Tracklisting:
1. Broken State
2. One Thing
3. Outlaws and Prodigals
4. Unshaken
5. What Can Stop Me Now
6. Good Intentions, Bad Directors
7. Passing Through
8. Found Me
9. Desperation Calls
10. Something Beautiful

The first time I saw the Canadian Rock Group Kiros was on last years Mixed Tape Revolution tour with Children 18:3, Philmont and a host of others. I was very surprised with the cohesiveness of their live show, then I found out the bands been around since 2002 has several independent EP’s, a couple independent records and with the release of Lay Your Weapons Down they will have one of each on their new label ANGR. Since signing with ANGR they have been likened to bands like Three Days Grace, Panic at the Disco and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

Lay Your Weapons Down is supposed to be a three part story following themes of The Revolt, The Trenches and Surrender. However the album is short, only ten tracks and these themes never really develop to the hype they were given by the label.

Lay Your Weapons Down opens with the rock number “Broken State” a solid opener and introduction for new fans. It’s followed by “One Thing” which may draw in fans of the pop/rock band Search the City. “Unshaken” is a solid rock outing as is the high energy “Good Intentions, Bad Directions” the downside is that both tracks feel to generic. “What Can Stop Me Now” is probably one of the better tracks on the album, it’s certainly one of the slowest but it proves the band gets better the slower they get.

Lyrically the band does pretty good job of sharing their message of hope found in Christ. However from the get go it’s hard to tell the three part story they are trying to tell. In the revolt section, which is the first three tracks, there’s not much build to the theme. “Broken State” and “Outlaws and Prodigals” both touch on the theme with the latter of the two being the more concise. The next four songs fall under the theme of the trenches. This section includes the best track on the album “What Can Stop me Now” and does a little better job outlining the theme. The final theme is found in the final three tracks, the idea of Surrender. “Found Me” is by far the best song on this section of the album. The album ends with the slower “Something Beautiful” which is a solid track lyrically but when it ends after four minutes and eleven seconds you feel like there should be another two or three tracks.

All in all this is a solid outing for the Kiros first full length album on a major label and it will undoubtedly be a good starting point, laying ground work for future albums. This band has potential, let’s see where they go.