Theo Cedar Jones' Swaybone ~ Careless With Matches (EP) ... For fans of Mr. Bungle, They Might Be Giants & crazy music!

Style: alt rock, hard rock, experimental
Label: self-released
Year: 1995
Home: Oakland, California

Members: Theo Cedar Jones ~ vocals/guitars
Thom Opal ~ guitars
Dave Gantenbein ~ bass
Rob Browning ~ drums

Oakland's Swaybone is known for their grungy sound & lyrical focus on spiritual matters inspired by & about the guru Adi Da Samraj (also known as Bubba Free John, author of the famed spiritual autobiography The Knee Of Listening, which got somewhat referenced in an in-joke in the movie The Love Guru, while he also influenced the band Live). Swaybone was founded by & has been led through changing membership by musician & guitar teacher Theo Cedar Jones. Jones, a devotee of Adi Da Samraj for many decades, is famous for promoting his spiritual guide, plus the teacher Santosha Tantra & right spiritual living, while tirelessly trying to change the plight of struggling musicians in an unfair industry with radical organizational plans. Careless With Matches, a great title by the way, was Swaybone's first official release. It is a 5 song quirky affair, recorded on analog, that is very much a product of the mid-1990's with zany vocals & rhythms that start & stop a la Butthole Surfers, with a strong early grunge vibe. With its wild careening guitars, upbeat vocals, unpredictable musical changes, these songs would have fit perfectly in national music scene, or at least made super huge waves in the underground, while being both of the times but also having their own personality. This album strongly reminds me of the music I was listening to at the time. This was released my senior year of high school, with Jones being a decade older than me, for the record. I know I would have latched on to this had my young ears heard it. "Tiny Little Super Guy" has quirky vocals going from something like a toy come to life to normal singing, including child-like laughter, over unpredictable guitars that go from tinny plucking to chord chugging like Green Day. I honestly can't describe the randomness of this song other than to say it has the same flavor of unpredictability & dynamics as Mr. Bungle & They Might Be Giants. You can't help but want to listen repeated times to catch all the dynamics. Its a must hear song for those that want their music off the wall. It needs to be mentioned this is very different than the direction Swaybone would go on later albums, which would be more post-grunge & less experimental, thus this is a fascinating look into a very different side to the band for those that only know the current music by Jones. "Turn Us Up" is straight ahead rock song that has that same energy of the Melvins, where its a mix of some slowed down quasi-Black Sabbath inspired growling riffs mixed with alt-rock lyrics for a moody rock outing. Its a great emotional jaunt with its careening lead guitar lines very different from "Tiny Little Super Guy". Where that was fun, this is angry, or to quote it, full of "psychotic rage", even ending with screams. "The Advertising Song" goes for some very non-quirky alt-rock, while grunge is the game with "Shine Like The Sun". This later song might be comparable to the Screaming Trees, Mud Honey & Green River & bands at that end of the grunge spectrum. In your face guitars by an angry young man. There may only be 5 songs here, but each paints a very distinct side to the Swaybone personality. "The Advertising Song" & "Shine Like The Sun" are more in line with what would come on Swaybone's later albums with their distinctive rolling bass lines that carry the songs. "Shine Like The Sun" might have some of Jones' best singing on record. "Stella" is the one odd duck on the album, which is saying something given how quirky this album is, but it just shows the range of creativity on play here. The song opens with just a heavily reverbed acoustic guitar & Jones' vocals. After the first minute it gives way to a sound landscape of churning bass & guitar that sound like they are underwater, while Jones croons over them. Unlike its quirky grungy neighbors, "Stella" is contemplative, mellow, haunting. I might call it Swaybone's own alt-rock "Silent Lucidity." Careless With Matches is the final recording with co-founder Thom Opal, who was a strong contributor to the songwriting, which would be taken over by Jones. I mentioned that Swaybone is famous for its focus on spiritual matters, but this would come into play on later albums. On Careless With Matches the spiritual is more open-ended & sub-textual. Jones has said he hadn’t developed as a writer when he did this album, but I think he’s under-rated himself. Perhaps its was trying to compensate for a lack of confidence or it was the benefit of having a co-writer, but these are great songs. In "Tiny Little Super Guy" how can one not laugh at the well crafted lines: "Not so serious as I used to be / Got inhuman sort of energy / I'm a cartoon of my former self / Just a hyper driven cyber elf" & the closing lines of "I killed Joe Camel Man." While Jones might not be writing about his spiritual guru yet, his songs are very much very personal. In contrast to "Tiny Little Super Guy", "Turn Us Up" is about the cries of a band wanting to be heard, who are "sick of all this obscurity" & struggling to "break through with the in-crowd in my home town." How many musicians would make this their anthem? This song is a strong predictor of Jones' future work trying to help out fellow musicians. "Turn Us Up" also has one of the my favorite lines on the whole album in the refrain: "A dream is a curse if it's caged / I can't lose my taste for psychotic rage!" Jones doesn't just rage about his band not being heard, but also about the world around him. The straight up grunge song "The Advertising Song" calls out the lies of the advertising industry who see people as "just a bag of habits you steer to my next fix.". A great line that is so visual & says so much. The song even goes on to compare a consumer with a drunk who believes they can quit any time they want. As I said, Jones under-rated himself as a writer in these earlier days, as he has a great knack for insightful lyrics. The theme of striving for something better in a world of despair is tucked into pretty much all the songs here, which foreshadow the later spiritual themes Jones would pen. "Shine Like The Sun" brings everything home. "Lonely people fighting on two sides of a wall ... Kill each other with anger & pain / I might look at you & you might look at me / But both our eyes are shielded with shame ... Drinking in the poison that numbs us from the pain / Of living in the shadow of our walls." Yet, there is hope. "Inside every one of us / Within the source of flame / lies the power to transform it all / What do you want? / What do you need?" The answer, though, might be harder to achieve, as "Each of us has what the other wants / All of us is all we really need." Spirituality does come through full force with "Stella", which is about a spiritually advanced teenage girl during the Middle Ages who gets burned on the stake. Not exactly uplifting, though Jones doesn't shy away from controversy on this album. Its a lovely little song with Jones at his most poetical. I can only wonder what it was inspired by. "She was always by the sea / Somewhere suspicious whispers / you my dear do not fit in." Not fitting in could be the motto of Swaybone.

Michael Sweet ~ Reborn Again (album review) ... Out of the past to save the future!

