Anyone else got the new Guardian "Almost Home" downloads?

Did you support the Kickstarter project?  Have you got the tunes the band has sent out?  What are your thoughts about the release?

Here's the review of it that I wrote over at Christian Metal Realm:


I am on my second listen right now.  There are way too many slow songs on this (over half).  Most of the songs don't have guitar solos, so this does come off as more modern in style (think Stryper's Reborn).  There are three interlude pieces and only one (a shredding solo by Tony) that even should be on this.  The other two interludes are just wasted tracks.

The album starts with "Boom She Said".  I definitely hear similarities between this and the Bottle Rocket album.  Almost no lead guitar on this song makes me like it even less.

Then, we head to "The Real Me".  This rocker has a more classic Guardian feel and could have showed up on either the Buzz or Miracle Mile albums.  There is some good leadwork during the final chorus, but it is covered up by Jamie's vocals.  You can easily miss it if you aren't really listening.

The album then takes a sleepy downturn with the next several tracks.  With Tony having done a lot of professional producing jobs over the years, I am surprised that the band would stack three slower songs together.  "Little Things", "Wonderful", and "California Rain" feel like slower songs that just got cut from the Swing Swang Swung project and resurrected here.

"Show Us What You Got" is an instrumental track.  It's a solo by Tony that shows us what he can still do.  Sadly, it is more of a reminder of what you AREN'T going to hear on the rest of the album.

"King Of Fools" picks things back up a bit.  After three slow songs stacked together, I need some coffee or my face melted off.  This is a mix of sounds from Miracle Mile and Buzz.  It's a great Guardian track that the fans are going to love.  Yes, there's plenty of leads on this one.

Next up, another wasted instrumental track called "The Calling".  It is just a phone call with some phone noises.  Why is this here?

"Paranoia Kills" is more of what I wanted to hear from Guardian.  It's got a heavy riff, but it feels more like a couple of the newer songs from the latest Skillet album.  All lead guitar is covered up by the gang vocals in the final choruses again.  Bummer!

The album takes another lag here as the band put two more slow songs back to back.  "Price We Pay" and "Free" are good songs, but they are more written to play on The Fish than we would expect from a rock band.

Track 12 is another worthless interlude piece.  It's slow as well.

The album ends with the song "Almost Home".  It's a good track, but I've just endured 2 slow songs and a worthless slow interlude track.  So, this rounds out the album with a major lull.

When you look at the tally of rockers versus slower ballad type songs and instrumental pieces, you end up with 4 really decent, albeit more modern, sounding tracks from Guardian that kind of get me excited about what they COULD do.  However, the remaining 9 tracks of mostly filler material leave me thinking, "Is this what I waited 2 years for and donated $20 to support?"

I got it and like it a lot. I know I am going to be in the minority on my liking the album however. I wasn't expecting Miracle Mile/Fire & Love I was just wanting a new Guardian record and that's what we got, I think that Price We Pay is my favorite so far. If it was me, I would've left off the interludes and maybe have put the songs on the 3 To Get Ready ep on the album instead. But it is what it is.

I was hoping for something more back to their root but it's not a bad album.  It's new Guardian.  Here's to hoping they are able to do another one that is back to more rockin' songs.

Quote :

I wasn't expecting Miracle Mile/Fire & Love I was just wanting a new Guardian record and that's what we got,

I wasn't expecting those two albums at all.  I was hoping a bit more like Buzz to be honest.  I would have liked a rock record.  However, you get 4 rockers and 9 mellow tracks.  That isn't what I was expecting or wanting.  I could buy the new Kutless album and achieve that just fine.

I think you have to look at the successful comeback projects by many old rock bands.  Why has Deliverance, Stryper, Saint, and now Bloodgood all had well received projects?  Because they gave their fans a lot of what they were expecting.  If you are a classic rock band, you have to think about making music similar to what got you those fans way back when.  If you don't, then you cannot expect your fanbase to be too thrilled when you toss them a new record that is almost nothing like their glory days.

