From a Second Story Window: Delenda

From a Second Story Window released their second album in July 2006, called Delenda. Delenda loosely translates to "something that must be destroyed." Their first album was titled, Not One Word Has Been Omitted.

After you get through their instrumental opening track, you will start to hear what this band has to offer, technical metalcore/death metal. If you are a fan of bands like Beyond the Buried and Me, and Mastodon, you will love this band. The riffs are technically strong, interesting, and a mix of what you'd expect, changing time signatures, intricate guitar and bass leads, and sudden rests. However, while they are what you might expect, they are still unique, and are skilled song composers. Each song has a unique riff and utilizes the various capabilities of technical metal. Vocally, it can be really hard to understand what Will Jackson is singing about, but his style is not boring, and it's worth listening to. It fits the music perfectly, and like the rest of the music on this album, it varies within and between songs to keep the listener hooked.

Nick Huffman is the drummer for this band and he is brilliant. I typically have difficulty in figuring out what people see in one drummer from the next, but Nick's drumming just stands out to me. Perhaps it's his knowing of when to go heavy, when to be light, when to vary speed, but mostly its that I want to listen to his drumming because it could almost stand on its own. His short opening drum solo for the fourth track, "Dark Waters of Thought," is just a small indication of his talent.

The sixth track, "For Those Lost," is a changeup from the other tracks on the album. It starts off with a drum intro, and then enters two guitars, giving it a progressive feel, sort of Opeth-like instrumental tracks. The guitar playing on this cut is gorgeous. The next song goes back to their crushing style, but the band is not done with mixing things up. The eighth track, "Ghosts from Japan," is piano driven, with clean vocals. Will Jackson displays in this song that he is a talented vocalist, not just when he is screaming. In other songs of this album he also sings cleanly at parts, but this song shows his true talent.
There is no doubt in my mind that we'll be hearing a lot more from this band, and that they will get the acclaim that they deserve. This is one of, if not the best, albums released in this mix of genres this year, and should make a lot of people's top ten lists for 2006.

Track Listing
1. Acknowledgement
2. Soft Green Fields
3. A Piece of History Written in English
4. Dark Waters of Thought
5. Oracles and Doorsteps
6. For those Lost
7. The Crusher
8. Ghosts Over Japan
9. These Lights Above Us
10. Mourning for Morning

Added: October 6th 2006
Reviewer: Scott Borre
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 2719
Language: english

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