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Rating: Some time ago, while chatting with some Americans from around the world and asking them for recommendations on any good artists or bands that made good rock music, I discovered the term Christian Rock for the first time. To the Matt or Kevin of the moment, I said I wasn't interested in church choirs; I wanted music that rocked, that put me in a good mood. That’s how I realized that this label is just a way to distinguish certain artists who fill their lyrics with thanks and praises to Jesus or God. I thought it was music too difficult for us or that it would never reach us for some reason when I discovered that a band I was particularly listening to at that time, P.O.D., certainly not four altar boys at first glance, is listed among the many labels also as a Christian band. I pleasantly discovered that there was finally someone in the world who could make beautiful, impactful, and powerful music capable of conveying strong sensations without necessarily stuffing the lyrics with fuck, asshole, and other sweet nothings.
Five Iron Frenzy was a discovery about two years ago, and since then, among the thousands of CDs I own, they have been a constant in my worn-out CD player. Imagine the Reel Big Fish or Less Than Jake, just to name more famous artists, making a perfect record. That's FIF. Their music is a power pop, a punk rock filled with trumpets, with a distinct sense of melody. In the lyrics, the Christian roots often come to the surface, and most of the time, it makes you laugh when you find yourself singing really catchy choruses, surprised that you've just thanked God for the strength He gives us. The beauty of this album doesn't necessarily lie in the lyrics; it simply exudes serenity and at the same time charges you with killer riffs, and you realize you're listening to truly sincere music that comes from the heart. Like in those movies where after a scene, you unconsciously find yourself with a smile on your face, FIF knows how to give you serenity.
After ten years spent on the tour bus, FIF decided to announce their breakup in the most official way, through the title of their latest album. This same album was on sale online last summer with a red cover and the title "The End Is Near" before it was officially released (alas, not in Italy, though) with the cover shown above. For those who want to feel good.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Cannonball (03:44)
wind passes right through my skin as i fall down, this furious speed will only destroy me..
crippling and devastating momentum, approaching maximum velocity.
and this is how it's going to be, the point of it all, 'cause this is what was meant for me, recklessly i fall.
hulking, smashing, i come crashing, nothing like when i was small.
i am unstoppable, i am the cannonball.
that feeble coward that you knew, has undergone an overhaul,
i am unstoppable, i am the cannonball.
thirty-two feet per second i increase, as the exponents will multiply.
i'll never stop to look back behind me, cutting through the bright blue sky.
and this is how it's meant to be, untethered i will soar.
i'll barrel towards the earth below, it's what i was made for.
and everyone will say its just an accident, like some mishap or a tragedy.
i think that failure has a purpose, and i don't believe its chance if i fall.
and i know that if i ever do fall, he will catch me.
and if he ever lets me fall down, for the good of those who believe him,
he will make me into a cannonball.
unblemished, and faultless. a burning luminescence.
unequaled precision, beyond your scope of vision.
cannonball.
10 Anchors Away (03:32)
An idea dies, in the same slight way
That we lose track of the facts
Slowly, unseen, slipping silently
Through some fabricated cracks
And now the freedom of the press
Has turned to freedom to impress
Perfect hair, sells product well
Like suffocating, sickly smells
The make-up smears, like false pastels
Like glossy, sugarcoated, shells
Tune in, tune out, goodbye, goodnight
They're buying you with fear and lies
Turn it off until it's right
That's the news, that's all, goodnight
Turn it off until it's right
That's the news, that's all, goodnight
The advertising dollars buy
The right to stifle antonyms
To sterilize the truth with fiction
So we can sing their corporate hymns
And all of us were cowed and bought it
Hardly anybody got it
While mergers made their spires grow taller
What they let you know grew smaller
And we were scared, or too bemused
And so we still turned on the news
Are you afraid yet?
They want you to be
It will keep you coming back
You are a loyal customer
Are you afraid yet?
You should be
13 On Distant Shores (10:15)
I have been scarred so deep by life and cold despair,
and brittle bones were broken far beyond repair.
I have leveled lies so deep, the truth may never find.
And inside my faithless heart, I stole things never mine.
Dear Father, I will see you, there on distant shores.
If mercy falls upon the broken and the poor,
I have toiled for countless years and ever felt the cost,
and I've been burned by this world's cold,
like leaves beneath the frost.
On my knees I've crawled to You, bleeding myself dry.
But the price of life is more, than I could ever buy.
Dear Father, I will see you, there on distant shores.
If mercy falls upon the broken and the poor,
And off of the blocks, I was headstrong and proud,
at the front of the line for the card-carrying, highbrowed.
Running at full tilt, my sword pulled from its hilt.
With both eyes fastened tight, yet unscarred from the fight.
It's funny how these things can slip away, our frail deeds,
the last will wave good-bye.
It's funny how the hope will bleed away,
the citadels we build and fortify. Good-Bye.
Night came and I broke my stride,
When grace was easy to forget,
I'd denounce the hypocrites,
I swallowed hard, but never cried.
You would unscale my blind eyes,
casting first stones, killing my own.
and I stood battered, but more wise,
shaking free from crippling weight.
fighting to accelerate,
With resilience unsurpassed,
I clawed my way to You at last.
And on my knees, I wept at Your feet,
I finally believed, that You still loved me.
Healing hands of God
have mercy on our unclean souls once again.
Jesus Christ, Light of the World,
burning bright within our hearts forever.
Freedom means love without condition,
without beginning or an end.
only You can make every new day seem so new.Here's my heart, let it be forever Yours,
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