Project 86: Knives To The Future review

Christian metal veterans Project 86 are back with their ninth studio full-length, Knives to the Future, which sees the band continuing down the road they’ve traveled down on their previous records. When they released their debut self-titled record in 1998 and sophomore effort, Drawing Black Lines in 2000 they were one of the heaviest bands in all of Christian music. Fast forward to 2014 and they’ve undergone a bit of an evolution musically and, though they aren’t as heavy as they once were and frontman Andrew Schaub being the only remaining original member, they’re still one of the most impressive and revered bands in Christian metal and they continue to put out strong records. Much like their previous record, Wait for the Siren, Project 86 goes down a more straight rock sound than heavy metal. It’s also the studio debut of new drummer Ryan Wood, who came on board during the writing process for the album. Knives to the Future was also completely crowdsourced, thanks to the band launching an incredibly successful Indiegogo campaign, raising over $80 thousand while the initial goal was just $50 thousand. Anytime fans put that much support behind a record, it almost has to deliver and that’s exactly what Knives to the Future does. Schaub’s eerie, haunting vocals are spot on and powerful as ever while the hard, heavy, grinding rock sounds are as strong as ever. Lyrically, the band hits on everything you’d expect them to. Continuing the story they started telling on Wait for the Siren, this is a Project 86 record at its absolute best. Gone are the hardcore days of Drawing Black Lines and enter the new world of Project 86. This is what they’re all about and any fan of Project 86 should be happy with what they hear on the record. The only downpoint is that there isn’t much in the way of new ground for Project 86. If you listened to Wait for the Siren or even Picket Fence Cartel, you know exactly what you’re getting into. In some ways that’s a downside and in other areas that’s a great thing. Rating: 8.5/10 -Reggie Edwards