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NARNIA - Awakening
Here we have it! Narnias debut - album Awakening, the release I have been longing for for over a year. The founding members in Narnia are Christian Liljegren from Modest Attraction on vocals and Carl - Johan Grimmark from Sentinel on guitars. These two have made all the tunes on the album. Carl - Johan plays all the instruments and Christian sings. Something that really stands out on this album is Carl - Johans guitarplaying that are brilliant! He is very technical and just in league with another swedish guitarplayer - Yngwie Malmsteen. In fact the big Japanese guitarmagazine "Young Guitar Magazine" sent a dude to Sweden to interview two guitarists, one was Yngwie and the other Carl - Johan! They wrote six pages about Carl - Johan. On with the tunes: First tune "Break The Chains"starts off with a nice classic intro (that are often heard at the World Cup Ski - events) that breaks into a real heavy rocker with lots of fast guitarriffing. An awesome tune! Another of my fave's is the beautiful ballad Heavenly Love. There are to say it short many good tunes on this album and lots of fast shredding. Nice to hear real Metal again! The lyrics are both intelligent and straight to the point. They are in no way ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. I really like the album but my expectations on it were very high, so I thought that it should be even better than it was. But anyway it's a good debut that are well worth to have. Trust my word, these dudes will go far. The letdowns of this album is that it's a bit short and some of the tunes could have better ends. (I don't like when a tune just dissapears like a diminuendo and don't have a real end.) The drummachine destroys a bit too. But anyway it's a good album that shouldn't be missed if you love guitarshredding Metal.
NARNIA - Long Live The King
This is the 2nd album from this talented swedish band. One important difference from their first is that they now are a full band, not just two members. The best thing with this is that they now have replaced the drummachine with a real drummer! As a result the drumsound is now thicker and heavier. They have also develeoped into a sound of their own and doesn't sound as Yngwie-inspired as their first one did. The lyrics are also much bolder and they make no bones in that they stand for Jesus. There are many good tunes on this disc but some that stands out is Dangerous Game and the title tune Long Live The King. As usual the guitarist Carl-Johan shreds and shows why many compares him with Yngwie Malmsteen. Great guitarplaying all the way ( even though I liked the solos better on their first.) There are lots of hooks to enjoy and the album is easier to get into than their first one was. Fans of melodic metal should definately check this out. One thing that holds this album back a bit though is that some tunes are way too slow! If it wasn't for this I would have given this album a 5 but now it "only" gets a 4. This cd will for sure be one of my fave's this year. The cover is also very cool, picturing a roaring lion in a cathedral, showing that Jesus is not a wimp but a roaring lion! Rev 5:5
NARNIA - Desert Land
Narnia is back again with more melodic metal to enjoy! This time they show a heavier side rooted in the 70s Metal. But don't let that scare you, Narnia's characteristical sound is still there. With this release they seem to have found a style of their own. Their awesome guitarist Carl-Johan Grimmark shreds on and on. There are also two instrumentals where he really shows what he can do with his guitar. Christian Liljegren has also improved his singing since last album. On the negative side the lyrics aren't as bold and clear as they were on Long Live The King. The message is still there but not as evident. A few tunes are also too slow and take too much time before they take off. But all in all it's definately an album melodic metalheads shouldn't miss. The guitarplay is truly brilliant and way too good to be missed.
NARNIA - The Great Fall
This is Narnia's fourth release and with this release they have developed a sound of their own. The Yngwie-influence is still there but it's not that dominating anymore. What strikes me with this release is that it's heavier than previous albums. Usually that's a good thing but when melody is sacrificed for heaviness as in the chorus of the track Back From Hell it's not a good thing. On the positive side there are some really fast tunes reminding of Dangerous Game. Carl-Johan's guitarplay also sounds better than ever, especially on Judgement Day. Wow, what a guitar solo that tune contains! My favourite tracks are The Countdown Has Begun, No Time To Lose and Judgement Day. Last tracks features Mr Clayton from Saviour Machine as guest singer. A rather cool tune but it becomes too long and slightly too slow. A few tunes are overall too slow and take too much time before they take off. I hope they will speed up their sound overall and make it more melodic and direct to coming releases. The lyrics aren't as bold about Christ as previous releases, in fact I find some of them way too deep to my taste. The lyrics is like a story about a soldier that comes home after a war and tries to deal with all his feelings and experiences from the war. My favourite track lyrically is No Time To Lose that has a great message about Salvation. The tune Innocent Blood has interesting thoughtprovoking lyrics about the situation in Israel. To sum it up this album is really good musically but I just wish the lyrics were more bold and upfront.
