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Release Date: August 30, 2005 Label: Forefront / Emd Related Sites: · Official Site Grade: C+

Christian rockers Audio Adrenaline continue to have one of the coolest band names and, for the most part, sonically live up to it on their 9th album, Until My Heart Caves In. Lyrically, however, it suffers greatly with repetitive and simplistic words that occasionally come across as downright dull. Nowhere is this worse than the opening two tracks. Obviously meant as a concert opener, the arena anthem "Clap Your Hands" invites "everybody, everybody, everybody, come on, clap your hands." That's about it. It's driving drumbeat will rouse you from your slumber, even if the lyrics don't take you anywhere. Equally shallow is the title track, with its repetitive lines "I'm a warrior, I would die for you, my love is fierce, I'm a warrior." Despite this, it does manage to get across its message of perseverance.

Fortunately, the album does get better, with the first radio single, "King," even if you've heard this message many times before: "You are my King/I bow down before you and crown You the King of Kings/Forever I'll sing, I'll sing of Your mercy and how I have been set free." Themes of forgiveness and second chances permeate the harmonica-inflected "Melody (Lost Inside the Wonder)" ("For so long I've been sleeping, dead inside/In so many ways I've tried to hide/But You breathed deep into me Your melody/What was life before You?/I don't remember/I don't remember life that way/...I've lied to you in so many ways/You say You don't remember/You can't remember me that way") and "Starting Over," which acknowledges "look what I've done, I've ruined it for everyone" but exhorts the listener to "reclaim your innocence, start over."

The album closes on a lyrical high note with the somber "Losing Control." It eschews the vague "You" references littering the preceding songs which, if you had no foreknowledge of their Christian intent, could easily have you thinking they are talking about their girlfriends.

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This is what it feels like to lose control
This is what it feels like to be left alone
This is what it feels like to lose a friend
This is what it feels like to reach the end
God came down and walked beside me
God came down, He sent friends to guide me
God came down to remind me
This is what it feels like to be loved

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As produced by Jay Joyce, the sound tries for a more raw modern rock style in an attempt to capture their live sound. It still seems like the output could be meatier, with vocal parts often overshadowing Burkum's fine guitar work and Ben Cissell's lovely drumming.

Although it has it's highlights, this latest effort from Audio Adrenaline is a disappointment, particularly from a lyrical standpoint. For a band that's been together around 15 years, one would expect more depth and growth from their material. Somehow their obvious enthusiasm for the Lord isn't successfully communicated through this collection of tunes, though their effort is noteworthy.