Style: Christian rock, heavy metal
Label: n/a
Year: 2021
Home: n/a

Members: Michael Sweet ~ vocals/guitar/keyboards
Lou Spagnola ~ bass
Kenny Lewis ~ keyboards
Cordaro Rodriguez ~ keyboards/strings
Peter Vantine ~ strings

Derek Kerswill ~ drums

I remember when Trevor Rabin released his original solo demo of what would be re-recorded as Yes' chart-topping 90125. I can't remember now just how different or the same they sounded, but as a huge Yes fan I went to it like Sherlock Holmes. How much is 90125 actually a Rabin album under a new name? What parts were changed the most? What parts are better? So on. I'm now putting on my Holmes cap again with the release of Michael Sweet's new solo album. First, I'll confess I'm not that familiar with Stryper's music, but generally like the bit I've heard. Yet, I can't remember the last time I heard a Sweet solo album, if ever, so this is a bit of a rarity, a treat & a new Sherlockian mystery. The new solo album Reborn Again is actually not so new. It was recorded by Sweet as a solo album after Stryper came off a few years of sporadic reunion gigs. Playing it for the band, they decided to re-record it for release by the band, under the name Reborn. Released in 2005 Reborn was the first Stryper studio album since 1990 & made the reunion permanent. Though it didn't see the return of  bassist Tim Gaines, but introduced Tracy Ferrier from Sweet's solo band who would continue with the group. Now, in 2021 comes the release of the unheard original demos of Reborn ... sorta. Not leaving the past alone these aren't the pure demos, but have been given additions Sweet felt were needed. There's added guitar solos & rhythm parts, high vocal notes, synth parts & an alternative mix of "Passion" alongside the original mix. First, comes the basic question: putting the history aside & ignoring Reborn, is Reborn Again a good album? The second question is: how does it compare? Answering the first question: yes. Very much so. Its a great album that on repeated listens is really good. Know that this is not a demo in any form. There's no clicks or scratches or poorly recorded parts, but a completed finished album professionally mixed.  For point of context continuing, I'm going to refer to Stryper's Murder By Pride with the single "4 Leaf Clover", which would follow Reborn. I always enjoyed that album, though I felt at the time it went too much to the heavier side & sounded a bit too much like the trends of the time. I always think of it as having a muddy sound or wall of sound, as the music is so dense like its trying to be Metallica or someone. Reborn Again dials things back a lot. It has the heavy riffs that immediately grab your ears, but the vocals are front & center. It also dials back the dense layers that for me muddied the waters with Murder By Pride. Here the vocals & melodies carry the album over the heavy riffs. Actually, the mix over all is amazingly clean, so Reborn Again feels vibrant in a way Murder By Pride never did for me. The songs have room to breath & all their nuances come out. I'd hire whoever did this to mix my music project. There's also little bits that totally make the album, giving the songs kick & variety. Like in opener "Open Your Eyes" when the drums stop & the guitar solo fades in. Or, "Reborn" where synthesizers bubble over a heavy guitar riff, which is joined by a wah wah part ... & it all magically works. Check out the soaring guitar solo 2 minutes in on "When Did I See You Cry". I've mentioned in past reviews about how songs don't always go into the orbit like I think they are trying for. Take note of this solo. This is the solo those albums are missing. Short & sweet (no pun intended), that fits perfectly & moves the song to the next level. It's not a flurry of notes, but a climb into orbit like a speedy elevator. There's also great powerhouse ballads in "Made You Mine" & "Rain". What catches my ear is the ballad part is all in Sweet's vocals. He's never been a vocalist I ever gravitated to, but the guy can sing, like really sing. While on top of driving riffs there's this push/pull to the song that allows the ballad to breathe, but the songs have their moments to rise up & rock out. There are two versions of "Passion", with one putting more focus on strings & piano than guitars. I really like this version. Now, the big question, which many readers have likely been impatiently waiting for me to get to: how does it compare to Reborn? For this review I listened to Reborn, having never heard it. The first thing I noticed is how it doesn't have the dense sound of Murder By Pride, but is facing that direction & what came next makes sense. Reborn and Reborn Against sound a lot alike. This is without doubt Sweet's creation just re-recorded by Stryper, not re-invented. They are more the same album than not. Having said that I'd rather listen to Sweet's version. It grabs me as more of a unique entity with more room to breathe, while Reborn sounds like a guitar focused rock band. Using "Open Your Eyes" as an example, the new version features a thick upfront rhythm with more in common with Tool than what Stryper. The Stryper version has the same riff, but it has that muddy feel I mentioned earlier. The vocals have also been slightly processed on the Stryper version, but in a way that hasn't held up well over time. The Stryper version feels more like a wall of sound, while the solo one breathes more. The guitar solo by Oz Fox is also double-tracked, but it doesn't really give it any extra push. The double-tracked guitar & tweaked vocals are all remnants of past musical trends that Stryper was obviously trying to grab on to. Reborn Again was re-built away from trying to blend in with music trends & isn't looking for MTV commercial success, so it feels more relaxed & willing to take chances, or be something other than a guitar album by a guitar focused band. It comes across as the more unique product. Reborn Again strips back the songs & then adds not just layers, but accentuation. The solo album comes across less dense & with more intricate parts. Reborn isn't a bad album, not in the least, but it sounds more of its era. Reborn Again lives up to its name with success. I say this is a must hear for Stryper & non-Stryper fans.

Rudra ~ Brahmavidya: Transcendental I (album review) ... Slayer meets goddless Devi!

Style: religious, Vedic Metal, death metal, Hindu
Label: Trinity Records
Year: 2009
Home: Singapore

Members: Kathir ~ bass/vocals
Selvam, Devan ~ guitars
Shiva ~ drums
n/a ~ tabla, tambura, chanting


