Anberlin Band • Page 2

Yay this thread exists!! Despite my username I actually like Dark is the way and Cities the most

 

I saw them on their farewell tour in 2014, they were fantastic. Also bought like 6 shirts and one of their farewell jacket hoodies

 

I saw them in Chicago for the farewell tour. Unforgettable night.

 

Favorite band ever. After a lot of thinking, I think I've finally hammered down my personal ranking of their albums:

1. Cities - Favorite record of all-time. Dark, epic, emotional, cohesive, diverse, catchy as all get out...this album basically has everything.

2. Lowborn - Best way they could have possibly gone out and probably the most underrated Anberlin album. It's experimental in all the best ways and possibly their most poignant in the context of their breakup.

3. Vital - Definitely the tightest Anberlin album from a strictly musical perspective. But it works more like a well-oiled machine than an album that really tugs at the heart like the top 2 and isn't as diverse. Man, it slays though.

4. Never Take Friendship Personal - "Paperthin Hymn" alone propels this album to #4 and it's the record that got me into the band so nostalgia helps. Super tight, but by no means their most impressive as a whole and has more filler tracks than the above 3.

5. Dark is the Way, Light is a Place - Far from their worst album and generally underrated by a lot of fans who hate it. Great dark, moody vibes. Excellent production and vocals. Repetition and uninspired lyrics on a few tracks do bring the album down a little and it's the one album of theirs that would have genuinely benefited from the inclusion of two of its b-sides ("I'd Like to Die" and "Hell or High Water").

6. New Surrender - Not a song on this I don't like ("Younglife" pushes it though) but the album is just bizarre. The songs work a lot better individually than together which makes it a little jarring to listen through front to back even though each song is uniquely strong.

7. Blueprints for the Black Market - Super strong debut. Easily the weakest Anberlin record. They established their sound from the very beginning but they didn't nail it down until NTFP.

 

I am so happy this thread exists! Though Cities is their masterpiece, New Surrender was the right album at the right time and probably had more impact for me originally. Also, I think Lowborn is possibly the best career ending record I’ve ever heard. Yeah it’s experimental and a little different from their catalog, but I feel like they went out at the top of their game on a project that really makes a fitting final chapter.

 

So funny story. My getting in to them was totally an accident. I had just seen Emery at a Christian music festival a friend had tickets for. Afterwards I was going out on a trip and wanted to grab the Emery CD (Weak's End) and Barne's and Noble had an end cap with T&N bands on it. I couldn't remember the band's name and picked up Anberlin's NTFP thinking it was Emery. Definitely a surprise when I popped that CD in but best accident ever. They ended up turning in to one of my favorite bands.

 

Figured I might as well share this thing I wrote a while ago here: We’ll Live Forever: A Thank You To My Favorite Band | The Garden Statement

 

I still remember the feeling of hearing them sing *fin while mixing in the line "we'll live forever" from Harbinger. It was hard to hold back the sweat from my eyes.

I don't think any other band would be as special for me as Anberlin.

 

Love Lowborn. Was so glad they played We Are Destroyer at the Chicago date for the farewell tour. It KILLED live.

 

Ah man. I openly cried. What a moment.

 

Aren't they supposed to be releasing a box set of their vinyl?

I really thought it was supposed to come out a bit ago.

 

I'm currently in the process of selling my record collection.

Keeping all my Anberlin though. There's no way I could ever get rid of it haha

 

What a moment indeed. All I can think of was "I am never gonna see this again, so thank you, Anberlin, for this."

 

I got see them a few times on the farewell tour, including the final show, and hearing *fin mixed with that line from Harbinger never got easier. =/

 

Could this be true? I would buy that in a heartbeat... Thus far I only have Lowborn and Cities/Friendship Live, but I really want to fill out my collection.

 

They've mentioned wanting to do the boxset for the last few years but T&N/Capitol/Universal seem very reluctant to rerelease any thing on vinyl. Unless I'm mistaken T&N sold the label's back catalog to Capitol at one point, which included Cities, NTFP and Black Markets, so any kind of box set is a bit more complicated bc there are so many labels involved now.

 

At this point I'm just missing two 7" records and they are damn near impossible to get a hold of haha.

 

They were interviewed on their farewell tour stating they were to release a boxset. I figured it would've been soon after their departure to capture that hype.

I still think it's possible because Tooth and Nail released Underoath's DTGL again. Definitely think it's possible.

 

^Ah, thanks for explaining. I really hope that that does become a reality soon.

 

The single Anberlin vinyl I don't own is the clear orange variant of the Godspeed 7".

 

Only Anberlin one I have is the Feel Good Drag 7" with the tiger on the cover.

Forever wishing I cared for their later discs with how much their first few meant to me.

 

That’s impressive. I don’t know if you’re into Discogs or not, but just FYI, it lists that that item was sold twice in January 2016. So there are a few copies floating out there.

 

Oh. I'm familiar alright. I got an email that it was on sale (it's in my wantlist) and when I went to buy it it had already been sold. Devastated. Haha.

 

Gotta say I think Dark Is the Way has aged extremely well

 

I definitely like it tremendously more than I did when it came out. Still on the lower half of their albums for me, but some fantastic songs and probably their most well-produced/best sounding album.