NARNIA - At short notice… Live in Germany DVD
Narnia has always been a great liveband and it was with joy and much anticipation I sat down before the TV to watch this DVD that clocks for 90 minutes. And I'm very pleased with the result! Great tunes, great scenshow, excellent sound and a cool light show. I think the band has done an excellent job when they chose the tracks for the DVD. They have succeeded to choose many of their best tunes from all of their four cds. The tracks on the DVD are: Inner Sanctum, The Mission, War Preludium, The Countdown Has Begun, Back From Hell, No Time To Lose, Long Live The King, Living Water, Shelter Through The Pain, Dangerous Game, Guitar solo, Awakening, Break The Chains and The Witch And The Lion. There is also some cool bonusmaterial where you among other things can see Calle play soccer with his guitar (!), get to know the band better and also get a history lesson about the band's history so far. All in all this is an exellent DVD that I highly can recommend! Definately a must have for anyone into melodic metal and especially for all Narnia fans out there.
NEON CROSS - Selftitled
Neon Cross is a rather familiar name for many that are into 80s Metal. I remember when this album first was released. I liked it then and I still do. This year they finally re-released their first album on CD! Typical for Neon Cross is their heavy sound and the high octave voice that was so typical in the 80s. Sometimes the singer screams too high for his own good but mostly it works well. Favourite cuts are We Are The Children Of Our Lord and Far Cry From Eden. As bonus they have also added I Need Your Love and Son of God (from the California Metal album) as well as their demo Frontline Life. I like this album as I said but I don't consider it a must-have or a classic. It's good 80s hookladen Metal but still nothing that blows me away. If you are short of money this album shouldn't be your first priority but if you are an old fan and wanna have this album on cd or just like anything 80s I suggest that you check it out.
NORTHERN FLAME - White Winternight
Northern Flame is back again with a new demo cd. This time the vocals sound a lot better. Best track is without a doubt the instrumental Winter's Fury with the guitar player Niclas Buss. Fantastic track with furious guitarsolos! Niclas guitarplay is definately the highlight of Northern Flame's sound. Another track I love is the sweet metal ballad Rest In My Arms. Yet another fave is White Winternight. This is a really good album although the programmed drums disturbs somewhat. I really hope the band has a real drummer on next release. The tracks Bloodstained and Maiorem dei Gloriam could also have more hooks. Except this there is nothing to complain about since both the music and lyrics are in top class. With their great feeling for guitar solos and enjoyable hooks Northern Flame is most definately a band to count on. White Winternight is a solid buy for anyone that loves guitar solos and want to check out something new.
NORTHERN FLAME - Northern Flame
Northern Flame is a new talented band from Finland. Their debut demo consists of five tracks filled with pure classic metal. Niklas Buss' guitarplay is really brilliant and the cd is filled with enjoyable guitar solos. Everyone into hooks and guitar solos gonna love this! But the band really needs to improve the vocals a lot for coming releases. Besides this the cd is very very promising. With a guitarplayer of this caliber and the band's strong focus on Christ they will definately be a band to count on for the future. The cd leaves me hungry for more! Strongly recommended to anyone into guitar metal that wants to check out something new. I give it a 3+ rating.
