Idol Chatter & Voice Views

We Are the Fallen
Tear the World Apart

1. Bury Me Alive
2. Burn
3. Paradigm
4. Don\’t Leave Me Behind
5. Sleep Well, My Angel
6. Through Hell
7. I Will Stay
8. Without You
9. St. John
10. I am Only One
11. Tear the World Down

We Are the Fallen recently tweeted about the top three reasons to attend one of their shows.

They include: 1. First time ever performing our entire album. 2. Performing bonus tracks. 3. More surprises.

I’ll add a fourth reason: That album they just released — it’s excellent.

I’ve been waiting all of 2010 for an American Idol-related album I’d feel like listening to after the week I reviewed it. This is the first.

I shouldn’t be surprised. Three of the four guys in the band — Ben Moody, John LeCompot and Rocky Gray — enjoyed more than a little success as members of Evanescence.

And Carly Smithson — the band’s Idol link — well, she sounds fabulous here.

When she was on Idol season seven, I recall typing the words shouty, overblown, over-the-top behind several of her performances.

Add two years of maturity, subtract the pressure of splashing all her vocal tricks into a 2-minute Idol performance, and the gal from Ireland has never sounded better.

She still belts out lyrics with frequency, and it’s called for frequently on these songs. But she also holds back when necessarily. Just listen to the
vocal on “Sleep Well, My Angel.” Wow.

“Bury Me Alive” was released as the first single, but it’s not my favorite track on the album, perhaps because it’s no longer an unexpected pleasure.

That distinction goes to “Paradigm” or “Through Hell” or “St. John.”

Then there’s the brilliant album enders — “I am the Only One” followed by the nearly seven-minute long title track.

If this is what we can expect from We Are the Fallen, they’re off to a rousing start.

Grade: B+

Note: We Are the Fallen plays the Chameleon Club in Lancaster on Sunday night; then has a show in Baltimore on Monday. Go here for details.

Free listen: Go to the band’s MySpace page.

Download worthy: Just get the entire album.

Other reviews:

AllMusic.com: Gives Tear the World Down 3 stars out of 5

Mstrong>Rocksound.tv: Gives Tear the World Down an 8 out of 10