Texas in July's Self Titled Album Review

I have been hooked on Texas In July ever since I heard their first EP back in 2008. Their sound reminded me so much of one of my favorite bands in this particular genre (August Burns Red). Ever since then, I have seen the band grow and grow in popularity, even touring with August Burns Red and playing multiple festivals. Now, the band is releasing their third full length album, which is self titled, and it has to be the best thing the band has put out in their career.

I was one of the fans that was fairly disappointed with their previous effort, One Reality. It's not that I didn't like the album, I just didn't feel like it was on par with their first full length, and it seemed to go a different direction that what I was hoping for. They seemed to have stepped up their game with this self titled album though, and for that, I am very thankful.

The album intro is a typical intro you would hear on an album like this. It's just a minute long, and flows right into the previous released track, Cry Wolf. The hard pounding drums of Adam Gray kick things off in this song, and that is one thing I have always loved about Texas In July. Adam Gray is a drumming master. His skills are up there with great drummers of the scene, and even better than most I think. The musicianship of the band is ridiculous, also. The guitars can get so complex, while still having a great sound. I have had the chance to see them play live, and they sound great. They transition the complex guitars and drumming on the album into their live shows flawlessly.

Not unlike quite a few bands now days, Texas In July have worked a more melodic sound into their music. It's perfect, and really fits well with the sound the band has already established. The song Without A Head is especially melodic, and that's fitting because it features the guest vocals of Chadwick Johnson, the vocalist of the melodic hardcore giants Hundredth. A fantastic guitar riff starts the song off, and it leads you into a very I Am sounding Texas In July song. That is, until a little after the halfway point. The song just cuts out, and then a very melodic sounding guitar brings things back. This is when things start sounding very different for the band, and is where the vocals of Johnson come in. The next track, Bed Of Nails, is also a track that was previously released by the band. This song became one of my favorites because of the very odd placed guitar riff in the middle. It seems so odd, but it fits so well into the structure of the song. It almost gave me a hint of Stray From The Path.

A couple of the other standout tracks for me were Repressed Memories and the album closer Cloudy Minds. Repressed Memories is a completely instrumental track that gives off a very ambient feel. It's odd, in comparison to the rest of the album, but it sounds great. The closer, Cloudy Minds, has to be one of the most unique songs on the albums. It features a guest, but not in the typical guest vocal spot. It features Matt Greiner. For those of you that don't know, he is the drummer for August Burns Red. He does a drum solo/battle of sorts next to Adam Grey. Greiner is an even better drummer than Grey, and hearing his fantastic drumming on this release is a great thing for any fan of the two bands, or just drumming in general. It's a great way to close the album. 

My only real complaints on the album are the vocals, and somewhat repetitive structure on a couple songs. The vocals tend to not vary that much. It's more varied than their previous releases, but still not as varied as I would have liked, or as varied as I think vocalist Adam Good could be. Don't let that turn you off from the release though, because it's still (I think) their best release to date. The added melodic sound behind some of their typical chug-chug breakdowns really helped the band better their sound, and the overall feel of the album is good.The album was released yesterday, and I recommend picking it up.