The Letter Black

Rebuild

Three years after its first full length, worship-band-come-rock-group The Letter Black has followed up its critically-acclaimed debut with Rebuild. The group has expanded on some of the elements of the Hanging on By a Thread release, including the use of symphonicism and lead vocalist Sarah Anthony’s banshee shrieks — but it keeps its familiar melody and punch-to-the-face delivery. As a sophomore release, this one really captures the group’s growth well, and reveals an exciting direction for the rising Tooth and Nail stars.

The Uniontown, Pa., formerly known as Breaking the Silence, delivered Hanging on By a Thread in 2010 and have averaged 150 shows a year. Hanging On By A Remix (a set of electronic remixes of the original album) was released in 2012. After a scheduling delay in April of 2013, Rebuild was introduced to the world in November of the same year.

The album has a seamless flow and brings both modern and classic hard rock elements to the table. The band brings its familiar melodies and devastatingly delivered screams with songs like “Sick Charade” and “Breakout.” The band also throws in some beautifully done ballads like “Found” and “Outside Looking In,” which isn’t uncommon for the band, but the ballads on this album are even more beautiful than the last release, resembling more contemporary music and rock fusion. There are even some punk-rock influences on the track “Devil” thrown in with the band’s familiar sound.

Overall, this album is similar to the group’s debut release, but does show some great new twists that show the future of the band. The group certainly smoothed out the rough edges from the first album, although it isn’t perfect. Some of the tracks on the album feel a little repetitive (“Pain Killer”), and some of the tracks get a little boring (“Rebuild”), but this album is very well-done despite its few flaws. For fans of Thousand Foot Krutch, Pillar and Fireflight.