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Madina Lake
Attics To Eden
Review By Andy Argyrakis
From the day Madina Lake’s Roadrunner Records debut From Them, Through Us, To You hit streets in 2007, the Chicago-based band’s been on the road non-stop. Outside of a series of headlining club dates in the States and overseas, the alterative rock foursome conquered a highly coveted opening slot on Linkin Park’s Projekt Revolution, also appearing alongside My Chemical Romance, Placebo and Taking Back Sunday. Two years later, the group sounds tighter, more determined and velocitized on all accounts, making Attics To Eden an anomaly that beats the sophomore slump and then some. The album opens with the electricity-doused guitar charger “Never Take Us Alive,” continuing in the group’s carpe diem attitude, minus the pitiful clichés that sometimes clutter the scene. But as “Let’s Get Outta Here” is laced with Linkin Park-inspired harmonies and “Legends” adapts a razor sharp metallic edge a la Nine Inch Nails, it’s difficult to categorize the collection.
If there’s one common thread, it’s the soul-bearing lyrics of front man Nathan Leone and his bassist brother Matthew, who tackle everything from personal lessons of loss (their mother passed away after an accident during adolescent) to our celebrity-obsessed culture. “Through the Pain” is a melodic ballad sure to be a mouth piece for those suffering any emotional loss regardless of the subject, while the searing “Silent Voices Kill” suggests submitting to mind games can be one’s ultimate demise. Attics To Eden winds up being remarkably relatable from the onset, while the songs are so contagious, they seem instantly familiar after just a single spin.
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