NOIZ - Seeds of the Living
Noiz are hailing from Germany and play traditional death metal. Stylewise they remind of old Mortification. The cd kicks off with a majestic organ intro before the blast begins with fast grinding riffs and a brutal growling voice. My favourite tunes are Save and Final Day, more tunes in this vein would be nice. Noiz is a tight 3-piece unit and they have made some really cool arrangements. Something they could improve though is to incorporate more melodic harmonies in their music. The cool thing with this band is their lyrics, haven't seen this good lyrics in a while! Just check out the lyrics of the tune Pathway "Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he is the only way to the Father. He died for us at golgatha and he wants us to follow him. If you don't follow him you'll be lost so take up your cross daily and follow him. He will give you his Holy Spirit and peace of mind forevermore. He wants to forgive your sin but you have to come. It's your choice. Lay your sin down by the cross. He'll throw them into the sea. Say: Lord, I've sinned. Oh, please forgive me. I repent of the things I've done. Here I am, take my life. Make me become your child. Amen." The lyrics in the tune Charity goes like this: "You can have Christian T-shirts. Christian sayings everywhere. But if no one can see Jesus Christ in your life, it's worthless..." A good debut. With some more practise and more melodic harmonies incorporated in their tunes future releases will be very interesting.
PACTO DE SANGRE - Alerta
Puerto Rico is a little island that belongs to USA. From this island where most of the people speak Spanish comes the metal band Pacto de Sangre. The bands sings mostly in Spanish and a little in English. When Hector sings on Spanish it sounds really good but when he tries English the singing cracks somewhat. The band loves to experiment and their sound can be described as a cross between melodic metal and thrash. The band also has a good sense for writing catchy hooks that stays in your head. There is also lots of variation in the tunes which is a big plus. With more tracks in the caliber of Ve A Predicar, De Verdad and Amén they can definately reach the top. Pacto de Sangre is very skilled on doing melodic metal, but when it comes to thrash they have quite a few things to learn. Since the band is much better on melodic metal than thrash it would be much better if the band sticked to melodic metal in the future, since that is where they have their strength. Lyrically it is very clear that the band loves Jesus and wants more people to get to know Him. The music is as I said pretty uneven but as a whole Alerta is a good debut album and the band definately has talent. I look forward to hear more releases from this band.
PALEHORSE - Until The Last Seal Is Opened…
From the USA comes the thrash band Palehorse. Characteristical for their sound is the brutal vocals (that you either love or hate) and their groovy rhythmes. Like Seventh Angel the tempo is not full speed all the time but focus more on groove than full speed. Lyrics are very Biblical and often taken right from the Scriptures. I like Palehorse's sound even though I don't really love it. It's good but not something that totally grabs me. A good album anyway and fans of Seventh Angel should definately give this band a try.
PANTOKRATOR - Songs of Solomon
Pantokrator is another of all the talented bands that are coming from Sweden. They have released three demos prior to this mini-cd. But the demos are nothing compared to this quality cd with six tracks. What we got here is in fact some of the very best death metal I have ever heard! Melodic and brutal this is and tight as well. They are also a very good liveband which they proved at this year's Bobfest What a fantastic gig they performed there! Music can be compared to Schaliach and early Mortification but most of all it reminds of Vital Decision (remember them?). The music has plenty of harmonies but still it's very brutal. The singer Karl Walfridsson got a great growling voice which fits perfect with the music. On Separated By Night he also sings a duet with Marie Berntsson. Her beautiful female voice and Karl's brutal voice makes a great effect. Reminds me of Mercy Lord with Antestor. Most of the tunes have lyrics that's based on the book Song of Solomon in the Bible. Something I really like is also the booklet, great to see an independent band that does such a professional booklet! On the negative side I can't get into their first tune. But besides that this cd totally rules. Get it if you are into death metal, it's an absolute must-have if you are into this genre.