The interesting thing is what this Singaporean band says they create - Vedic Metal, that is metal inspired & influenced by the ancient Hindu scriptures known as the Vedas. The sad thing is how little this Vedic Metal idea comes across to the non-initiated listener ... & even as the initiated I struggle. Though, probably anyone not interested in Hinduism is not going to be listening unless Rudra is involved in a concert with other non-religious bands, which has been their fate considering the number of Vedic Metal bands on the scene before & after. I recognize some of the mantras & words & names of Gods being growled out, but if you don't know Vedic scriptures or mantra, for example the stories of Krishna, it'll just be another foreign language, which might be fine for you. As for the music there are passages of traditional Indian tambura, tabla & Sanskrit hymn chanting. "Meditations At Dawn" fuses tabla & female chanting with acoustic guitar for a very interesting track that ends up being more of an intermission on an album that is less than interesting. These are my favorite bits of the album, having a fondness for Indian music, but there's nothing metal about them or anything that's not traditional classical Indian. They're just fluff essentially. As for the non-fluff there's nothing Indian there. It's just straight by the book twin guitar riffage in the Slayer tradition & like black metal with growling vocals & double bass drums doing blast beats like Sadistik Exekution. Interesting is the biting twin guitars that create a heavy sound, but uninteresting is how they just speed away like any other band with riffs as by the book as everything else. So, if Vedic Metal is a bunch of fluff with a bunch of metal but not fused together this is nothing but a joke or some false PR. Though, for me its just disappointing. But, I've said this with other bands that try to fuse different styles but don't really fuse but just use one as an intro to the other & they lay as unfused as ever. So, where exactly does the Vedic Metal tag come in then? Solely the lyrics. The lyrics are inspired by & include Hindu philosophy & stories & mantras. But, while I can pick out some mantras in the lyrics, most of it will be indistinguishable to someone who is unfamiliar with sanskrit, while the growling vocals make what is there largely undecipherable. So, the Vedic of the metal is going to be lost on many folks unless you chance to her the name Krishna growled out. For me, if you're going to sing hymns about God & the mythology about the Gods ... well, let me put it this way - I hope God understands what's being said as while I've chanted many Vedic hymns over the years I made sure the words were clear even if the definitions not. I made sure to keep my gargling in the bathroom. But, I have this problem with black metal. I know there's a lot of folks who can't sing, including myself, but there are lots of folks who can & would love to be in a band. Find one instead of singing lyrics nobody can understand. There's a few English moments, but sometimes I couldn't tell what I was hearing & I don't know what language most of the album is in. That just disappoints me. For me the idea of Vedic Metal sings of potential, not rehash of Slayer & just replacing songs about god with songs about Vishnu the God. Remove the extraneous classical Indian music bridges & this sounds just like any other black metal band with a very dense sound & lots of blast beats. There's so many bands like this I have trouble recommending one more. I think it's great what they're wanting to do lyrically, even if I can't understand any of it. I support Hindu rock & welcome more of it, but this isn't interesting. I'll stick to Slayer when I want Slayer & just read my Hindu texts at night before bed. It's worked so far. Originally formed in 1992 as a trio & known as Rudhra, an alias of Shiva who is the embodiment of unpredictable nature, the band put out a demo & some contributions to compilations before separating. They reunited in 1996, now as Rudra. They'd go through numerous line-up changes over the years. This is the second chapter in a trilogy of albums starting with 2005's Primordial I & finishing with 2011's Immortal I. It would follow a line-up change & be followed by one. This is their fifth album. In 2010, Rudra headlined the first day of Baybeats, an annual alternative music festival in Singapore. This is thought to be one of the few times, if the only, when an extreme metal band has headlined a non-metal music festival. Rudra has also become the interest of musicologists & research papers have been published about both Vedic Metal & the band. Personally, I'd rather read those than hear the music, but having heard the music I can't see that much musically to talk about that's not elaborating on things that aren't there. Though, maybe I should give them the benefit of the doubt that their riffing uses Indian raga forms? Maybe I just shouldn't ask?

Kathy Troccoli ~ Pure Attraction (album review) ... Everything changes!

Style: Christian, pop
Label: Reunion Records
Year: 1991
Home: n/a

Members: Kathy Troccoli ~ vocals
Rich Tancredi ~ keyboards
Joe Franco ~ drums
Mark Russell ~ bass
Richie Cannata ~ saxophone
Al Pitrelli, Bob Cadway ~ guitar
Jim Hobson ~ drum programming
Tony Harnell, Joe Lynn Turner, Billy T. Scott, Brenda White King, Mary Davis, Tina Stanford ~ b. vocals

This is commercial pop rock with a real sense of passion, something missing from so many of KT's peers. It's a vocal album with a backbeat that pushes one to not so much dance but instead sing along with as much emotion as possible. It‘s easy to forget that rock can really be this tender. It doesn‘t hurt to have Diane Warren‘s always beautiful pen in the mix. Yes, it's by a renown Christian artist. But, KT is not singing Jesus this & Jesus that, or campfire church songs, which is how a lot of people mistakenly label Christian music, alienating themselves with stereotypes from great music. These are songs of passion, life & the heart. KT calls them Christian songs. Other bands might just call them love ballads ... KT is no more religious than Metallica in the end. As it is, a few songs are penned by the non-Christian artist Warren, who should be as iconized as much as Bernie Taupin or Jim Steinman having written chart-topping ballads recorded by Cher (i.e. "If I Could turn Back Time", "Just Like Jesse James"), Milli Vanilli (i.e. "Blame It On The Rain"), Aerosmith (i.e. "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing"), Michael Bolton (i.e. "How Can We Be Lovers"), Meat Loaf (i.e. "I'd Lie For You (& That's The Truth)"), Bad English (i.e. "When I See You Smile"), to name only a few. Right there one knows the material is strong, while KT's own pen brings out equal delight. With her strong voice, different than many female singers with a more husky tone that's often been criticized or equated to jazz not pop, the weaknesses of the album are risen over. Yes, there is a weakness in the album, but its one obvious only through hindsight, as at the time the album was considered her strongest. The music is flooded with a now dated Michael Bolton-esque reliance on synthesizers. Though, ironically, of note on the recording is Twisted Sister drummer Joe Franco, Megadeth guitarist Al Pitrelli & Shakira bassist Mark Russell, all who would soon join Dee Snider for two albums in the hard rocking Widowmaker, plus Beach Boys sax player Richie Cannato & backing vocalists Joe Lynn Turner of Rainbow & Tony Harnell of TNT. The troupe was led by producer Ric Wake & award-winning keyboardist Rich Tandredi, who helmed the same group, san Pitrelli, in crafting "Tell It To My Heart" for Taylor Dayne. It's no accident that the successful Dayne session group was recruited by KT. She was a backing vocalist on the album. Wake & company would appear on numerous albums throughout 1990 & 1991. Their inclusions would always be the only rock moments in heavily synthesized albums, making it a bit odd that the synthesizer would play such a prominent part here where they'd finally get a chance to do more than a track or two. Pitrelli gets a two bar solo in one song that's nearly lost & plays some rhythms tucked in the mix. The real highlight is Franco who drives the album with a strong beat, far more enjoyable than the electronic drums chosen by so many of KT's peers at this time. For those not familiar with Troccoli besides being a musician she's also an author & lecturer. She also auditioned for the role of Eva Peron for the film version of Broadway’s Evita. She was obviously beaten by Madonna, but not before three call-back auditions. Pure Attraction was Troccoli’s first album to wield a mainstream chart hit with the single "Everything Changes", peaking at 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, & marking a comeback after five years out of music.