After my third listen, I am even more disappointed.  It might be time for these guys to go back into retirement.  That's my take on it.

I understand the frustration that fans are of the new album. Like I said, I'm probably going to be in the minority of people who love this album. I honestly don't mind the mellower tracks and when the album rocks it rocks. If I remember right Jamie had said a long time ago that a new Guardian album would be more modern rockish rather then pop metalish. I think they have encompassed a lot of their albums on this one (except maybe Fire & Love). I like the fact that they didn't stick with the quirky lyrics that they went with on Bottle Rocket.

I kind of look at it this way. Lets say they are able to put some promotion in this for the album. Get out to websites, online radio stations, regular radio stations, etc etc. Maybe then they pick up some steam, play a few shows or festivals. All of sudden Guardian is back and they can make another album. So even if it may sound as if they have gone CCM its not bad. Maybe they pick up some new fans with this style of an album, who knows. I've listened to it about 4 or 5 times now and haven't been disappointed at all.

I think Price We Pay and Almost Home are both songs that they should get out to the radio. They are that good.

I will probably not get this.... heck if Chris didn't like it because it was too mellow for him I'd bet I'd despise it.... lol ....

mr.electric40 wrote:

I will probably not get this.... heck if Chris didn't like it because it was too mellow for him I'd bet I'd despise it.... lol ....

Yep me too. I'll pass.

I would have liked the more mellow songs if they were coming from a more mellow band.  This was a ROCK band for goodness sakes.  What do your fans want?  More rockin' tunes!  I realize that they were not planning on another "Miracle Mile".  I knew they were going for the "Buzz" style.  However, with only 4 rockers and the rest mellow, they definitely fell short of the mark for me.  If this is the best they've got now, I won't be supporting anything else they do.

This is why I don't do Kickstarter.

After all these less than stellar reviews I'm thinking I might just download the rocking tunes and combine it with the "Three to Get Ready" EP

That's a good idea, might do that also.

Are these samples only for the persons who payed for their kickstarter?
I'm curious how the new Guardian songs sound.

Any word on when they are going to have it available through amazon or itunes?

Rocker - Yeah they have released the official album to kickstarter backers only at this time. As far as the sound, its going to be an acquired taste. It's not Fire & Love or Miracle Mile. I'd say it has some Miracle Mile songs some Swing Swang Swung type songs and Buzz songs. For me personally, I think it is a great album and well worth the 2 year wait and $30 spent. But that's me...

Staybrite - As far as I know they haven't said when it will be available to the general public. I'd guess here in the next couple of weeks or so but not sure. For those of us who ordered the physical cd they are shipping those within 30 days

I think its one of those albums where you are either going to like it or not like it and probably no in between.

So this was released to the kick-starter supporters nearly 4 weeks ago (at least in MP3 format).  But I still don't see were it has been released in any format to the public.  Just yesterday on facebook they posted this.

Guardian Facebook wrote:

Almost Home is almost here…

I think they are is serious danger of losing any buzz they may have gotten from the kick-starter crowd.  I have to confess I'm kind of losing interest myself, and I might just give the album a pass.

You should.  The more I listen to it the more I hate it.

alldatndensum wrote:

You should.  The more I listen to it the more I hate it.

Unless I can get it cheap (like from emusic) I'm not going to bother getting it.

I'll be content with Miracle Mile and Fire and Love.

Here is a first impression of the album from Andrew over at MelodicRock.com. He is usually pretty well versed and respected in the melodic rock world. I agree with him about Price We Pay:

Guardian – Almost Home (TBA, TBA)
Very diverse record this! Classic melodic hard rock, mixed with modern pop/rock and some heavier punk-fused moments too. And a couple of acoustic driven modern rock tracks too. A real mix. Great sounding record and mixed to perfection. Rowe sounds great of course and there are some really catchy moments on here like The Real Me, Wonderful, King Of Fools and the AOR anthem Price We Pay. A quality release no doubt. Lots to listen to, so back into it I go…

Well it's good to see some people (besides you Chosen) are digging it.