Review: Ashes Remain – What I’ve Become
Reviewed by Steven Kendall,
Keep Me Breathing:
This is the opening song of the whole album. The song starts on a fade intro, the hits straight in the face with the Guitars and drums. The main message of the song is, about the shared human struggles and the search for support, and the desire to keep going. This is a good biblical message, the bible says time and time again, we all have sin and we fall short of the Glory of God, and we always want a way to keep going, and we have a desire to do that but we cant, so we left broken and confused. This will line up with the verse in Jeremiah, where he said that the human heart is sick and no one but the LORD can know it. The lyrics “Looking for a new way out It’s hard to stand, but we won’t bow tonight” Suggest, that even in the problems we won’t conform.
Lyrics wise I give the song a solid 7.5/10. It could have been written slightly better, but the music, still 7.5/10. It’s a good song, and I listen to it a lot, but the music could have been better in my opinion.
On My Own:
This is one of the songs that caused Ashes Remain to gain popularity. The songs, about wanting to break free from personal problems and pride. It talks about needing hope and help from God to get through it. This is also a biblical message, as the bible is filled with words time and time again, saying we can’t reply or break free- or do anything without the power of Jesus or “my God” (meaning Jesus Christ) the lyrics “Break me out From the prison of my own pride My God, I need a hope I can’t deny In the end I’m realizing I was never meant to fight on my own.” This is the central lyrics, that it seems the song is based on, giving the whole meaning to the song.
I’d give this song a 8/10 both musically, and lyrically. The song is deep, and very good to connect when in a hard time. I love this song, one of my favourite Ashes Remain songs, but there could still be some work to do on it.
Everything Good
This is a good solid song, it’s not too slow, and not too fast. It’s a good tempo for a song that’s made by a Rock band, but is a worship style song. The song touches on the bible themes, that God is everything Good, and true. It does a good job painting a picture for what God did in us. The Song talks about the love, support, and the importance of Jesus, who brings hope and clarity in difficult times.
The main lyrics of the song, “You are my eyes (You are my eyes) When I can’t see (You’re everything good) When all the world is broken (You’re everything good) You will always be Everything good” the song matches the bible verse “Isaiah 41:10 Pretty well, the verse says “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”” The song touches this verse very well, and is very deep to the bible meaning of how well God is with us. I would give this song, a 8.6/10, because how deep and well it connects, but it could have been a little faster in my opinion.
Without You
The song without you, is a deep song, about deep longing and vulnerability, waiting for love, surrendering, and the desire for emotional renewal. The bible is filled with this theme, one verse that keeps coming to my mind, when I look at the lyrics, is Psalm 42:1-2 the verse reads:” As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”
This is a good connection, it connects how without God, we are alone, and we pant for him, and our soul thirst for him. This connects Very well to the song.
The song is also emotional, and connects well to my soul, and should connect well to other people pretty well. It’s a very good song, if you wanna connect with God. I’d give this song a 9.5/10, the song ends up getting heavy and I liked that.
Come Alive
The theme of the song is transformation, self-discovery, and the desire for liberation from past struggles, and seeking a moment of truth. The song is heavy, but not the heaviest, I like how the song is positive, and is good at keeping the tone of transformation within Josh Smith’s vocals.
The song however is too repetitive, and the Chorus is repeated a lot, be a lot better if it had a lot of Verses and Bridges.
The song reminds me of the bible verse 2 Corinthians 5:17, the verse is about being a new creation. The verses Reads: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
The reason the verse connects to this, is because Josh Smith (vocalist) wanted to be a new creation, and this is seen well through the song.
Overall, this song would be a 8.5/10 due to the fact it keeps repeating itself. Its not a bore to listen to this song, but the chorus gets repetitive, and it gets annoying on occasion.
Unbroken
Unbroken is a pretty good track on this album, its themes fit well, and it just overall has that face punching heaviness to it. The lyrics are really good as well, they seem to be about struggle, longing for connection, and the desire for healing amidst confusion and despair. The bible has a lot to say when it comes to themes like this, many people, like Paul, Moses and even Peter struggled with themes like this. The bible, (in Psalms again) says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” Psalm 73:26
The lyrics “I’ll walk through the fire Just to feel you next to me Hold on to desire You’re the only hope I see I hate what I have been Falling apart within Dying to be unbroken” Fit well with this verse.
Again, this also connects to the verse in Jerimiah that says the human Heart is sick and desperately wicked, and no one can not it. (Jerimiah 17:9) and only Jesus, or someone from the trinity can understand it.
Song wise, again is very repetitive, with music and lyrics, but for some reason it sounds so good. It is not like Come alive, where it gets a little annoying. Its more, in my opinion, “he just said that, but it’s cool” so, i’d give it a 9.7/10 due to the fact it repeats it self, but it’s really good musically and lyrically
End of Me
Another song that caused them fame in 2011, when it came out. The song is about how we all have pain and struggles, but we know it won’t be the end, and it’s not the end. This is a biblical theme. The bible says, we are more than Conquerors through Christ in us, while the song does not reference the verse, the idea of it not being the end of me could connect well within it.
The lyrics “I ran away from the pain Always breaking down inside Incomplete But now I see This won’t be the end” Go well with humanity. We often break down and go deeper than we should into things (like i’m doing with this review) and it ends up breaking us, and we feel like it’s the end, but in reality it’s not… we will survive and live.