PANTOKRATOR - Songs of Solomon
Pantokrator is another of all the talented bands that are coming from Sweden. They have released three demos prior to this mini-cd. But the demos are nothing compared to this quality cd with six tracks. What we got here is in fact some of the very best death metal I have ever heard! Melodic and brutal this is and tight as well. They are also a very good liveband which they proved at this year's Bobfest What a fantastic gig they performed there! Music can be compared to Schaliach and early Mortification but most of all it reminds of Vital Decision (remember them?). The music has plenty of harmonies but still it's very brutal. The singer Karl Walfridsson got a great growling voice which fits perfect with the music. On Separated By Night he also sings a duet with Marie Berntsson. Her beautiful female voice and Karl's brutal voice makes a great effect. Reminds me of Mercy Lord with Antestor. Most of the tunes have lyrics that's based on the book Song of Solomon in the Bible. Something I really like is also the booklet, great to see an independent band that does such a professional booklet! On the negative side I can't get into their first tune. But besides that this cd totally rules. Get it if you are into death metal, it's an absolute must-have if you are into this genre.
PARAKLETOS - Offerlammets Makt (the power of the sacrifical lamb)
Parakletos are hailing from Österbotten in Finland. In this region most people
speak Swedish and that's why they are singing in the cool Swedish language.
(Nice to hear some black metal in Swedish!) Before I start talking
about music I want to give the band credit for the megacool booklet that truly
is metal to the bone. When it comes to the music there are many great tunes
to enjoy. Something that sets this band apart from many other black bands is
that the music has plenty of melodic harmonies and tasty guitar riffs.
Music is overall both varied and well thought out. This makes the music very enjoyable.
I totally love the lyrics! They are as Scriptural as they can be. Parakletos have even done a black metal version of the Lord's Prayer! Many lyrics are taken directly from the Bible and I can really feel the presence of God on the whole album. I really feel uplifted in my spirit when I listen to this cd and it draws me closer to God. My favourite tracks are the Antestor-influenced track I Denna Mörka Timme (In This Dark Hour), Äktenskapsbryterskan (The Adulteress) and Den Eviga Morgonen Gryr (The Eternal Morning Dawns). On the negative side the band hasn't a real drummer but are using a drum machine. With a real drummer this band has the potential to be one of the absolute top bands in black metal. I give Parakletos a big metal salute for this excellent debut album. It really makes me hungry for more!
PANTOKRATOR/SANCTIFICA (Split - CD)
This is a split containing Pantokrator's cd Songs of Solomon and Sanctifica's cd In The Bleak Midwinter. And this is a perfect combination! In The Bleak Midwinter was originally released as a demo but not it's finally available on cd. (You can read a review of it at the demo-section) Typical for this cd is the bands great combination of melody and brutality. Favourite tunes are King of Kings and Lord of Lords with Sanctifica and Separated By Night with Pantokrator. Sanctifica and Pantokrator are definately two of the very best death and black bands that are out there. If you like brutal death metal with melody and harsh melodic atmospheric black metal this is a must have. Definately two of the absolute top christian bands when it comes to brutal metal. Check it out and you will be pleasantly surprised. With quality bands like these there is no need to listen to secular bands like Emperor or Suffocation.
PERGAMON - Forgiven
Pergamon is another new talented band hailing from Sweden. I had the privilege to see them live at Bobfest (Europes biggest christian metal festival) and man did they rock! Tight, furious and melodic death metal with a black metal voice. Really like the melodic harmonies this band have. The mini-cd consists of three tunes which all are very good. The lyrics to the first two tunes are too dark in my opinion. But the tune Betrayed has a great lyric that talks about a man that was trapped in Satan's lies, but in his need cries out to God and got saved. All in all a quality release with good production. I really look forward to hear more from this talented band.
PETRA - Jekyll & Hyde
Petra is back again! After a decade of soft, wimpy music they finally release a real hardrock album again. Yes!! I had given up hope about this band but with this album they show that they are back again in the heavy school. Bob Hartman is once again back in the band and John Schlitt sings like he used to do during the late 80s. One thing I really enjoy is the guitars that are very heavy especially in the title track. Some other fave's are Test of Time, I Will Seek You and the incredible good tune Life As We Know It. The last tune I mentioned reminds me of Petra's classics from the 80s/early 90s. Of the softer tracks I really enjoy the beautiful ballad Till Everything I Do. Lyrics are soulsearching, uplifting and to the point, lyrics that really draw me closer to God. One thing I miss on the album is solos. On next cd I would like to hear plenty of guitar solos! There are a few tracks I don't like but most of the tracks are really good and definately give a lot of promise for the future so I give the album a 3+ rating.
