Crescenzo of The Deer Hunter. They have a folk rock and experimental sound to them and are recommended for fans of the Fangs era of Falling Up. Their new self-titled debut will be out on April 6th. You can check out their site here.

Artist: Charmaine

Album: Love Reality

Release Date: 3/30/10

Label: in:ciite

Love Reality sure comes as a surprise from Charmaine. The follow up to her debut album from '02', she finally returns with her anticipated new album. Touring with artists such as Newsboys and Rebecca St. James, she certainly has something special to offer us. With a sound composed of electronic driven Euro-pop, Charmaine's voice really stands out and is a perfect fit for the style.

A driving string section is one of the noticeable things on the album, found on tracks such as "At My Door" and "Fighting Furies."Something else to take note of are the heavy electronic beats of "Run" and "Epiphany," which come as the highlights of the album. The first single off the album, titled "Tokyo", has a quirky pop sound to it. The album's title track is a very simple, light-hearted song that showcases piano driven melodies. Charmaine sure packs a lot into Love Reality, making it a very unique and successful sophomore album.

Rating: 8/10 Love Reality from Charmaine serves as a solid sophomore effort. I'm sure that this album will come off as one of the better pop releases of the year, with its wide mix of upbeat songs.

Since October have a new single up on iTunes and Amazon MP3 titled "The Show". It comes off their new album Life, Scars, Apologies in stores and online June 8th on Tooth & Nail Records.

Sent By Ravens will be releasing their new single "New Fire" on April 6th. It comes off of their debut album Our Graceful Words releasing April 20th on Tooth & Nail Records.

Write This Down will be releasing their new single "Renegade" on April 6th. It comes off of their self-titled debut releasing April 20th on Tooth & Nail Records.

Artist: Poema

Album: Sing It Now

Release Date: 3/23/10

Label: Tooth & Nail Records

When the pieces of the puzzle all fit, something very beautiful can be found, or heard in this case. Acoustic pop duo Poema, made up of sisters Elle and Shealeen Puckett, bring us their debut album aptly titled Sing It Now. Add in long time producer Aaron Sprinkle and what we have is an excellent introduction of what to expect from Poema. While not lyrically varying much from song to song, Poema has a constant theme of relationships throughout the album. However, the do get their sound across nicely, from the ranging sounds of the piano to the soaring strings. The rather refreshing vocals of Elle and Shealeen fit nicely as well.

The acoustic driven melodies of "2 AM" and the light hearted verses of "City Boy" are sure to stick. Songs like "Echo Off The Sky" and "Blue Sweater" take on a more flat up pop style, still keeping up with the relationship theme. Poema really seems to be going somewhere with their debut and certainly have the potential to become very big!

Rating: 8/10 Sing It Now is a solid debut for Poema, with a range of simple yet beautiful love ballads. Poema certainly has the skill and potential to become a big artist in our ever growing music industry.

Tracklisting:

1. 2 AM
2. City Boy
3. Feel The Same Way
4. Echo Off The Sky
5. Safe To Say
6. Blue Sweater

(Buy Here)

Jaymes Reunion will be releasing their long awaited debut album Everything You've Been Looking For on BEC Recordings. It will be available in stores and online April 20th. Here is the tracklisting:

Artist: Demon Hunter

Album: The World Is A Thorn

Release Date: 3/9/10

Label: Solid State Records

The World Is A Thorn marks the fifth studio album by Demon Hunter. With their heaviest sound to date, not to mention the hard hitting lyrics, this album is nearly perfect. Something noticeable on the album is the stellar guitar work, which pulls the heart wrenching growls and screams together with the melodic clean vocals.

The opening track "Descending Upon Us" already begins to show many of the much heavier elements on The World Is A Thorn. The short "LifeWar" tells a condensed life story and brings a march-like sound with its repetitive snare. The ballads on the album also come as a high point and are found in "Driving Nails" and "Blood In The Tears". The string section found on "Driving Nails" is excellent, accompanying the song nicely. "Blood In The Tears" isn't much different in sound, but lyrically differs from "Driving Nails".

Some excellent guitar work is found on "Shallow Water", with high pitched and screaming riffs. "Collapsing" also features a great solo and a guest appearance by Bjorn "Speed" Strid of Soilwork, which turns very nicely in the end.

Rating: 9/10 The World Is A Thorn is a monumental release for Demon Hunter, being their fifth studio album. With the hard hitting lyrics and melodic riffs and choruses of the album, The World Is A Thorn brings with it Demon Hunter's heaviest sound yet. I'm not the biggest metal fan myself, but this album is excellent.