The song is fun to play on Guitar, and while also repeats itself, its makes it more fun to listen to because Josh smith, and the rest of Ashes Remain makes it heavier than lighter then heavier and it keeps repeating until the melodic part of the bridge where Josh smith says “Black and White melt into grey, ‘till every truth is stripped away, when nothings wrong nothings okay, everyone has been betrayed *extremely epic solo*” Josh smith is doing a good job at compressing his voice to make a slight scream-ish sounding while sounding like singing at the same time.
I would give this song a solid 10/10. It’s one of my top 10 Favorses of all time. (with number 1 being Showtime by Skillet, 2 by Dead to Me by From Ashes to New….) the lyrics are good, and the Song itself is just really well written.
Right Here
“I can see every tear you cried ” is a beautiful way to open a song. The song is so emotional. It has helped me countless times, when my faith in God is struggling and I feel like he let me go, or abandoned me. This song is a good message that Jesus will never leave nor forsake us; he is not a defector, he is always there even in the ugliest and most hellish moments in our lives, he is there holding us, and telling us where to go.
The song connects well to the Psalm, which says the Lord is close to the broken hearted. It connects really well, because- well it’s about how Jesus is there and has not or will ever leave in the midst of darkness.
The sound is acoustic, but has some electric guitars. The bass is a little hard to hear, but Josh Smith’s vocals are so pretty in this song, it makes up for it. The song is good, when feeling lost and alone, and the acoustic Guitar does the job right;
The lyrics of the song “I’ll be right here Now To hold you when the sky falls down I will always Be the one who took your place When the rain falls I won’t let go I’ll be right here” are so well written, and the music fits it really well. I would give this song also, a 10/10 due to the fact it helped me, but also because it fits really well when looking musically.
Change my Life
I really enjoy this song. Josh Smith, said the guitarist Ryan had the song in a vision, they forgot everything but the melody is really good. The song fits well with its on and off Ballad theme. The song is not a fast song, but it is not slow, but it’s not in the middle either (confusing I know) The song is about, how if God can do things to the sun and the ocean, or bring someone to life, then he can change us. This is a good biblical theme, Paul talks a lot about being transformed by the Gospel, or Jesus Christ.
The Chorus of the song, goes “If You could make the sun burn through the night And You could make the dead man come alive If You could make the oceans all run dry Then I know You can change my life Well, I know You can change my life”.
Overall the song, musically is a 8.6/10, it’s really good, I listen to it on repeat sometimes. However, the lyrics are good and spiritually deep,
Take it Away
The song starts with a steady Guitar riff, but then a drum beat, and then Josh Sings. THE Song is pretty solid. The song starts with a “Its hard to breathe, when you know when you’re now alive” and I think this is a banger lyric to open a song. It’s really good. The biblical message of the song is not clear in the song, but after some digging and some biblical research and looking I found the biblical meaning of the song is about how people can stay strong even when things are really tough. They talk about the fight between feeling alive and feeling lost, and how having faith can help overcome fear. It highlights the power to not give up, similar to the hope found in the Bible.
A good verse for this song is Romans 8:31-32. “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”
The reason it fits is because it has themes of perseverance and divine support found in both the song and the scripture.
Lyrics wise the song is pretty good, I love it, and musically I love it. I would give the song a 7.8/10. It could have been better, like the song was repetitive and had a lot of the same thing, but there is only so much when you get signed to a label for the first time. Musically i’d give it a 9.5/10.
Inside of Me
This has to be my favourite ashes remain song ever. The transition from Take it Away to this is just pure gold. I listen to it a lot, using my What I’ve become CD, and It’s easy to sing. The song ‘s are pretty easy, being stuck in our self, and without God we cant overcome it. This is a good bible based message, Paul in Romans 7 talks about being stuck in Sin, and it talks about without Christ we cant overcome it. The line “I’m stuck inside of me.. I can’t breathe without you, there’s nothing left of me” The lyrics are just so good, and sound so good.
Musically it sounds so awesome (i’m a bit based xD) and love the way it sounds. It kinda sounds a little like Out of Hell by Skillet, in terms of how Heavy it is..
I’m gonna say I give this song a solid 10/10 for both lyrics and Music.
I Won’t Run Away
Another slow, but fast song. I like this one. It’s more on a harder note, but it’s still a standard Christian song, it’s like Micah Tyler’s “Walking Free” but if it was heavier by a few octaves, and whatnot.
The song is about not running away from God when there’s pain and clinging on to God. David, and many of the Psalm writers do the same thing. They feel far away from God, but in the end they say they will cling to God, and how they won’t flee from him. King David did this a lot. “In the shadow of Death I will fear no evil” just for an example. It talking about in the face of demonic activity or anything bad we will fear nothing because we have the true truth of Jesus Christ on our side, and I think that it’s really cool, that we get a Christian Rock band, has the message without saying his name.
I would give this song also a 10/10 both wise, the bridge of the song is so good.
OVERALL
I would say overall, the album What I’ve Become is a pretty Awesome album, I have it on CD form, and I listen to it almost everyday. It is in my top 3 favorite albums. Ashes Remains’ sound is if you Mix, Skillet, Red and Thousand Foot Krutch. It hits home every time I listen to it. Ashes Remain has said that they will be releasing a new album this year, and I bet it’s going to be an awesome album. I think there’s a lot they can do.
Rating: 8.8/10
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