Who is Endureth?
Endureth is basically a prog-metal band which was formed by brothers Kevin and Keith Simmons in 1998 along with their best friend Scott Burnett who is an amazing guitar player.
Feeling called by God to spread his word through their music, they recorded their first album in Scott's basement studio in 2004 and that album is about to be officially released. Kevin sent me a copy of the master and the following are my thoughts on the album.
Endureth - Unto The End
Intro - The subtle guitar work in this opening gradually builds in order to reveal this bands greatest strength, that being the masterful guitar playing of Scott Burnett.
Fire From Heaven - Moving into the first song, I quickly saw the potential of this band. The song is catchy, centered on God's word and all the while, that great guitar playing keeps shining through. I began to think that with a little bit more song writing experience and a tighter execution, these guys could be in the same league with the likes of Narnia.
Thus far, I think my only complaint would be the sound. The mix does seem a bit muddy at times and the vocals could be a bit more clear.
Eye of the Needle - This song opens up with a more aggressive guitar attack. The song rocks, but it gets a bit bogged down in places. It could have done well with a little better song structure during the first half, but I really like where it goes from there. As always, the guitar work is excellent.
Despised and Rejected - This song takes a slower turn, but I suggest you take the opportunity to sit back and lose yourself in the words. They take you into Isaiah 53 and tell the story of Christ's sacrifice. Musically, the song builds up as it goes and offers yet more great guitar work.
Psalm - This song tells the story of David and Goliath and provides a good message about trusting God. Musically however, this song doesn't really stand out for me. There's still some nice guitar work, but overall the song seems to lack musical dimension.
Sad Existence - Here we have another song on the lighter side, but the mix seems much clearer here and the message about life without the Lord brings the gospel right to center stage. The music is good and it builds somewhat as it goes. Most importantly, it keeps you listening to the message.
Judgment - This song comes in with a low, heavy groove and settles into some lighter fare at times, but then it comes back to that great groove. It's a little slow here and there, but it keeps redeeming itself with points of renewed intensity.
In The End - I love the intro to this song. Musically superior is all I can say about it. However, when the vocals came in they actually seemed to be a distraction from the cool instrumental that preceeded them. It's not that the vocal are bad, I guess I just wasn't ready for them. The song goes on to talk about the end times, the resurrection and the reign of Christ.
Reprisal - This is just a cool little instrumental to cap things off. Very well done.
Overall, this is a pretty good album. Yes, I made some criticisms along the way, but with those aspects addressed and maybe a bit more intensity, these guys have the potential to be one killer Christian rock band.
Mike Tifft
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