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By Temery Pasket, Staff Writer

Disciple does a great job of mixing a 80s style with sensible Christian lyrics like Petra and the intense metal of Metallica. These two influences are smoothly mixed and strongly demonstrated in their newest album, Horseshoes and Handgrenades. The inspiration comes from the saying "close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades" which is used all throughout the album. These lyrics are Disciple's strongest. Even if you don't care for rock or heavy music, these lyrics are still beautiful put together that can be appreciated by anyone. They express the theme of the brokenness subsumed by grace which addresses anger, shame, and pain. This is a powerful album about the struggles and addictions that Christians battle in their everyday-war against Satan.

Group 1 Crew once again releases their third full length album Outta Space Love on September 21, 2010. The album consists of 12 tracks five in which can be found on their other album Spacebound . It is said that tracks one, four, seven, eleven, and twelve were actually released earlier this year. The album brings out great material especially with the soon to be hit song “Let’s Go” featuring Toby Mac. The album kicks off with a great lead off song “Live it Up” which will certainly have you ready for the weekend. Just one listen and it will be your ringtone for Fridays. The top track on this album would definitely have to be “Manipulation.” It’s a perfect catchy dance song with some of a hip-hop feel that will have you listening to it for endless hours. The lower point of the album is “Beautiful.” The chorus becomes real annoying especially towards the middle of the song. The end part of the song really saves it with a funky sounding rap section. The song overall is fun to listen to but could be served a little bit better on a special release single, or even an EP. If you’re a fan of the Black Eyed Peas look no further because this group provides it all with the exception of less profanity and more positive messages within their tracks. If you’re looking for some beats to bust out on on the dance floor, well Outta Space Love is the whole package and much more!

In 2007, Anberlin released their highly-acclaimed album Cities, blowing peoples’ minds with songs like “Godspeed”, “Dismantle.Repair” and “Fin.”. Hopes were high for their following release, New Surrender, but some were disappointed. Thus the anticipation for their latest album, Dark Is the Way, Light is the Place, was even higher.

This was their second album since signing with their new label, Universal Republic Records. It is said it is very well-executed in all areas, really showing Anberlin’s maturity in sound and content over the past few years. It’s not the Anberlin some of us have been used to, listening to oldies (but goodies) like “Stationary, Stationary” or “Paperthin Hymn”, but it’s a refreshing to hear their more established sound.

Lead vocalist Stephen Christian’s voice is better than ever, calming the soul with tracks like “Pray Tell” to belting it out on tracks like “To The Wolves” and “We Owe This To Ourselves”. Speaking of “We Owe This To Ourselves”, it is the opener and could not introduce the album any better. The guitar riff is solid, with Christian’s vocals soaring over the top… What’s not to like about this familiar Anberlin sound? The album’s most accessible track, its first single “Impossible”, has an incredible mix of guitar, synth, and Christian’s intense, desperate vocals layering the top. For the slower songs, there are songs like “You Belong Here” and “Take Me (As You Find Me)”, which are both the same awesome ballad-y Anberlin, a lot similar to their past songs “Inevitable” and “Fin.”

The album ends with a typically epic last track, this one entitled “Depraved”. Lyrics like “you’re not a slave, so get off your knees, are you ashamed that you’ve been deceived?” really hit home. It seems that Christian has not lost his talent of stringing together words that subtly shoot straight to the heart. The whole album seems to stress emotional extremes. And because it is only ten tracks, it does seem like we’re left short. And even though it doesn’t seem as incredible as Cities, it does have potential to be one of 2010’s most extraordinary albums.