PHILADELPHIA - Tell The Truth
Tell the truth is Philadelphia's first album dating from 1984. If you like Saint you should definately check it out since the sound is very reminscent of old Saint. One tune also sounds a lot like Jerusalem. There are plenty of nice shredding guitars to enjoy on this cd. The absolute best tune is Razor's Edge with it's crunchy rhythm. More tunes in this vein could definately take this band to the top. One thing I really like with this band is their 100% commitment to serve Jesus Christ. The cd ends with a couple of bonus tracks that Philadelphia fans gladly will add to their collection. Sometimes though the music takes too long before it kicks off like in the tune New Jerusalem. But overall a good debut that I can recommend. I give it a 3+. Saint fans gonna eat this up.
PHILADELPHIA - Search And Destroy
This is one of the pioneering bands from the 80s. They have recently reformed and rereleased their two LPs on CD. Soundwise this album has that typical mid-80s sound. This may have been very groundbreaking at that time but now it ain't nothing that sticks out. I love 80s Metal but there are many bands like Stryper, Rage of Angels etc that do it much better than Philadelphia. It sounds ok but nothing that hits you to the ground. I want more hooks and speed to really get into it. They got some great tunes like Judgement Day and some others but that's not enough. At their best moments they are reminding of Saint but unfortunately not as much as on their Tell The Truth album. As an extra bonus there are two newly recorded bonustracks at the end of the cd. The lyrics are very biblical and full on for Christ.
POETRY OF DREAMS - More Than Expected
Here is a Norwegian band, but unlike many other metalbands from this country this is not Black Metal but Progressive Metal. Usually I don't like this kind of music but this band is a big exception. I really like their sound! This is quality Progressive Metal with lots of variation and at times really catchy melodies. It took some time before I started to like this EP but now I totally love it. The production is really good and the lyrics are evangelistic. So to say it short here we got something that really sticks out! On the negative side I can only say two things, first it contains only 3 tunes and leaves me hungry for more! And secondly sometimes it gets too progressive for my taste.
POWER FROM THE SKY - Selftitled
Hurrah!! Finally a metal collection from Sweden! With so much talent and so many bands hailing from this country it was about time. The bands featured on this cd are all on the swedish label C.L. Music & Publishing (now known as Rivel Records). The bands have two tunes each except Laudamus, Sons of Thunder and Crimson Moonlight that sticks to one each. Wisdom Call kicks the the cd off with the title cut from their cd Power From The Sky. I can't really get into this tune, feel like something is missing. Wisdom Call's other tune is Never Satisfied and this one kicks! Fantastic good melodic metal tune with great solos by the two guitar players Stefan Olsson and Fredrik Åberg. Definately one of the highlights on this cd. Crimson Moonlight delivers a previously unreleased cut called Touch of Emptiness. More progressive and advanced than their previous material but still very good and sure to please all who like atmospheric black metal. Another brutal band featured on this cd is Pantokrator. They are known for their tightness and good sense of combining melody and brutality and these tunes doesn't dissapoint. Some of the very best melodic death metal that are out there. Laudamus keeps classic metal alive. Hailing from Piteå in northern Sweden they have been around for quite some time delivering one fullength cd titled Unlimited Love and one mini cd called Ready or Not. The tune featured here is Unlimited Love. While not their best tune it still gives a hint of the band's good qualities in playing real classic metal. Oblivion plays metalcore and have included two tunes that will appeal to fans of Meshuggah. Sons of Thunder hails from Stockholm, the capitol of Sweden. They deliver straight ahead metal with heavy guitars and sing-a-long choruses. The track Jesus Viking is one of their best, a crunchy melodic war anthem that is a call for us christians to stand up for our faith and be bold, just like the vikings. Ayenna continues with keeping melodic metal alive and well. Earlier known as Mercenary they changed name to Ayenna just before the release of these two tracks. The music on both tunes are tight melodic metal with plenty of hooks and guitarsolos. Yeah! This is music that always puts a big smile on my face :-) especially when I have the pleasure to hear such a good guitarist as Marcus Bergström. Sanctifica have included two of their tracks. One from each of their first two cds In The Bleak Midwinter and Spirit of Purity. The music on both tracks is atmospheric black metal with plenty of atmosphere and a good shrilling voice. Fans of black metal will definately love this band. Last but not least is a brand new band called Heaven. I really like their tune Calls My Name. Really good melodic commercial hardrock with great lyrics. Their second tune Know It's True doesn't really do it for me. It starts off good but then goes out of hand. But in despite of this Heaven is still a promising band to keep an eye on in the future. All in all this is a great collection of the christian metal scene in Sweden and it's a cd I most highly can recommend. I'll give it a 4. It's definately a must-have and one cd you don't wanna miss. Last but not least I want to give a big salute to Christian Rivel (formerly Liljegren) from Narnia and Wisdom Call for all his hard work in putting this collection together.
