Nonpoint's seventh album finds the band doing what they do best: powerful songs with great riffs and energy coupled with disarming lyrical honesty and introspection. On Miracle the band stands up to the naysayers and rewar... more »ds their loyal fans with arguably their best album yet.
The first single and title track "Miracle" is indicative of the band's direction - a great riff, pounding drums and a chorus that sticks in our head. Said lead singer Elias Soriano of the song: "I wrote this song as a gigantic 'F*** You' to all those that doubted this band's will and perseverance...it set the tone for the whole record."« less
Nonpoint's seventh album finds the band doing what they do best: powerful songs with great riffs and energy coupled with disarming lyrical honesty and introspection. On Miracle the band stands up to the naysayers and rewards their loyal fans with arguably their best album yet.
The first single and title track "Miracle" is indicative of the band's direction - a great riff, pounding drums and a chorus that sticks in our head. Said lead singer Elias Soriano of the song: "I wrote this song as a gigantic 'F*** You' to all those that doubted this band's will and perseverance...it set the tone for the whole record."
The Steiners - | Penndel, PA United States | 05/04/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Nonpoint's latest album is hard rock at its BEST! They are an amazing band. The band could be grouped with similar artists like Sevendust, Three Days Grace, Pantera, and Ozzy.
The lyrics are great, the vocals are tight, the music is very heavy and makes your heart pound. The CD package is also very cool. It folds open to reveal the band photo and some cool artwork. Nonpoint may not be a band that everyone has heard of, but they SHOULD be!
Buy this CD...you will enjoy it!"
Not their best...but NOT their worst either
Forrest Toop | Spokane,WA | 06/14/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Nonpoint were one of the few bright spots in the so-called nu-metal movement that also brought us the excellent Disturbed...but alas, if it weren't for fate, timing and label instability, it would have been much more widely known that Nonpoint are actually the far better band. Sporting a "street cred" attitude and a clearly urban guerilla sort of bravado, Nonpoint have made a notable career out of flexing its' musical muscle, brandishing its' audiological weaponry, and locking horns with the gangland rock 'n' roll establishment. Crossing mainstreet around the perilous, unpredicatable corners of Tool, Disturbed, and Rage Against the Machine, Nonpoint has firmly kept its' ultimate goals in the forefront and fashioned a rather impressive arsenal of annhilating riffs, contemporary soundscapes, and vocals that are absolutely, if not irrefutably, a cut or maybe two above the vast majority of the industry. Yes, the departure of Goldman on guitar is a definite blow to the frontline assault but in truth, Nonpoint has managed to weather even this particular casualty and soldiered on with a seemingly undisturbed & singular-minded march forward. Though I detect that the latest album "Miracle" has traded an element or two of danger & adventurous for outright melody & commercialism, a fair-minded listener must concede that the tough-minded, testosterone dripping sound of Nonpoint is still mostly intact. It is for this very reason however that I also have taken a step back and wondered if the band has designs on furthering their causes along these enemy lines as I buy Nonpoint albums for the musicianship, the power, the credible artistry, and raw energy that it has easily provided in the not so distant past. In fairness, Miracle is a very good album but falls one square yard of urban sprawl short of the wide open expanses their earlier material confidently & boldly tread without fear. Despite the current modest setback, I do believe that Nonpoint's best material is still yet to be unleashed upon an unsuspecting listenting public. The gun is still loaded and yes, rumor has it that there is a bullet with a name on it...let's just hope that next time around, that aforementioned gun isn't just firing overtly commercialized blanks."
