Righteous Vendetta - Lawless

Artist: Righteous Vendetta

Album: Lawless

Label: Red Cord Records

Release Date: November 8^th, 2011

Righteous Vendetta was a band that really flew low under my radar. Their first release The Dawning just didn’t grab me, and I just kind of gave up on the band. But then came along Lawless the newest release from the Cody, Wyoming hardcore/metal outfit. Upon my first listen I noticed huge improvements all over the place. I was instantly grabbed and wanted more.

The album starts off with a pretty generic intro, but that doesn’t mean you should just give up all hope right there. The rest of the album really takes a turn for good, and is not just full of cliché breakdowns. This is an album full of soaring guitars, and fast paced drumming, but never feels over used. At first listen one of the ‘turnoffs’ for me was the clean singing, but as I listened more and more it became a strong factor in to the album. Sometimes I think that bands tend to just not use a clean singer for the sake of trying to be as heavy as possible. Thankfully, Righteous Vendetta does not try to abandon musical diversity for the sake of being heavy, and the clean vocals do not sound generic or overused.

Lyrically this album is BOLD! There is no doubt that this band loves Jesus Christ, and wants to see his name be glorified. It’s refreshing to hear a band like Righteous Vendetta take the time to reflect on God, and write with the intention of praising him. With that, I never feel like the lyrics are overly spiritual and in your face about their beliefs. I also appreciate that the lyrics aren’t cheesy and they really come from the heart without losing creativity.

Overall: This album is for sure a great listen. In a time where heavy music can be a bit boring and old sounding, Righteous Vendetta keep things solid. Though not anything groundbreaking, this album definitely pulls out some surprises. One of my favorite moments of the album was last song ‘The Psalmist’. It really closed the album out beautifully. Pick this album up if you’re in to bands like For Today, Gideon, or Altars.

Rating: 7/10

Reviewed by Tabor Brown

Tracklisting:

1. From Zion

2. Inheritance

3. John, the Revelator

4. Reason

5. Lawless

6. Prelude to Destruction

7. Signs

8. The Chosen One

9. For The Skeptic

10. The Psalmist

(buy here)