From the first flourish of "Spanish Gold" to the final, gospel-tinged reprise, the orchestral score is ambitiously grand. It has to be ambitious; transforming one of the most infamous criminal factions in history and the world's least favorite food group into lovable heroes with spiritual clout isn't the easiest thing to do. Ultimately, there are only two possible trajectoriesfor The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything-hilarious or ridiculous. Though we won't know the final verdict on the veggies for another month or so, we can hope for a glimpse of greatness in the music.

It's not necessary to describe the music here. Anyone who reads this will have likely heard it already. But what most have probably not heard are these songs enhanced, remixed, and remastered. Sound technology has come a long way since 1965, and with producer Cheryl Pawelski having access to the original analog multi-track masters, the result is a crisper, cleaner, and greater amplified, high-fidelity recording. Also included on the CD are bonus tracks featuring alternative takes on four of the originals.

While some will argue that Storm the Gates of Hell doesn't take any chances and falls into the formulaic Demon Hunter sound, I'll have to disagree. Believe me; no one is more surprised at that than I am. I have felt that all of Demon Hunter's work prior to this was overly formulaic and it never really moved me at all. Storm the Gates of Hell is altogether different however. This album fits nicely alongside bands like As I Lay Dying, Himsa, Killswitch Engage, and the like but the band let their melodic side shine a bit more on this one, bringing to mind bands like Nonpoint, Staind, and In This Moment. Now that's not to say that they sound like any of those bands, but there are certainly elements of all of them in these songs.

The first of four projected solo projects, Fall allows Foreman to break away from the pressure of producing innovative yet commercially viable songs for his band, Switchfoot, to turn into radio hits - instead, we encounter Foreman in a more personal musical setting where subtleties come to the fore (no pun intended) as his unique vocal delivery and a more eclectic, if sparse, instrumental palette is used to color the compositions. Lyrically, these songs wouldn't be off-limits to a Switchfoot treatment (since the band does offer some of rock's more intelligent, thoughtful lyrics already), but they take on a more intimate connotation when sung by Foreman accompanied by his guitar and only a few other instruments.

 This is the band's fourth full-length album, having garnered numerous chart #1's and top 5's. Their songs have been placed in everything from Smallville to NFL Films. To top it all off, you might have heard Trevor McNevan's songwriting prowess in his work with other notable names: Hawk Nelson, Toby Mac, Wavorly, Demon Hunter, Manafest, and even their own side project FM Static.

This newest offering from the boys out of Canada is exactly what was needed. The Flame In All of Us came at a time when there was a common thought among peers that all of the good writers/musicians/bands weren't giving us their all. You know what I'm saying; the bands that have always given you what you are looking for, suddenly didn't. Thankfully, our faith in music is restored.

Perhaps the artist does have a unique life story.  Yet, it is amazingly easy to relate to the songs on Here With Me.  The album opens with a song called "Spotlight", where Huss asks himself if he is the same person on stage as he is when he's alone.  This of course begs the question of the listeners, "Are you the same person at work as you are when you're alone?  Are you the same person with your friends as you are when you're alone?"  From the start we see that this artist isn't afraid to ask the hard questions.

The band's goal here was to separate their sound and create songs for each part. As everyone probably saw coming, Island Records passed on the project, landing the band on popular indie label Vagrant Records. While it's not so indie cool to say this, I think if I were at Island I would have passed as well. This is a pretty big risk and after hearing the first installment, Thrice fans will go crazy over this but I doubt it's going to win them hoards of new fans.