Aiden
From Hell…With Love

Campus Correspondent CD Review By Marion Olea,
North Central College

Seattle bred emo rock band, Aiden, is sure to have fans buzzing with its latest CD/DVD combo release, From Hell…With Love (Victory Records). Filmed and recorded live in Chicago, the dual-pack not only shows how strong of performers Aiden are, but also the strong rapport the band has with its fans. However, the lyrical content and substance were not always on key.

From Hell…With Love opens strongly with the fast-paced “The Asylum.” It’s a great opener, powerful, and lyrically captivating. Lead singer William Francis sung it well and wonderfully transitioned into the equally powerful “The Last Sunrise.” The song is not as lyrically impressive as “The Asylum,” but fun nonetheless. It was slightly disappointing, though, to hear Francis lose some steam halfway into the show. “We Sleep Forever” is a decent song, but throughout a lot of it, one could hear him running out of breath (which recurs in a handful of places throughout the album).

 “Crusafiction” started strong, but quickly grew obnoxious. The song lacked substance and came off as childishly wanting attention by forcing a controversial topic. Similarly, “Let the Right One In,” grew redundant and dull. Aiden did manage to recover with “World by Storm” as its closer. The song was well written, performed and memorable. However, the acoustic bonus tracks were nice gems, but should have either been left out or included on a different album because they slowed the album down and took away from the high-energy concert.