No Better No Worse
BigPoppaKoop | Pequannock, NJ | 06/25/2010
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Being a Nonpoint fan from the beginning, I had very high hopes for this album. I did notice that has Nonpoint progressed, there albums got softer and I had hopes that this album would change that around. I was wrong. From the first song "Shadow", you could hear that Nonpoint has gone more mainstream and radio friendly. I have no problem with that, but my favorite thing about Nonpoint was the edge they had to there songs. I did very much like the second song "Miracle" because of the collaboration with Chad Grey from Mudvayne. This song also reminded me of the why I like Nonpoint from previous albums. The rest of the album is a mix and a bit of a let down. The couple songs that did stick out for me were "Frontlines", "What You've Got for Me", and "Dangerous Waters". As with most Nonpoint albums, they do a descent cover on this album. The song they cover is "Five Minutes Alone" by Pantera and they do an ok job. It's hard to live up to Phil's vocals on this and I give credit to Elias for trying, but he just didn't have that Pantera edge. Overall, this album was a bit of a disappointment for me. I appreciate a band going in another direction, but when you're really good at something, you should stick to it sometimes."
OUCH..... This BITES
Don C | Albany, NY | 07/20/2010
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Boy, i went into this one wanting to like it. Have had it since the first week it came out, and though I only listened once (the first sure sign of trouble) I decided to give it a try again because I had a soft spot for them after loving the debut some years back. Well, this disc is just shamelessly bad for a band that has been around as long as they have. The growth is completely stagnant at this point.
Starts off very strong. I absolutely love 'Shadow'. Great song. I was feeling good. Great Bass line and Chorus.
The title track, again, pretty strong. Good Chorus and raw Guitar sound.
'Crazy' is decent enough as well, dumb lyrics aside.
Then.... BOOM! A total brick wall. I have never heard a disc self destruct as badly as this one does, without warning!
"Frontlines" - a half hearted attempt at the cliched military theme. Seems all bands have a track like this now (and that is no attack on military, just an observation) in a weak attempt at some kind of airplay. And this song is as cheesy as it gets. Really doesn't go anywhere and doesn't work for me.
"Looking Away", "Electricity", "What You've Got For Me" and "Throwing Stones" are 100% forgettable and filler. If this is all they can offer at this point it's a shame, because it is by the numbers, but with no hooks and no punch. I don't know how these guys could want to play this stuff live. The songs are in the 4 minute range but feel like 10.
"5 Minutes Alone" - Pantera cover. Average. They didn't do much to it, but its a great song in itself so they don't destroy it either.
"What I've Become" sounds like it wants to do something, but never goes anywhere. OK foundation for a song, but no substance. Just boring and monotonous.
"Dangerous Waters", is heavy, but once again, forgettable.
Probably the best remaining moments come in the closing segment (as it is timed at 14 minutes plus) where "Lucky 13" is a good, heavier song. Has that Non-point energy level, but is unique for them. A bit dark. Then there is a long silence (kind of tired at this point. Hate when bands do this) then a slow piece about 9:56 in that is alright. But nothing worth the 6 minute wait.
I just wonder what happened to that band that was full of fire on 'Statement'. Even 'To The Pain' had its excellent moments. I didn't bother with 'Vengeance' and now I wish, for the most part, i didn't bother with this one. I mean seriously, whats the rush to put this out?
I wonder how a band can sit and listen to this in its entirety, after touring and recording for so many years, and say "Yes, This is PERFECT! Just what we wanted to move our careers forward". I mean it really is hard getting through the meat of this disc. And I am just listening. Again, I wanted to like it! If it were my BAND I would definitely go back to the drawing board before releasing some of these mundane tracks. Especially after how poorly 'Vengeance' did.
Chad Gray and Greg Tribbett (HellYeah) who Produced this didn't feel the lack of emotion in 80% of this? Or the lack of direction?
But, oh yeah, the packaging is pretty and folds apart.
I had to be honest and I seldom write negative reviews unless there is a reason. The reason for this one is that I felt punched in the gut AFTER TRACK 3. I am disappointed and surprised. I think most fans of their decent stuff will be. Its almost getting into generic Breaking Benjamin territory..... Yes, THAT bad! The songs sound the same, but none of them memorable.
I would advise most of you to just buy the MP's of the good tracks unless you need it for some reason.