The sun disappears and the clouds infused with grey emerge. A gentle breeze turns into hurricane winds, armageddon seizes citizens by the wrists. Lightning breaks through the sky, dividing the giants from the helpless. The clouds rain down fear and desolation with each droplet charged with crimes against humanity. The earth trembles, shakes till the houses come down and the soil comes towards the heavens. Hypocrites and hoards rush toward bunkers, but the earth knows the cost of such cowardness.  Armageddon is here.

Advent, hailing from North Carolina and featuring members from Beloved, debuted their full length from Solid State records entitled, “Remove The Earth” on February 12th, 2008. Since the release of their demos, the anticipation for the record had been rising, cascading in expectation of this angry, yet hopeful debut. The ten tracks are aggressive, filled with riffs that will knock you down, lift you to your feet, and slam you against reality. Joe Musten’s vocals are in your face, powerful yells that run hand in hand with the music.

The most surprising song on the record is “Three Seasons” which starts off with an eerie sound followed by the repetitive beating of the drums. The vocals are distant, sounding far away and creating an eerie, dark feel to the beginning of the song. Everything slows down, eventually coming to a completely halt, only to erupt back into your eardrums. In the middle of the strong, there is a beautiful string arrangement that sounds like the last sounds of the notorious musicians on the failing Titanic. Gradually, it builds each second by adding the drums, guitars, and distant vocals. “Three Seasons” ends in the aggressive nature of the rest of the songs, but leaves that eerie taste in your mind, the taste of something dark and sinister like, but ultimately honest and realistic to our times.

“Remove The Earth” is an adrenaline shot manifesting into ten tracks of pure aggression. Instead of gulping down your favorite energy drink or shooting up your favorite illegal syringe-filled substance, this record will provide you with enough energy to consider enrolling in the Tour de France. The lyrics are straightforward, aggressive words yelled by Musten but not in the name of being dark, but for the sake of bringing attention to relevant issues that will only lead us out of the graves we’ve dug.

The debut record from Advent is everything that was expected, an impressive release that leaves their mark on your existence with sheer jolts of adrenaline and truth.  The only downside of this record is the fact that there aren’t more songs to get your blood boiling. Armageddon may be coming, but at least now we are more hopeful than before.

Track Listing
01. Blackout
02. Eulogy
03. Set Apart
04. Hanging The Giants
05. The Anger of Death
06. Reflection
07. Doubt. Fear. Desolation
08. Three Seasons
09. The Cost
10. I Am