The Brave - Rise - UPDATE!

From their FB page:

"RISE UPDATE--ok gang, here we come! August 19th, RISE will be available worldwide in digital download format, and CD format! We will also be accepting Pre-Orders through Paypal shortly--stay tuned!"


Woo-Hoo!!!  

Here's hoping.

Have they ever given us a track list?  I know they are redoing a few of their songs, but I just wondered what the new songs are called.

Tracklist for "Rise":

1. Tell Me Now*
2. I'm Your Reason*
3. If That Ain't Love
4. Running All My Life
5. Dirty Water
6. All Together Now
7. The Killing Floor*
8. Wither Me*
9. When You're Alone
10. Trust
11. Don't*
12. Somebody*

*New songs

I am looking forward to this and hearing these old songs updated with their new singer.  Have they ever announced who that is?

Pre-ordered mine. Looking forward to that Brave sound. Hopefully it doesn't disappoint.

This is interesting.
I love to listen to some songs before I order this CD.

The Brave ? first album is as glam / poppy / hair "metal" as it could be , but the second one is actually great stuff. I really dig Trust a good "heavy rock" album.

Now that I have some money in my PayPal account, I need to order this.  See it pays to sell off discs you hate (aka Guardian) to get something you might actually play.  It's win-win for me!

Sounds like the band is now a female fronted band based upon the samples they posted. Not sure if it's a known female rock singer or not.

After I get to hear it, I'll let you know what I think.  The CD is coming in two weeks, but I am getting the download that goes with it right now.

Seems some peeps are disappointed with their lack of revealing the singer was gonna be a female. I can see if you were looking for a 3rd album by the Brave in hopes of the same sound, but realistically it's been a LONG time since those first 2 albums and since then one of the lead male vox passed away.

I'm personally excited to get mine and hear something similar but with a twist - and I don't mind a female singer at all... long as she can rock !
Will be downloading mine today  

I just listened to the samples and I really dig it, but I am big fan of female fronted rock/metal.  So not too surprising.

I certainly can see why some would be disappointed though.  I'm not sure what the reason for keeping the singer under wraps was.  I was expecting it was someone relatively noteworthy in the Christian music industry (Like Larry from Fear Not) but I don't think I have ever heard of this Amanda Z person.

I'm a bit disappointed now The Brave has a female vocalist for the new album.

I actaully like this.  It reminds me a bit of the band Gretchen.

Her voice really fits both the new songs and the old ones that they've redone.  Personally, I like her!  Seeing that The Brave have never had a steady singer on any album, this is not something that I think will hurt them.  Give her a chance, folks!

Lovin' it !! Not sorry I took the gamble... just can't wait to get my actual CD in the mail.

Ditto!  After the first listen, I am loving the new singer!

I'll give her a chance.
But what if you are not really a fan of female fronted rock bands?
I like the old Brave more.
It's fair to listen to the new songs first.

If you don't like female fronted rock, you probably won't care for this either.

I'm disappointed. Count me among those who would not have pre-ordered had the band been upfront about a female singer. I would have still been interested, but I would have waited to hear how it sounded. I feel disappointed with the band that they were not upfront about this.

As for the album itself...again, I'm disappointed. The production is thin. When you have big powerful production on past albums, it sets a standard; and sadly, to me, this album didn't live up to that.

I think Amanda is a decent singer. The songs are capably performed. Of the new songs, the only one I like really like is "Tell Me Now". The others are just kinda there. As for the remakes - the only one that comes close to the greatness of the originals is "Running All My Life". Amanda's voice is better suited to the mood of that song than James' voice was. But other than this, I prefer the original versions over the remakes and it's not even close.

It's good the band reformed. I could have done without the remakes. An entire album of new songs, and produced by someone that can draw out the band a bit more and beef up the overall feel, would be terrific. I've no doubt that the band can do it. But when I want The Brave, I'll still pull out Battle Cries.

It's very hard to criticize an effort like this. I know the band probably put their heart and soul into this record, and as fellow believers, I want to encourage them to keep going and getting better. But I also don't want to be dishonest in my feelings about this record.

Lastly, and not related to this album particularly, once again, I'm burned on a pre-order. This will be the LAST time I do this.

Maybe they should have said something about a female singer.  They may have withheld that simply to keep folks interested.  Or, perhaps they thought that sharing that would turn off some of their old fans.  Who knows? 

They were up front about the re-records.  I can't blame them for doing these as some people would have been pitching a royal hissie fit if Amanda Z sang these in concert.  This way, you can hear how she would have sounded had she always been with the band.

Of course, some people will fuss until James Salters comes back as the singer.  Since they have not had a defined singer on any album.  Amanda works for me.

I will agree, though, that the sound is a bit thin compared to either album.  Of course, my favorite is still "Trust" as it is a bit less Elefante over-polished and more bluesy.  The first album had the keys on every song by Dino's request and the band doesn't even have a keyboard player!  These redone versions did fix that.  I think that the guitars need to be bit louder in the mix and that either Cliffy or Pastor Brad needed to do the mastering.  They are both quite good at it, and Brad being the better choice financially if you are on a tight budget.