Steve Vai ~ The 7th Song (comp) (album review) ... Mystical 7 strings!

style: hard rock, instrumental
Label: Epic
Year: 2000
Home: California

Members: Steve Vai ~ guitars/keyboards/vocals
Guests: Mike Keneally, Tommy Mars, Scott Collard ~ keyboards
Devin Townsend ~ vocals
T.M. Stevens, Stu Hamm, Philip Bynne, Bryan Beller ~ bass
Terry Bozzio, Mike Mangini, Gregg Bissonette, Tris Imboden, Deen Castronovo, Pete Zeldman ~ drums

In terms of solo instrumental guitarists when I was younger I was into Joe Satriani as he was the chart-topper at the time, inheriting the title from Yngwie Malmsteen who had already gotten lost to his own brand of classical meets rock oblivion. But, as I've gotten older I've found myself getting into Satriani's once student SV. Ironically, I first heard SV while living in Japan as my housemate was into the B'z as the guitarist guests on a SV album. With an interest in Japanese music & how it relates to American music I had my first taste of SV. He stayed in my memory as sounding different than what I was used to, but didn't pursue him further due to being in the midst of a jazz/blues phase with a little Tom Waits & Sophie B. Hawkins thrown in. Today, as a collector of guitarist Al Pitrelli I find myself returning to Vai as the two often cross paths via the shared Berkeley education & the same albums. SV got his start in the Frank Zappa band which would set the stage for a career of something different & often challenging ... what I had picked up ia the B'z. He'd later replace Yngwie in Alcatrazz with Rainbow's Graham Bonnet on their under-rated third album before touring with Billy Sheehan as part of David Lee Roth's first solo band. He'd go on to join Whitesnake & create a seven string guitar now a somewhat regular sight in rock. For me, Satriani is a rocker, Yngwie a speed freak show-off but Vai is often the most emotional & with the widest range of experimentation. Because of this he might even be the most challenging to listen to & in turn the most rewarding. SV will let a note hang in the air forever like an old blues guy or run a fast scale in a prog-rock composition. He's more than just a guitarist's guitarist but someone trying to bring guitar playing to new levels. The 7th Song (Enchanting Guitar Melodies Archives Vol. 1) compilation, his first compilation album & the first of four entries in the Archives series of fairly obscure tracks, shows the note hanging in the air side of SV. Presenting a more mystical face to creating music than his peers, SV has made it a habit to always make the seventh song on his albums the melodic rocker. The 7th Song brings many of these seventh songs together with a few other pieces to show the melodic star-gazing side of SV. The linear notes say upfront that this collection forms a reflection of his desire for spiritual communion. We've come to not expect such insights from rock stars, or at least not something sounding so unpretentious & egotistical & in turn almost unsettling. With opener "For The Love Of God", from Passion & Warfare, featuring Indian tambura-esque drones there's no question that this is an slow esoteric journey & not just a rock guitar attack. SV takes us on a journey using seemingly simple soaring guitar lines gliding slowly like calm waves & sometimes occasionally rushing towards the shore. Satriani is known for overdubbing guitar over guitar but SV often keeps to one guitar & just lets the notes come in an almost goal-less improvised sounding fashion. I'm reminded of the playing of jazz great Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, such as in his One Truth Band or with Devadip Carlos Santana & Alice Coltrane. He is another guitarist interested in a journey that's not about verse, verse, chorus, verse, bridge & lots of annoying vocals with cheap lyrics cluttering up the voice of the guitar. Though, it takes great skill to keep the guitar talking instrumental after instrumental & have the conversation not sound forced or boring. SV has the skill in spades maybe more than his peers who often get more technical than expressive. Most of the songs on this release were recorded in different surroundings & line-ups between 1984 & 1990, but the instrumentation is generally very simple via duos & quartets & extremely uncluttered almost as if the songs are demos. "Burnin' Down The Mountain" is a first take, so for some songs demo might not be far off the path, but a demo requires a new song to be made & that's not the case here. Even where there's multiple overdubbed guitars the result sounds like a single instrument that's just able to say two words at once like the Tibetan chanting monks (for example, "Touching Tongues") not dueling guitars as has come to be the expected norm in a solo instrumental rock guitar outing. Further, all the tracks sound like they came out of the same session, thus giving The 7th Song a cohesive sound not typical to compilations. This is mostly because the bands are without doubt taking a backseat to SV. These songs come from his solo albums & thus its about him & not about a group. Whitesnake is one place to go if you want that side of SV or any sense of band interplay. Most of the songs get a bit of background info in the linear notes showing SV as a more complicated person than many musicians present themselves as. He speaks on everything to his belief in what religion is to recording in the afterglow of a forest fire. There's no rock star mask here, but just a guy who happens to play guitar exceedingly well & has great spiritual longings. Actually, in that sense he's quite average ... but most musicians will probably refrain from putting the controversial topic of religion out there outside of disguised song lyrics. But, SV has never been afraid of putting unsettling guitar playing out there & nor is he afraid of putting unsettling ideas out there just the same. SV has a guitar style that floats & glides like water & on first listen one will easily fall into a hypnotic state, perhaps even losing just how technically accomplished he is. But, if that's the case than he does a good job. Too often highly technical guitarists astound us with their almost inhuman skills but afterwards we find ourselves with a soulless vacant experience. Yngwie has been handed this criticism too many times. SV brings the best of both worlds together. SV has so many albums that the new listener may not know where to start. For something different without pounding drums & slashing rhythms this collection is a good starting point while showing SV seemingly naked with no fancy gimmicks between his playing, his mood & the listener. There's a couple new songs included for the already fan. This includes the special seventh song, "Melissa's Garden", which is SV's first step into digital recording. All proceeds from single sales of it go to the Melissa Kravets Memorial Foundation, a eye-catching thing to read in the linear notes. "The Wall Of Light" is an outtake from the Passion & Warfare" sessions, while the simply titled "Boston Rain Melody" is the recording of a jam session during a soundcheck jam that SV added some finishing touches to for this compilation.

Dr. Moe ~ My Soul (album review) ... Not Doctor Who, but Doctor LightWorker!

Style: religious, experimental
Label: self-released
Year: 2010
Home: Ontario, Canada

Members: Dr. Moe ~ guitar/bass/keyboards/vocals

The numerous self-releases of Canadian guitarist-singer-songwriter Dr. Moe, aka Dr. Maurice Turmel, Ph.D., all share the theme of spiritual awakening. These are the musical wanderings of a retired psychiatrist who believes the world is in a spiritual & social crisis & about to be swept into either Heaven or Hell. Dr. Moe is a follower of the LightWorkers, or Starseeds or WayShowers movement that is preparing for Ascension in 2012. He's not the only one & we can only wait & see if 2012 is the spiritually uplifting year everyone says its going to be if there's not a cultural revolution first. Dr. Moe's music is music of healing through twinkling guitar playing, soft singing & ethereal electronic additions. If you've heard his other music My Soul isn't that much different. & don't be afraid of the specifics of his beliefs because, like his other releases, his lyrics are holistic rather than specific. My Soul opens with one of Dr. Moe's most upbeat & catchy songs "On My Way To Heaven" with an early 80's synth/bass background &, as I've described in a previous review, 50's style guitar playing for a little light space pop. This is followed by another highlight with "God Sings The Blues" with a 60's R&B foundation. However un-funky you may think LightWorkers may sound this is a great little piece that you could see being given a makeover by Bernie Worrell. The 80's electronica influence tends to set the template for much of the album ("My Soul", "Purple Haze Turning Blue", "A Little Place Called The Blues", "Coming Home"), but there's also a bit more funk ("Wrecking Ball", "I Am The Soul Man"), some basic blues ("You're The Oldest Dream"), a little calypso ("Come Down to The River", "Little Miracles") & reggae stylings ("Mother Earth"), giving My Soul an overall retro feel to what might be Dr. Moe's best albums, definetly his most diverse.

