socio-political, no
preaching

By The Grace Of God (Victory)

For The Love Of Indie Rock

By Laura Karnes

When I gave this CD a listen, the first thought that came to my mind was that I had heard this band somewhere before, but I couldn't recall the name By The Grace of God. A reading of the liner notes revealed that By The Grace of God is made up of members of the local bands Guilt and Enkindel, who make a good sound blended together.

The CD consists of eight songs of straight ahead, in your face hardcore/punk/rock. The energy and drive behind these songs show how serious these musicians are about what they want to bring across in their music.

The subjects that By The Grace of God cover in their music say a lot about what goes on in today's society. The opening tune "Remora" addresses the problem of a lack of self-worth. "Pallbearer's Hymn" is about adult addiction as seen through the eyes of a child.

The band also has a say about violence in the raging tune "Goliath," where they speak the truth in the line "Compassion is taught with mindsets, not fists," and they spin a political viewpoint in "November's Lie."

"Ipecac" addresses a topic not commonly heard on record: it's about eating disorders and the way society adds to this problem with it's ideal of perfection. No doubt some will see themselves when they hear the line "In the bathroom she purges; she won't believe she is dying" and hopefully get the help they need before it's too late.

By The Grace of God does a good job of getting their points across and they do it without being preachy or defensive. I'm sure that's a breath of fresh air to today's teenagers.

There are personal essays from the band in the CD booklet and a quote from band member Jonathan really caught my attention. He writes "I love driving, raging music with a message."

I couldn't agree with him more! Sure hope to here more from these guys.