Music Review: House of Heroes - The End Is Not The End

Genre: Rock
Label: Gotee
Release Date: September 23, 2008

Rating: 5/5

Admittedly, I'm a little late to this party. Well, actually, I'm just a little late to comment on the party. Ever since it came out back in September of 2008, House of Heroes’ little masterpiece of modern rock, The End Is Not The End, has garnered significant playing time on my iPod and in my car. It’s one of those rare collections that never seems to get old to me. As such, not having a review of it on this site was a problem.

Here’s my remedy.

It’s a little difficult to review an album that achieved so much hype this far after the release. There’s been sufficient time for people to discover the band, hype them beyond what any album could actually live up to, and then have others who didn’t understand what was so great about the band because they’d been overhyped. Typical backlash to some reviews that seemingly overly-gushed about the band. Their expectations were simply unrealistic.

So where’s the reality? Truly, it’s closer to the gushing than the reactionary critiques. This really is an amazing album. It just is. A year later, I’m still saying that. I’m quite certain I’ll still be saying that a year from now. Stylistically, it’s a timeless form of rock that can certainly last. Honestly, I think this album deserves the vast majority of the praise it received, and it’s settled easily into my all-time Top 5.

“Epic” is a word thrown around far too often to describe music, but this 16-track beast (including only 1 short instrumental intro) fits the bill. Borrowing musically from the Beatles, Queen, and many others, the band captures amazing energy in each song, from the quirky “If” to the powerful riffs of “Lose Control.” “In The Valley of The Dying Sun” conjures a Bohemian Rhapsody-like feel, as the song traverses multiple musical styles effortlessly. Other fantastic standouts include “Code Name: Raven,” “By Your Side,” “Baby’s A Red,” and “Field Of Daggers.” No two songs sound the same; quite a feat for an album boasting 15 songs.

While the musicality of the album is incredible, the lyrics are of equal appeal. Set against the backdrop of WWII, the band explores themes of war, love, loyalty, destiny, and forgiveness, among others. This is intelligent writing, toeing the line of contentious issues perfectly, dropping bombs on each side of an argument, not shying away from complexity. The album has you rocking out one minute and pondering the justifications (or lack thereof) for war the next.

If you haven’t yet heard this album yet and are a fan of rock music, it truly is a must-have. (Seriously, go buy it on Amazon.com for only $5.99!) I don’t like to give out 5’s in reviews, but if any album deserved the rating, it’s this one. Now that it’s been out long enough, we’ve moved past the hype stage and I believe the album still sounds as fresh and poignant today as when I first heard it. It’s only getting better with age.