Stryper ~ Greatest Hits: Live In Puerto Rico (DVD review) ... Caught in the middle again!

Style: hard rock, Christian rock, heavy metal, glam
Label: MVD Visual
Year: 2006
Home: n/a

Concert location: Puerto Rico
Year Recorded: 2004
Length: 72 minutes
Bonus Features: bonus archival footage from 1989 of: "Keep The Fire Burning", "Always There For You", "Rockin' The World" & drum/bass/guitar solos

Members: Michael Sweet ~ vocals/rhythm guitar
Oz Fox ~ lead guitar/b. vocals
Tim Gaines ~ bass/b. vocals
Robert Swett ~ drums

Additional: Brent Jeffers ~ keyboards/b. vocals

Most people know Stryper as the 80's glam metal Christian rock band formed in 1983 that dressed in yellow/black, didn't cuss or throw out the devil horns & handed out Bibles & took prayer breaks during their shows. David Bowie took a prayer break during A Concert For Life: A Tribute To Freddie Mercury, wore bisexuality on his sleeve with his androgynous costumes & lived in a swirl of drug addiction ... & was an iconic superstar overnight ... while Styper has lived on the fringes of rock only briefly allowed into the mainstream, primarily because of their visual bumblebee appearance, but generally held at arms length because of their 'odd' behaviors. How interesting from a sociological perspective how 'bad' & 'unchristian' behavior make one famous while 'good' behaviors are an eighth plague. Though, existing primarily in the world of Christian rock means Stryper has never been hounded by national music trends that have killed so many bands as Christian bands tend to not have the same expectations of trend following held against them. So, perhaps, its lucky that they don't get mainstream acceptance because it's allowed a band to continue long beyond when many of their peers hit their prime, broke up, reunited & now struggle with quasi-nostalgia tours with replacement members & low album sales. The 80's Stryper was a glam metal band seemingly not that much different from most other 80's hair rock bands & even less different if one ignored the non-death lyrics & the lack of anything malicious or over-the-top metal in their live shows. Today they've largely done away with a lot of the over-the-top color-coding & mass amounts of hairspray, let alone all the stage prancing & endless guitar soloing ... the result being a much stronger & more entertaining band allowing their individual talents to shine much stronger & not requiring the assistance of arena flash. The Live In Puerto Rico DVD would be the last tour until 2009 with bassist Tim Gaines whose thick & pounding Geezer-esque basslines are a definite reason to check out the later day Stryper. He was always good but it often got lost under the flash in the earlier days. The rhythmic intensity he adds is irreplaceable & addictive to watch. Bonus tracks include a live bass solo from 1989 but, like the other bonus track solos by drummer Robert Sweet & guitarist Oz Fox, the clips are too short & is unnecessary when you have a chance to watch him for the entire show. Laying down a great rhythm is lost in a solo. Michael Sweet isn't the most distinctive singer around, as some songs show the thinness of his voice, but he's got his fans as he was asked to join as a co-lead vocalist in Boston. A couple things of trivial note include the fact that the drummer plays with his kit facing the side so the audience can see him better, let alone wearing a hat that completely falls over his head a few times. He's also wearing a yellow/black jacket ... which is actually a fan jacket from Japan's baseball team the Hanshin Tigers of Osaka where I lived for some years as the logo on the back reveals. Obviously he threw out his old 80's costumes. Sadly, the keyboardist gets no solo closeup time until two shots in the sixth song "Caught In The Middle". A common plague to rock keyboardists whose sounds and face are ignored but yet contributions deserving more. Watching this concert I'm reminded of so many hair metal bands that once they did away with the onstage prancing, big hair & gimmicks on some level they seemed to become more interesting musicians, let alone a lot heavier in their musical styles. It's like the energy got refocused. Though, I'm the first to say that I love the dress-up & it was what got me interested in rock as a boy. Also, when you can't hide behind a wild costume or eye-make it changes how one acts on stage. One has to, seemingly, actually perform. The result may not be as exciting at times & it does tend to show musical weaknesses but a great band is a great band no matter what they do onstage. In 2004 and still today Stryper are more of a heavy metal band than 80's hair/glam rockers. It's almost a shame they've become known as a Christian band as that stigma will alienate many listeners. Stryper's 2009 album Murder By Pride is a grunge/heavy metal inspired highlight of their career that isn't that much stereotypical Christian lyrically or at least no more noticeable than when Metallica sings religious songs. Bonus footage includes clips from a 1989 show from the In God We Trust Tour with the band in a prime year for hair metal & their own career, though they've changed so much between 1989 and 2004 it's hard to see the same band in the two parts but it is. Sadly, they sound too much like their peers of the time while their yellow/black attire & black pants end up now being a bit reminiscent of Spinal Tap. Glam rock has dated itself well. The quality is a bit poor & poor lighting doesn't help. Essentially, the bonus clips come down to being, for non-fans, an interesting comparison of how a band changes over the years ... from pretty boys to hard rockin' adults. And, it shows how much they've improved with age. 

Imari Tones ~ Victory In Christ (album review) ... Walking with the original rising sun!

Style: heavy metal, Christian
Label: self-released
Year: 2010
Home: Yokohama, Japan

