The early hype on this album was as usual, that it would be a return to what the fans have been wanting, which is the style of the SNAKES IN THE PLAYGROUND album. In the past such reports have proved to be a letdown, and this is no exception. However, that is not to say that this is a bad album. In fact, this may prove to be my favorite Bride album since SNAKES.
There are 14 songs on this album so I'm not gonna comment on all of them, but I will talk about a few. Otherwise I will just tell you that this album is something of a mixed bag. There are elements here of classic metal, alternative and modern rock. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that there is a song here to represent each one of those styles. Rather, what I'm saying is that many of these songs mix many of those styles right into one song. It's kind of different, but yet it's good. Many of the songs start off kind of slow but they usually kick in and rock regardless of what style they are using.
One song that I want to make mention of is I FOUND GOD. This song is very dark and I don't generally care much for this style of music, but I assume it's there to reach those who are into darker metal, and not me. The silver lining in this song as well as all of the songs on this album, is that the lyrics are great. The liner notes have scripture for every line of every song, rather than just one or two scriptures for each song like you usually see. Then at the end of each song, there is a written overview of the song, which is sort of like a little sermonette to sum up the meaning of each song.
In a nutshell this album is very much directed at ministry, which is really nice to see. One of my favorite songs on the album is called CLOSER TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH. It has a rather dreamy sound to it in the verses, but then in the chorus it kicks in hard rock and says "If my sin remains I have chosen my god. Choose you this day who you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." This message speaks loud and clear to the importance of holiness in our Christian lives. I also very much like the song IT'S ONLY WHEN I'M LEFT ALONE which totally reminds us that without the grace of Jesus we could never find that holiness on our own.
The 13th song on the album is called DIE A LITTLE BIT EVERY DAY, and it is the
closest that any song on this album comes to being classic metal. You'll
notice right away a bit more flash in the guitar work, and a big old back
beat that seems so rare these days. If you don't mind taking a chance on a
mixed bag, you may want to give this disc a shot. I'm actually reviewing a
major release for once, so you should be able to find this album in stores
all over the place.
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© 1997 mmjstifft@hotmail.com
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