A Feast For Muffins

"Corpus Christi" is Latin for "the body of Christ". This is an appropriate name for the 5-piece metalcore band from Cincinnati, Ohio, because they keep their faith in the forefront of their music and ministry.

Now, to give you a bit of back story on the band, they signed to Victory Records and released their debut album, The Darker Shades Of White in 2009. However, all but one member of the original band, the guitarist and clean vocalist, left for one reason or another. So, the band was rebuilt from the ground up, and a new, heavier sound emerged.

Thus, A Feast For Crows was born. Let me be clear: this is not the same band as before. The new members of the band breathe new life into this album, and Jarrod's clean vocals complement the sound even better.

I don't know that I'll ever understand the point of creating a separate intro track, but it doesn't surprise me when a band does it any more. Corpus Christi hold to this... tradition (I use the term loosely), and after one minute and 39 seconds, the album officially starts. And it starts with a kick - ripping guitars, thunderous drums, and a heavy low-end bass bombard the senses as they lead in to the new screamer Max O'Connell, whose range fills the album perfectly.

Let me clarify something. As much as it may sound like I'm ripping on The Darker Shades Of White, I'm not. I love that album, and I still enjoy listening to it. I'm just trying to make it very clear that this new line-up is a different, heavier sound.

"A Portrait of Modern Greed" and "Monuments" showcase exactly how heavy these guys can be as they bring the most brutal breakdowns and riffs. In addition, Max and Jarrod obviously enjoy working with each other, because they sound perfect on this album. "Betrayed Redemption" is probably my favorite track on the album, and it feels the most heartfelt and challenging. Max screams "Guilty! I am guilty!", and Jarrod comes in at the chorus to voice the confession of that guilt before the song comes to a close with true redemption finally shining through.

"Little Miss Letyouknow" shakes things up a bit as they throw a nice southern metal song in here. I am a sucker for southern metal. I love the feel of this song and would love to hear more of this style from Corpus Christi. "Broken Man" and "Invictus" are the highlights of the second half of the album, once again showing that these boys can play all over the place. A Feast For Crows showcases a whole new Corpus Christi, and I can't wait to see what they have in store next.

>Pawn