Members: Tak "Tone" ~ guitar/vocals
Yuki "Hassy" ~ bass
Hide "Jake" ~ drums

People don't typically think of Japan as a Christian country, but it actually has a large Christian population though Buddhism remains the most obvious religious practice in daily life & the Japanese are considered Buddhist by birth until converted. This Buddhist dominance even extends to the artistic culture where the country itself seems more intent on continuing the idea that it's 100% Buddhist rather than accepting the fact that many religions live on its islands & have for a long time. The trio of Imari Tones is working towards breaking this stereotype through positive & inspirational 80's power metal & their claim, though unverifiable, that "they are one of very few bands in the world that can claim true originality. How so? They are the first Christian heavy metal band ever to come out of Japan." Victory In Christ is their latest of 15 releases, all independently recorded/produced ... something not as common in Japan as in America. Imari Tones understand the challenge they are facing, according to their press release, quoting founder/frontman Tak: "There are very few Japanese bands who say 'Hey, we're a Christian band.' A Christian band from Japan almost sounds like a joke, since most people in Japan are Buddhists or Atheists." But, these guys are no joke. Think of Christian rockers Stryper in a meeting with Van Halen & you'll get a feeling of the musical maneuvers being executed by Imari Tones. Highly skilled technical 80's hard rock that draws from the careers of Yngmie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, Eddie Van Halen, Eric Johnson & all the great power metal rockers of the time. Tak has done his homework well in crafting his soaring solos & an endless variety of riffs. He's also paid attention to song structure & knows that the best of his heroes is when they sit back & groove & not aim for one over-the-top hour long solo. Tak & company also shy away from the influence of speed & thrash metal, keeping things firmly melodic & accessible to more than just a minority of metalheads. Sadly, the production quality could be better as the guitar/vocals are upfront but the rhythm section is little low in the mix so their impact is less than it could be. The feeling is of a guitar, with some overdubs, with a basic backing band behind it & not a unified band with a shared spotlight. It would be nice to hear more of what the bassist is playing, along with more experimentation from the drums. Imari Tones likes to compare themselves to Rush in their press release but they could take some lessons from the Rush rhythm section. Just bringing the instruments up in the mix would help a lot towards this. As for the lyrics, Tak's somewhat predictable lyrics of love & Jesus are all in English, good for the international crowd ... as long as nobody minds a typical Japanese accent & a few mispronunciations such as the famed Japanese substitution of 'l' for 'r'. Though, for the folks interested in international sounds, Tak's accent is the only thing that sounds explicitly Japanese on Victory In Christ as this is one of those bands not hemmed in by natural or theoretical borders ... their role model is Jesus & Jesus has no borders.

Dr. Moe ~ Now Is The Time (album review) ... When you need a doctor for your soul!

Style: religious, experimental
Label: self-released
Year: 2010
Home: Ontario, Canada

Members: Dr. Moe ~ guitar/bass/keyboards/vocals
Michael Keyes ~ keyboards/bass

There are many people who are surprised when they hear that the father of modern avant-garde John Cage was an expert scientist in mushrooms or Queen's Brian May has Ph.D. in astro-physics. I also once knew a high school algebra teacher who who was a folk guitarist & published poet ... & a more interesting artist than some of the professional poets that were teaching up the hill at the college. The scientific with the artistic are often seen as contradictory but this is really a stereotype that does little justice to how much one field bounces off & inspires the other. Dr. Moe, or Dr. Maurice Turmel, is a retired psychologist of 35 years who has continued his healing via his original compositions of spiritually uplifting easy listening music. Robin Hitchcock is one name that first comes to mind for Dr. Moe with his simple guitar rhythms against ethereal keyboards, electronic drums & soft singing on personal issues, though vocally he's more akin to a young Levon Helm. Many of the songs are slow & almost hypnotic 4 minute moments but a few (i.e. "Remember When", "Let It Begin", "My Vision Of Heaven") are more upbeat with almost a 50's R&B feeling ... imagine if Buddy Holly took to George Harrison chanting & not drawing from the Devil's blues. But, at the same time, the music isn't Holly or Harrison, nor R&B, nor particularly bluesy though the modest solos belay this as Dr. Moe's roots, while at times the electronic foundation is a cross between the lighter side, if there is a lighter side, of Gary Numan mixed with the feeling of modern New Age music. Following his professional work Dr. Moe has crafted a set of humble songs of personal self-discovery, including: "Breathless", "Feels Like Home", "On My Way Again", "Let It Begin", "My Vision Of Heaven", "Dreamer", "Diamonds In The Rough" & "Twilight Time". The titles belay the themes found in the album. Now Is The Time is uplifting as it can get, let alone spiritual. It's not Christian but much more New Age oriented, as the linear notes say it aims for "connection with Source" by the "spiritually hungry sometimes known as LightWorkers, Starseeds, WayShowers & Seekers in preparation for Ascention 2012." Though, considering the specifics of his audience the lyrics aren't incredibly specific aiming more for generic New Age holistic thinking of world peace & self-enlightenment through love, which is the essential idea behind the LightWorkers & other groups. "Can't wait until tomorrow/to find out who I am" Dr. Moe sings in "Diamonds In The Rough" & in many ways that's the message of the album. Don't wait until 2012 to see how your life can change or, hopefully, be better.

Rez Band (aka Resurrection Band, Rez) ~ The Lament (album review) ... Before Christian rock there was this blues-rock resurrection!

Style: hard rock, blues-rock, heavy metal, Christian
Label: Grrr Records
Year: 1995
Home: Chicago

Members: Glenn Kaiser ~ guitar/vocals/dulcimer/harmonica
Wendy Kaiser ~ vocals
Stu Heiss ~ guitar/keyboards
Roy Montroy ~ bass/b. vocals
John Herrin ~ Drums

Guest: Ty Tabor ~ guitar

Additional: Roger Heiss, Ed Bialach ~ percussion
Chris Cameron ~ organ
Hilde Bialach ~ cello
Eric Clayton ~ pan pipes
Julie Andrews, Diane Borden, Colleen Davick, Shelli Friede, Chris Garno, Micky Griffin, Bonnie Groth, Laurel Heiss, Lottie Jones, Caryl Montroy, Andrea Spicer ~ b. vocals

Christian rock fathers Rez Band, formerly Resurrection Band only to return to the old moniker with this album, produced an outstanding catalog of music before their break-up in 2000 that spanned 3 decades & ranged from psychedelic to heavy metal to hard rock to pop to power ballads & the blues, barely a style of music passed through the music charts without Rez Band following suit with great success. Albeit, due to their heavy Christian lyrics they never got the commercial success that their mainstream peers had, though it was for no lack of trying or talent. While most of their albums tended to fall comfortably into one of these categories The Lament stands out as an experiment that is a mix of the blues-rock with other elements to make something unique that in many ways brings them back to their early progressive albums. The songs still rock hard & heavy but the blistering metal of previous albums has been reigned in & the outcome is something hypnotic & intense. It's laced with some of their most emotionally powerful ballads with intricate lyrics that went beyond just Christian themes or praise songs. Part of this was due to the inclusion of producer Ty Tabor, lead singer of fellow Christian rockers King's X, but it's also because The Lament is Rez Band's first concept album, dealing with a man's disillusionment with life & the necessity of spiritual change. The result has been hailed as one of the best Rez Band albums which it is definitely a contender for. But, with the diversity of music over a 30 year career its almost an injustice to what came before to call this the highlight as the band wouldn't have been around so long with the success it did had if it hadn't always been putting out great music. The Lament would be the final studio output of the band & it's nothing but an absolutely wonderful curtain call. They'd reunite to record Ampendectomy but that was only a re-arrangement of their hits in an acoustic setting to take advantage of the Unplugged craze sweeping the nation. Ironically, Ampendectomy is a wonderful album could have potentially led to an acoustic reinvention of Rez Band, or a literal resurrection, but Glenn Kaiser was pumping out the blues in a solo career & Rez band was set aside not to be ... resurrected again in the studio. Even for Lazarus there comes a curtain call. But, it's a curtain call that is anything but a lament the title implies as the music is too joyful to let the listener feel sad that no more is to come. Both the curtain call & the encore are fan necessities. Few bands have called it a day in such a graceful way. Anyone who thinks Christian music doesn't 'kick ass' has never heard Rez Band.

