One word continuously comes to mind when listening to this band: “slick.” ACCEPTANCE are a five-piece melodic rock band that play uptempo songs with ridiculous hooks, gorgeous production, and a lead vocalist who drops a seriously good impression. The opening tune, “Permanent,” is by far, the band’s best work on here, and it’s the kind of radio friendly song that forces you to sing-along. “Permenant” is also the band’s fastest song, and by having it as first, the rest of the songs seem like they are lagging. As solid as the remaining four new songs seem in terms of composition (there’s two live tracks on here as well), there’s something lacking when trying to find an edge to hold onto. While the lead vocals soar, and the back-up vocals add much texture to the songs they improve upon, the guitars and drums never get very aggressive. The band tries to build-up some tension towards the end of the third song, “Bleeding Heart,” but it ends up sounding like BUSH (and I don’t believe that’s a good thing). The fifth song, “Hold On,” catches some cheap adoration, with a chorus of “Hold On, Hold On,” (genius!) but at least it has a decent of movement going on. The band’s two live tracks, “This Is Only a Test,” and “Rerun,” are both competent, and the recording quality is excellent for their setting, though it’s obvious to me that these songs were only added on here to make this release longer, as neither song seems any more or less stunning than their five new songs. For the most part, I dig the artwork on here, specifically the front and back covers, but the insert book text is a tad overbearing with overly generous “thank you” lists in a block font that tires the eyes quickly. ACCEPTANCE have some good talent to work with, especially with their lead vocalist, but I don’t feel that “Black Lines and Battlefields” has really tapped into their potential. Writing hooks is one thing – crafting engaging songs however, is entirely different.

The Militia Group

www.themilitiagroup.com