PRISON - Demo 2004
Prison contains mainly of members from Acer. The EP consist of 3 tracks. Musically it definately reminds of Acer with a glam metal 80s feel all over it with plenty of hooks. Ah, I really like the hooks. :-) Another thing that is typical for Prison's sound is that they use plenty of keyboards/hammond organ. Music really sounds glammy and has that typical glammy happy feeling in it. I found the second track Never Leave a bit too slow. More speed would be good to this tune. In coming releases I would like the band the speed up the tempo a bit and include more guitarsolos. Production is above average demo quality and over all it's a really nice mini-cd. Good work dudes! I give it a 3+ rating.
PURGE - Purge
Purge is a new band that plays heavy groovy metal with some speed influences. At their best moments they remind of Eternal Decision's first album and early Deliverance. But unfortunately the tunes often gets repetetive and boring. Purge needs to make their tunes more crunchy and melodic. They are on the way on some tunes especially on Born Again but they need to go all the way. They should have a credit though for their Christcentered lyrics. The last tune is the best, a really good melodic ballad. This band need to make their tunes more fluent, melodic and crunchy if they want a bigger audience.
PURGATION - Realm of the Dead
Purgation formerly known as Purge continues on with their heavy groovy doom metal. This minicd has 4 tracks. The tempo is for the most part slow, way too slow to my taste. They need to speed up and get more melodic to reach a broader audience. At times though they do speed up, but it's way too seldom. Another thing I feel this band has to do is to incorporate more guitarsolos to their sound. The singing can also be more variated and melodic. Well, this is not really my thing, but if you are into doom metal bands like Solitude Aeturnus you will definately like this cd.
RAGE OF ANGELS - S/T
Melodic Metal. That's what it is on this cd. And it's both heavy and crunchy too! They have two guitarists and that make the sound very heavy and crunchy. And this isn't overcommercialized melodic wimpy hardrock dude, this is METAL! Real Melodic Metal. If you are into Melodic Metal and want some good uplifting lyrics you shouln't miss this one, cause it's really, really good.
First I was really wondering why they have chosen this strange name, but now I know. The reason is that they have a female drummer, (yeah, that's right a female drummer!) and she has a son called Rebel, so that's why they have taken the name Rebels Mother. Anyway they are three-piece from the US and play heavy/thrash. The album is selfproduced and the sound is a bit thin. Sometimes they have beautiful keyboards and guitars and sometimes the sound is real heavy and thrashy. The keys give them their special sound. My fave's are Too Late, Black Destiny and Dawn. At times the music is also chaotic. My advice for this band would be that they continue with their great harmonies and also have more heavy parts but without the chaos.
Rebels Mother is back with their second release. The first thing that strikes me when I see the cover is the question why?? I just can't understand why some christian bands use dark imagery without any biblical content. I don't mind cool imagery as long as it is on a biblical ground, but to just picture plenty of sculls etc without any thought behind it doesn't make sense at all to me. They should at least explain what they mean in the booklet.