Artist: Adie

Album: Just You and Me

Release Date: 3/9/10

Label: BEC Recordings

With her sophomore release Just You and Me, Adie Camp, otherwise known as Adie, brings us a very refreshing worship album. This album shines through other typical worship albums, showcasing the beautiful, soaring vocals of Adie and great instrumentation to go with it. Many of these songs, including the first single "Where Could I Go", are sure to be big hits in the CCM world.

Some of the better worship tunes on the album come with "Where Could I Go", "Love Come Down" and "Seek You". The album is a bit more toned down compared to her debut album, but cuts to the heart with some great lyrics that praise God to the fullest.

Rating: 7/10 One of the better worship albums that I've heard this year, Adie brings us something better than your typical worship album. A great album for worship, Just You and Me is a worthy album to check out.

Since October will be releasing their sophomore album titled Life, Scars, Apologies on Tooth & Nail Records. It will be in stores and online on May 18th.

Sent By Ravens will be releasing their debut album Our Graceful Words on Tooth & Nail Records. It will be in stores and online April 20th. Here is the tracklisting:

Write This Down will be releasing their self-titled debut album on Tooth & Nail Records on April 20th. Here is the tracklisting:

To Speak Of Wolves will be releasing their new album Myself Letting Go on Solid State Records. It will be in stores and online May 18th.

Artist: Sanctus Real

Album: Pieces Of A Real Heart

Release Date: 3/9/10

Label: Sparrow Records

With a more mature sound to date, Sanctus Real welcomes us with the release of their new album Pieces Of A Real Heart. Containing some of the best lyrics I've heard from the band, the album does seem to take more of a pop rock direction, shying away from their rock sound, which is still present on a small amount of the album.

With the opening sound of the already hit single "Forgiven", listeners can get a good vibe for what the album is positioned towards. The pop rock ballads "These Things Take Time" and "The Way The World Turns" lead up to a personal favorite of mine of the album, "Lead Me". An acoustic driven song, with a fitting string section to add to the song, it talks about frontman Matt Hammit's wife and children and his desire to be a better father and husband. With a resounding chorus of "I'm still a dreamer, a believer", the track "The Redeemer" has a much more laid back feel to it, still coming off rather refreshing to the album.

The only true rock ballad off the album "Take Over Me" features some Anberlin-esque riffs, as well as being a plea to be taken over by our Creator. As the album draws to a close, "Keep My Heart Alive" offers something of a modern worship track, with some of the most honest lyrics heard throughout the album.

Rating: 8/10 Progressing on past their previous works, Pieces Of A Real Heart shows a mature side of Sanctus Real, from the lyrics to the style. Filled with many pop rock ballads, this album is sure to garner a good bunch of hits. This is surely one of Sanctus Real's best works to date.

Artist: Stellar Kart

Album: Everything Is Different Now

Release Date: 3/9/10

Label: INO Records

Everything is different now for Stellar Kart. With their recent signing to INO, Stellar Kart releases their new album aptly titled Everything Is Different Now. The album shows a different side of Stellar Kart, with a good bunch of worship songs, which still contain their melodic pop punk sound.

Opening with the piano driven "All My Heart", the album's worship sound starts to take place, moving on to a cover of Fee's "We Shine", the first single off of Everything Is Different Now. The song has a great chorus of "We are the redeemed, we are the ones who are free, 'cause we belong to Jesus".

One thing that is different on the album for sure is that it contains four covers. However, they are all done extremely well, possibly even better than some of the original songs. Besides their Fee cover, they also cover "Until My Heart Caves In" by Audio Adrenaline, "Never Let Go" by Matt Redmen and "Spirit In The Sky". I really admire Stellar Kart for covering Audio Adrenaline, something which has never been done before. The result is great, as is with their perfect cover of the worship tune "Never Let Go". Closing off the album is "Like The Sun", which progresses in style as the song goes on, from a softer sound, to Stellar Kart's typical sound.

Rating: 8/10 With the release of their INO debut, Stellar Kart bring us something special with Everything Is Different Now. Showcasing an upbeat, fun worship sound, Stellar Kart does change it up a bit. Containing four covers, as well as six original songs, the album contains everything that you would want to hear from SK! Check out Everything Is Different Now, it won't disappoint.

Here is the very strange, unique cover art for Secret & Whisper's new album Teenage Fantasy releasing April 6th on Tooth & Nail Records. Thoughts?

Here is the cover art for the new Emery anthology titled Are You Listening? releasing April 6th on Tooth & Nail Records. It features The Weak's End, The Question and I'm Only A Man.

Here is the cover of The Classic Crime's new album Vagabonds, releasing April 6th on Tooth & Nail Records. Thoughts? You can pre-order it here. It is a truly amazing album and I would suggest you pre-order it! All profits go to the Jesus in Haiti Ministries, who are helping the current earthquake relief in Haiti.