You Are Forgotten EP Review - Conditions

Track List:
1. American Castles
2. Born Again Question
3. Man To Mannequin
4. Citizen
5. Illuminati
6. Goodbye Good Name



Conditions starts the CD with American Castles. This verses are high energy and while the chorus seems to have less energy, it is just because the vocals take more of a prominent role. The political lyrics have lots of meaning in them. The bridge has guitar that does not sound like it belongs to the rest of the song, but it gives a different feel while the lyrics mysteriously are quiet in the background. This song isn't anything special, but it is a great opening to the album.
Born Again Question is another song similar to American Castles. The songs begins with great guitar and is very high energy. I'm not really a fan of the chorus. It's just not my style of idea chorus. The bridge has a small fill that definitely adds a kick to the song. The last chorus has chant vocals harmonized in the background. Another decent song, but again it is nothing special.
The next track, Man To Mannequin, is their most popular song. As with Artist Vs Poet, it was featured on the iPod app Tap Tap Revenge 2. That is actually where I first heard of the band. The song opens with a great drum buildup into great guitar. This is definitely one of my favorite songs from the album. I love the flow and pace of both the chorus and the verses. This song is also a bit more mainstream than their other songs. If you only can download one song from the album, then this is the one for you.
Citizen reverts back to the rock style of their first two songs. The intro is full of great guitar, but then crashes in the verse. I do not like the verses at all. It's the scattered style I do not like at all. I prefer lyrics to be more connected than broken apart. I hear hints of Saosin in the chorus. I am talking about recent Saosin, not Anthony Green Saosin. Saosin's last album is actually what I would most compare Conditions to. I'm a fan of the chorus and bridge, redeeming the song from the miserable verses. A song to check out if you're a Saosin lover.
The next song, Illuminati, is actually a bit of a coincidence for me. I just finished reading Angels And Demons. Great book by the way. Read it if you haven't. The song starts slow in the intro before having a phrase of big guitar. The verses then fade back out and go back to the relative calm of the intro. The chorus again sounds like Saosin. However, I like this song more than Citizen. The better verses definitely make a difference. One of the songs I like most on the album.
The verses of the final track, Goodbye Good Name sounds like another band I really like; Anberlin. The vocals definitely sound similar to Anberlin songs such as Godspeed. I did not see this comparison in any of the other songs. The good news is that this means the vocals are great. Anberlin is revered for their great vocals. This is another high energy song that flows pretty well. The bridge is full of good riffs and definitely helps finish off this good album.
This melodic rock album definitely has it's ups and downs. Conditions is a band just starting to get out there. They are actually just about to hit 1 million plays on myspace. Definitely go listen to help support them. Listen to them on myspace HERE.