Theo Cedar Jones' Swaybone ~ Life On Earth (album review) ... Adi Da Samraj guru rock!

Style: hard rock, religious
Label: self-released
Year: 2010
Home: California

Members: Theo Cedar Jones ~ vocals/guitar
Dennis Reyes ~ bass
Oliver Zelada ~ drums
Giovani Maganzi ~ guitar

 

It's not Christian rock. It's not Satanic death metal at the other end of the spectrum. It's something a little different that's a bit of a child on its own. It's guru rock ... sort of, for lack of a better term. Inspired by the American-born religious teacher/writer Parama-Sapta Na Adi Da Love-Ananda Samraj, Swaybone has put the goal before them of making good music, spreading Adi Da Samraj's teachings & creating a better world following an ideology based on ego-transcendence, prior unity & a global cooperative forum, all aptly summarized by the title of World-Teacher Adi Da Samraj's book "Not-Two Is Peace" which is also one of the songs on the album. I've circulated with this particular group for some years now & have often asked, sadly to no avail, if any of the musicians in it's world-wide community were doing something more on the rock or metal fringe & not just the classical, folksy, Indian & world-rhythms which seem to dominate the group's musical forays drawing from the group's Hindu roots. Actually, I once felt like I was being laughed at for suggesting that narcissistic rock music could meld with an ego transcending religion. Finding Swaybone, spearheaded with great zeal by devotee Theo Cedar Jones, I finally have my answer that it is possible & that somebody is brave enough to chart these new waters! I'm glad someone has seen the potential of melding popular music with the teachings of Adi Da Samraj, which can reach out to people that the other styles of music are missing out on connecting with. For those a bit unsure of heavy religious music in general & expecting something akin to the druggy forays of Yes or the Grateful Dead ... not quite. There is a hint of some 60's prog rock with Swaybone but the instrumental indulgence is kept to a minimum allowing the vocals to take focus. While Swaybone is firmly in the contemporary indie rock market a few wild electric guitar solos thrown in, particularly shining over a couple stand-out acoustic tracks, keep things upbeat & energetic & not falling into maudlin worship songs. In terms of lyrics maybe, on some level, Swaybone is more like Neil Young or Bob Dylan who, having also written their fare share of religious songs, keep the lyrics in the forefront & the musical flights of fancy to a minimum instead relying on interesting arrangements & rhythms. Death metal bands could take a page from the Swaybone book as their throat warbling screaming isn't helping spread their message of Armageddon. You can sing along with Swaybone & it's makes a difference. Let alone singing a chorus that includes the line "Not-two is peace" is an enjoyable linguistic experience for the tongue while the mind figures out the meaning of the quasi-mysterious phrase. I was recently discussing hard rock song lyrics with a fellow musician & Swaybone is definitely on the road to proving that one doesn't need to always sing about partying, sex & drugs or other banal subjects to rock out. Though, while Swaybone tries to brave new frontiers, the foreign subject matter is also a brickwall built by their own hand. Working in a record store I find a lot people turn away from Christian rock because they aren't Christians without giving the the music a chance. Swaybone may find itself faced with the same shallow prejudice. They know this already & I'm sure they find the challenge of toppling the wall the drive that keeps them going.

Phil Keaggy & Randy Stonehill ~ Mystery Highway (album review) ... Elvis & the Bible!

Style: classic rock, Christian
Label: Odd Body Music
Year: 2009
Home: Ohio & California

Members: Phil Keaggy ~ guitar/lead vocals/bass/mandolin/percussion
Randy Stonehill ~ lead vocals/acoustic guitar
John Sferra, Robert Gibbs ~ drums
Leo Lyons ~ bass
Mike Pachelli ~ b. vocals


Christian guitar guru Phil Keaggy has an uncanny knack to sound more like the Beatles than any of the Beatles have since they split. George Harrison wanted to make this type of music - raw, upbeat, melodic & unquestionably religious but he was only able to do so a few times before the audience turned against him ... Phil Keaggy has been lucky enough to make a long career out of it. With famed Christian singer Randy Stonehill by his side, they groove on basic 60's-esque arrangements in an album that's an informal musical sequel to Keaggy's outstanding Sunday's Child, which deliberately aimed for sounding like the Beatles, even using Ringo's drumkit. The fact that the title track "Sunday's Child" reappears here with a new arrangement & the fact that Stonehill guested on Sunday's Child only proves the sneaking suspicion that this is in many ways a sequel to that successful outing. If you liked Sunday's Child there's no way you won't enjoy Mystery Highway, maybe even a bit more as Stonehill is a much stronger & forthright singer than the soft spoken Keaggy. Every song is catchy, pop-infected & nostalgically Americana. In a hard rock forum as this is this might seem an odd inclusion, but decades ago in another musical world this style was hard rock music & without it we wouldn't have what we do today. Though, in such a forum as this one almost don't want to like this album knowing that it doesn't have anything but happy songs & no headbanging guitar solos ... it even has a song about Elvis & the Bible ("Rockin' In A Hard Place") ... but it's so upbeat 50's/early 60's-ish, but you can't help but enjoy it while being transported to the first time you heard Volunteers by the Jefferson Airplane. Let alone, sometimes it's nice to take a break from the normal, let alone turn back the clock. Keaggy & Stonehill undoubtedly know this. If you at all like either Keaggy or Stonehill this is a must own release. If you collect Christian rock this is also a must addition. This might also act as a good introduction to both artists, albeit, it's probably one of the best albums either of them have done. As for the Christian message for the non-Christian readers? You'll probably find a deeper Christian message on a Soundgarden album, believe it or not.

Deliverance ~ Weapons Of Our Warfare (album review) ... When Metallica goes Christian rock!