Enough about that, over to the music. Rebels Mother sounds like a mixture of different metal genres. At times there are some great solos but most of the time it's just too slow and boring. But I do hear some Tourniquet/Deliverance-influences in the sound and that's a good thing. The only tunes that stands out is the melodic "shipwrecked" and "fatherless". Really nice guitarsolos in these tunes! More solos, more melodies and more thrash in the sound is what this band needs. The lyrics are biblical but a bit too dark to my taste. All in all this is not an album I would recommend, but if you like their first album you will also most probably like this one as well.
RECON - Live at Cornerstone 2001
Metal is back and so is Recon! For those of you that aren't familiar with this band they are a topnotch Heavy Metal band that released the successful album Behind Enemy Lines before they unfortunately disbanded. But after a couple of years break they are now back in full force again. Last Summer they played on the big american festival Cornerstone where this cd was recorded. The album contains classics like Take Us Away, Choose This Day, Alive, Dreams and more... They have also included a brand new tune titled The Chosen Few that sounds promising for the future. Cause the good news is that they are working with a new cd! Yeah! As bonuscuts they have also added four tunes from their rare 1989 demo. One really cool thing with this livecd is the excellent production, it's so good that it almost sounds like a studioalbum!So is there anything to complain about on this cd then? Well, not really, my only complaint is that the singer Vett Roberts sounds a little untrained, but what else can you expect when he hasn't done concerts with Recon for years. I also miss their fantastic thrash tune Behind Enemy Lines. But besides that, this is an excellent Heavy Metal album that you don't wanna miss. As all the Cornerstone Live cds it is a limited edition only so you better pick up your copy quick before it's out of print... Welcome back Recon, you have been greatly missed!
Behind Enemy Lines was originally recorded 1990 and has now finally been re-released! The style is real heavy Heavy Metal. The cd is full of guitarsolos, catchy rhymes and melodies. Two guitarists also make the music really heavy. Except the ordinary tunes there are also a few bonuscuts. One of these are Light The Fire which contains a fantastic guitarsolo by George Ochoa! Truly a great guitarplayer. One of my my favourite tunes musically and lyrically is Take Us Away. The lyrics talks about that Jesus soon will return to take us christians home to heaven.
"Lord take us away, we're looking to be set free for we believe your Word that you'll return like you said one day. In a blink of an eye trumpets will sound, dead in Christ will arise, you will come back for your bride, take us away like a thief in the night… If I die tonight I know that I'll be with you. I pray I'd live my life as though you'll come each and every day... Though I seem impatient Lord Jesus come quickly. I just can't wait until the day I see your face." Amen. This is an album that makes you glad to hear and that really has God's annointing over it. Many of the lyrics are based on the book of Revelation, which not only talks about the future but also is full of treasures when you are looking for inspiration for metal tunes. The cd is full of many very good tunes and hardly none is a dog. Good production also (the production on the democuts at the end is fairly good as well). This cd is almost a classic, it's just as good as the best metalcds out there, both christian and secular. Enjoyable guitarsolos, biblical lyrics and wonderful melodies makes this album to a must-have for anyone that claims to be a fan of real Heavy Metal. But don't wait too long, the cd is only printed in a very limited edition, so if you want it you better get it quick while you still got the chance…
Hardrock/Metal with some bluesfeel from the american band Redemption. Lyrically it's really good. Very evangelistic and biblical. But the sad thing when it comes to their sound is that it ain't nothing that makes it stand out. It's neither heavy, melodic or crunchy. Sounds too ordinary and lame for me to get into it. This band needs to choose a direction (melodic, heavy, crunchy etc) and then go for it 100% if they want more fans to enjoy their music. I'm sorry dudes, but you have to do better than this if I shall look forward to Redemptions future releases.
Remember Soldier? They were a very promising melodic metal band in the 80s. The guitarist of Soldier Rick Hunter is the mainperson of Regime that took off were Soldier left. So musically it reminds of Soldier and has plenty of melodic hooks and guitarsolos in it. Most tracks are really good and enjoyable and has some really cool guitarwork. I just wished the live tracks in the end had better production. Cool stuff! Fans of melodic 80s metal should definately give this a try.
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