The annual Elmira, NY music festival, iMatter, has announced their lineup for this year. The festival will take place on Labor Day weekend, September 2nd-4th, and will feature a great lineup of 12 bands, who are listed below. For more information on iMatter 2011, check out the festival's Facebook page.

iMatter Festival 2011 Lineup:

August Burns Red
Emery
The Ember Days
Impending Doom
Texas In July
A Plea For Purging
Life In Your Way
Hundredth
I, The Breather
The Great Commission
My Heart To Fear
Gideon
To Speak of Wolves

The lineup for this summer's Scream The Prayer tour has been announced. Norma Jean will be headlining, support from nine other bands, such as The Chariot and Sleeping Giant, which can be seen above. The dates have yet to be announced, but look for more info on the tour soon.

Artist: I, The Breather
Album: These Are My Sins
Release Date: 12/7/10
Label: Sumerian Records

2010 has been a great year for Christian metal. With the year drawing to a close comes the debut album from Maryland metalcore act I, The Breather, adding to the list of solid metal albums that the year has had to offer. Drawing comparisons to the likes of August Burns Red, but with a bit more added technicality and a unique flair of their own, I, The Breather are ready to take the music scene by storm. Vocalist Shawn Spann keeps the songs interesting and cohesive, with an interesting formula of screaming vocals that sometimes transition to a brief yell, before residing back to explosive screams. Backing the vocals are some very technical, soaring riffs, expertise double-bass drumming, and heavy bass drops that all come together to form a cohesive album, that is These Are My Sins.

Breaking out of the pack is the strong opener "Forgiven." The track is a good choice for the opener, setting the feel of the record, both musically and lyrically. The next few tracks follow in suit, not changing it up much musically, but "High Rise" hits hard, really utilizing some of Spann's yelling vocals, as opposed to just screams, and gang vocals towards the end of the song, that proclaim the album's title, "These are my sins!"

A bit of ambience is introduced to These Are My Sins, first on the intro of "Longevity," which is continued in a few other places on the album, one being the ending of "Conquer," laden with soothing piano, leading into the album's only instrumental, "Empathy," which serves as a break to the heaviness, before going right back into the territory on "Crown Me King."

One of the most impressive things that I find about I, The Breather on These Are My Sins would be their no-holds-barred lyrics that are upfront about their faith. They are very encouraging to hear, and go perfectly with their in your face brand of metalcore.

Rating: 8/10 An impressive debut album is what I, The Breather have brought to offer to the Christian metal scene with their new album, These Are My Sins. A heavy, in your face technical metalcore sound, driven by their strong, faith-based lyrics, is what I, The Breather are all about. Despite not changing it up much musically throughout the record, the album is not bad by any extent, and I am sure that these guys will be sure to turn quite a few heads.

Tracklisting:

1. Forgiven
2. The Common Good
3. Destroyer
4. High Rise
5. Longevity
6. Doomsday
7. Conquer
8. Empathy
9. Crown Me King
10. Allspark
11. Illuminate

(Buy Here)

We recently talked with up and coming metal band I, The Breather about their new album, touring and more!

Christian Rock Rocks (Brooks Ginnan): Can you say your name and what you do in I, The Breather?
Jered Youngbar (I, The Breather): My name is Jered and I play guitar in I, The Breather.

CRR (Gary Mark Peterson): First off, congrats on signing to Sumerian. How did signing with them come about and what made you decide on them?
Jered: Thanks a lot. Our manager Chris is good friends with Shawn and Ash of Sumerian Records. So he helped us a lot with the process and got our music into the right hands. We love Sumerian Records and are really pumped to be part of the family.

CRR: How was the writing process for the record? How does everyone contribute to the actual songwriting process? Is everyone involved or do only a few core members write the music?
Jered: Normally how it goes is that Justin will write the skeleton of a song, and then Morgan, him, and I will practice together and work out the kinks and get it exactly how we want it. We're very picky and particular when it comes to writing music, haha.

CRR: I love how I, The Breather put out videos that were basically instructionals on how to play ITB songs. I thought it was very unique and showed that you guys care about your fans deeply. Who thought of that and why?
Jered: Kids would ask us often at our shows and on the Internet about how to play our songs. So we decided to do the videos. We figured that would be the best way for them to learn and play along.

CRR: I saw you guys at Scream The Prayer and was blown away. I had already heard of ITB and knew I wanted the music but was amazed at how tight y'all are live. How were you received overall? Anything that you guys would like to improve upon in regards to your live shows (not that I found any flaws)?
Jered: Thanks man. We loved Scream The Prayer! It was awesome to see the kids get into it and have fun. We are constantly trying to improve our live show and with our stage presence. It's very important to us that kids can see that we're having fun on stage and it not just being a routine.

CRR: You guys were billed a little higher than some of the other, shall we say, more established, bands on Scream The Prayer. You seemed to take full advantage of the nice billing with the performances. How did you guys end up with that slot?
Jered: Honestly, we thought we were opening the tour beforehand. And then first day of the tour we found out we were fourth every night.

CRR: I noticed on Twitter that you started having a few van issues towards the end of STP. Please tell me the issues are being handled and that we'll be able to see you guys on more tours soon? We all know that being on the road is hard on you guys so what are some ways fans can make your travels a little easier?
Jered: Yes, we had some major problems happen to our van, but we got everything fixed and we'll be back on the road in a few weeks. And to answer your other question, just come to our shows, support us, and buy our merch. It helps more that you think.

CRR: Speaking of travel, when can we expect the new album and tour supporting it? In regards to the new album, what can we expect in terms of release, length, amount of songs, etc.?
Jered: The album is scheduled to be released on December 21st. It will have 11 tracks and I believe runs about 40 minutes. Tours will follow and are being worked out right now.

CRR: Do you have a name yet for the album?
Jered: Persecutors

CRR: How did you get started as a band?
Jered: We started in August of 2009. We all were good friends with each other, but were in different bands at the time. Eventually we all came together and formed I, The Breather.

CRR: What role does your faith play in your music?
Jered: It plays a huge role in not just our band, but with everything in our lives. We all believe strongly in Jesus Christ and try our best to show His love to everyone we meet.

CRR: Any last things you'd like to say?
Jered: I just wanna say thanks to everyone that comes out to our shows and supports us. We have two tours coming up soon so check out our Myspace and Facebook for the dates and we'll see you guys soon!