Various Artists – This Is Solid State Vol. 5

Solid State Records is the sister label to Seattle’s Tooth And Nail Records, and while the latter of the two tends to go for any christian-influence band, Solid State tends to go for the harder christian-influenced band; hard-core bands, metal, or metalcore bands for the most part. This is the fifth edition in their This Is Solid State series, which is a compilation series that focuses on bands from their roster. The fifteen track album has songs from releases over the past 6 to 8 months; some from new bands and others from crowd favorites which will end up being a huge selling point for the compilation.

The album starts off with an unreleased Norman Jean song called In Reference To A Sinking Ship, and it is horrible. Pretty much impossible to listen through the entire way, the listener will always skip it. It’s raw, rough, messy, and painful to listen to, which creates no anticipation for their new album which should be in stores March 2005. They do pick it up with a strong Underoath track from They’re Only Chasing Safety called A Boy Brushed Red Living In Black And White right after that though. Other standout tracks includes Demon Hunter‘s Annihilate The Corrupt, Showbread‘s A Llama East A Giraffe (And Vice Versa), Dead Poetic‘s Taste The Red Hands, and Emery‘s Disguising Mistakes With Goodbyes. Other hardcore fans will love the tracks from Haste The Day, Figure Four, The Chariot, and He Is Legend.

This Is Solid State Vol. 5 is a good indication as to what Solid State Records have been up to. Having some of their bigger name bands on it will hopefully make people recognize it and pick it up and listen to their up-and-comming bands. As far as unreleased tracks go, it only features three (Norma Jean, As Cities Burn, Far-Less), all of which will be re-released in full albums next year. So there’s not much on here that you can’t find somewhere else. But if you like some of the Solid State bands and want to hear more from them, then this is a great album for you to do that with.