Posted: December 4th, 2007
Contributed By: Nick

	Purchase @ iTunes Release Date: September 18th, 2007 via Tooth and Nail
	Thousand Foot Krutch is: Trevor McNevan (Vocals/Guitar) Joel Bruyere (Bass) Steve Augustine (Drums)

Overview: Thousand Foot Krutch have constructed quite a little niche for themselves over the years as one of the most commercially successful rock bands to crossover from the Christian market into the mainstream rock world. Although Thousand Foot Krutch broke out first with the 100,000+ sales of their 2003 disc ‘Phenomenon‘, their blossoming success really became evident after the release of the band’s 2005 effort, ‘The Art of Breaking‘, which spawned a top 20 rock track in “Move”. After touring extensively behind the album, Thousand Foot Krutch returned to the studio with notable producer Ken Andrews, which resulted in this, their latest offering, ‘The Flame in All of Us‘. Watch for their single “What Do We Know?” on modern and mainstream rock outlets, as well as Christian radio.

The Good: With ‘The Flame in All of Us‘, Thousand Foot Krutch expands on their melodic side, which showcases the band taking more chances and implementing more approached than on their previous affairs. The album opens fittingly with a bang in the form of the album’s title track, a memorable three minutes that pulsates and soars throughout its entirety. “Falls Apart” is paced extremely well, as its melody-laden verses are held together by a foot-tapping and bouncy chorus, while the gritty and explosive “New Drug” keeps ‘The Flame in All of Us‘ burning brightly. Thousand Foot Krutch get down to business melodically and harmonically with the next round of songs, commencing with the album’s lead single, the heartfelt “What Do We Know?”, uniquely aided by a children’s choir that gives the song an entirely new nostalgic feel. “Favorite Disease” shows off the lyrical wit and valor of the band, and, combined with strategically arranged vocal supplements, makes this tune a must-hear. “My Home” is perhaps one of the most memorable songs off ‘The Flame in All of Us‘ lyrically; although its content undoubtedly calls upon Christian beliefs, the lyrics are easy to relate to for a vast majority of people, making it a song that will stick. “Learn to Breathe” is an enchanting cut, which, although is eerily structured around “Learn to Hate” by Silverchair, provides a soothing string accompaniment that gives it some meat on its bones. Thousand Foot Krutch still bring the heat in the latter part of the album, as the witty rapcore blueprint of “My Own Enemy” and the disjointed 6/8 stomp of “Inhuman” pay testament. The band also mimics Helmet with “the Safest Place”, a sludgy, bass driven song that sets you up well for the album’s finale. “Wish You Well” is a fleeting consummation turned epic, as the sultry and thought-provoking song features a hidden track that provides the first round even more justice. ‘The Flame in All of Us‘ shows an obvious growth for Thousand Foot Krutch, but the band makes sure to keep many of its “roots” alive, and does so without once ever sounding tacky or redundant.

The Bad: ‘The Flame in All of Us‘, while a solid and digestible rock album, is also something we have all heard before; the band certainly has chops, and many of the songs presented here are much stronger than many of their peers, but after listening to the album a few times, you slowly start to realize that this is ground that has long since been treaded upon. The songs can stand on their own, sans the forgettable “Broken Wing”, but there is just not enough here to separate Thousand Foot Krutch from the rest of the pack. The band’s astute focus on dynamics is often times one of their pitfalls, as several songs feature build-ups and dalliances that never seem to be brought to their apexes. The disc has some intelligible lyric work, but many of the songs feel borderline “preachy” at times. In essence, ‘The Flame in All of Us‘ is guilty by association-the band has done nothing wrong per se, but the album can easily be skipped in favor of more well acquainted rock acts out there doing the exact same thing.

Bottomline: Thousand Foot Krutch have made arguably the most complete album of their careers in ‘The Flame in All of Us‘, a potpourri of styles from the past and present that show the maturity and well-roundedness of the band. Without question, ‘The Flame in All of Us‘ is a smooth listen and features tracks that will make you get up and “shake it”, sit back and reflect, or just plain sing along. Whatever the case, the biggest thing detracting from the album is its similarities to other bands of the same ilk, as there is not one track on here that can really define Thousand Foot Krutch as a staple band in the world of modern rock. Nevertheless, the band has constructed a solid album in ‘The Flame in All of Us‘, and all the disc needs is a solid push in the right direction and a more identifiable persona to make Thousand Foot Krutch a household name.

Rating: 8 out of 10