Style: Christian metal, thrash, speed metal, metal
Label: Intense Records
Year: 1990
Home: Los Angeles

Members: Jimmy P. Brown II ~ vocals/guitars
George Ochoa ~ guitars
Brian Khairullah ~ bass
Chris Hyde ~ drums

 

Another Christian metal band that has an uncanny knack for imitation. There seems to be a lot of them. This one is Kill 'Em All era Metallica, but with very un-Metallica Christian lyrics. Maybe this is the lost recordings with original guitarist Dave Mustaine? If I told you it was I'm sure your ears would agree. This is the latest in a handful of Christian metal bands I've come across that uncannily sound like a famous band, though this is the first one that sounds like Metallica as Iron Maiden seems to be the template of choice. I love Christian music, spawned from spending a couple years in the church, but I get the feeling as if these Christian bands, knowing they are on the fringe of metal, are aiming for imitation to get as many listeners as possible. They aren't aiming for experimentation or even individuality, but just sounding like everyone else. It's rather depressing & I once talked to a Christian minister who agreed. The reason I turn to Christian metal is because it offers something, or should offer something, inherently different, considering I don't particularly pay attention to the lyrics not being a Christian anymore. Though I don't like to find out about a band until after the I do these reviews I googled Deliverance as I'm so unfamiliar with modern Christian metal bands I can't help but want to know more about their careers, no matter who they sound like. Actually, the imitation drives me to want to know about their musical inspiration more. Wikipedia said "Weapons Of Our Warfare is still mentioned with hushed reverence among Christian metalheads as one of the elite speed metal albums of all time." No denying that this is a strong album on that account & with songs like "Slay The Wicked", "Greetings Of Death," "Flesh & Blood" &"This Present Darkness" & lyrics to go with them it has all the makings of a great metal album ... considering Metallica's James Hetfield grew up in a religious house & Alice Cooper, W.A.S.P.'s Blackie Lawless &Megadeth's Dave Mustaine are Christians the Christian message isn't that foreign to metal. As I said, the band is tight enough to pass this off as early Metallica. Further, I discovered: "In 1999, Lars Ulrich of Metallica hosted a show in which he named Deliverance's Weapons Of Our Warfare as one of his top ten favorite metal videos of all time." So, now you see one reason why I put a review up. Putting Metallica & Christian metal in the same sentence isn't something one tends to do. Deliverance might be fans of Metallica & aim to sound like them, while just writing lyrics about what was important to them instead of more cliched lyrics on sex, drugs & rock'n'roll. There's inherently no harm in that cause that's what all bands do. & it does have some great cover art.

Rez Band (aka Resurrection Band, Rez) ~ Mommy Don't Love Daddy Anymore (album review) ... But, Jesus loves you all!

Style: hard rock, blues-rock, Christian
Label: Light Records
Year: 1981
Home: Chicago, Illinois

Members: Glenn Kaiser ~ lead vocals/guitars/keyboards
Wendi Kaiser ~ lead vocals
Stu Heiss ~ guitars/keyboards
Jim Denton ~ bass/synthesizer
John Herrin ~ drums

Additional: Tom Cameron ~ snoring

Rez Band, formerly Resurrection Band & at one point just Rez, led by Glenn & Wendy Kaiser has gone through a few eras. Their first releases were heavily 70's Grateful Dead-ish, while the 80's saw them return to their base of blues & hard rock. Most of the albums are solid releases & I'm happy recommending any one of them depending on one's musical preferences ... the only problem is that in terms of uniqueness they aren't very, except for the fact that Rez is is a father of the Christian music scene & the official band of the oldest commune in the U.S., Jesus People USA. Outside of Glenn's bluesy belting a la Paul Rodgers & Wendy's shouting Rez is fairly reflective of the times, whatever the times they happen to be recording in. But, what were the times of 1981 when Mommy Don't Love Daddy Anymore was released? These were odd years for many bands lost in the abyss of dying disco & was the end of or hiatus of many leading 60's bands such as The Who, Yes & the Rolling Stones, while hair rock was in its infancy being spearheaded by the first age of heavy metal bands such as Judas Priest & Iron Maiden, while new wave & punk were making waves underground. Surprisingly Rez concocted this hard rock release, with some bits of 80's synth in it & completed what is probably one of their most overall strongest 80's releases that seems to transcend the era it was recorded in. The result had more emotional blues & more fan favorite songs (as they never had any songs on the charts) than many of their albums, let alone harder rock, though not much harder, while as always great lyrics. Nearly every song on this album is catchy with not a bit of filler. This album actually features some of their more creative arrangements, reminiscent of the era they just came from & would eventually abandoned for blues (i.e. "Elevator Muzik", "Alienated", "Can't Do It On My Own" & the title track). This is really a great album of introduction to Rez, it has everything you expect from them but not in excess in any musical direction. Further, "Can't Stop Lovin' You" should be introduced into church services everywhere. Period. Also, this review needs to get credit for "snoring." This is likely the first & only time I'll ever get to write that in a review.

Allen Peterson ~ Don't Let The Dark Out (EP) (album review) ... Wandering down a spiritual rabbit hole!

Style: Christian, hard rock
Label: self-released
Year: 1989
Home: Bellingham, Washington

Members: Allen Peterson ~ all instruments

This little collector's item privately distributed in Pacific Northwest is representative of so many little bands & musicians people won't know but not because the music is bad but because distribution was small. Actually, there's some well-known full-time musicians who suffer from the same problem. Good luck finding Queen drummer Roger Taylor's final album with his band Cross which was only distributed in Germany ... & it's the best of their three releases, too. I work in a record store in Manhattan that focuses on 70's obscure prog, another case in point. I'm not talking about Yes or Pink Floyd but bands with a single release that are finding new fans, or lost fans, through small reissues via small labels. Allen is a guitarist, songwriter & singer in Bellingham, Washington, the home of the Posies & Modest Mouse, whose music is influenced as much by Led Zeppelin as it is by Rez Band's Christian blues-rock. The title track "Don't Let The Dark Out" is a warning against devil worship or something akin & sets the tone for the album lyrically with spiritually inspired themes. But, though I'm sure he probably wanted the Christian message to come through, the real focus of this four song EP is the array of Richie Blackmore-esque guitars moving from straight-forward slightly distorted riffs & arpeggios to solos spanning hard rock to blues. I was reading recently an interview with Savatage/Trans-Siberian Orchestra guitarist Chris Caffery who said the age of the guitar solo & technically proficient guitarist is dead. Allen has crafted the traditional guitar album that Caffery bemoans the loss of. This is an album for guitar fans. & I didn't use the Blackmore reference casually. The only problem is that some of the songs seem to go a bit long, but for a four song EP that can be somewhat forgiven. Allen also played all the instruments on this small release. I assume the drums too, though I know he's not really a drummer. I've always found it interesting to hear a musician take complete control, as there's no outside personalities or ideas to change the sound or vision. This can be good & bad. A lesser musician than Allen could create a sloppy or limited outcome. But, the outcome can also totally reflect the personality of the creator. It's great getting that window in on a personality. In many ways this little release reflects the 1989 hard rock scene that only a decade later would sound horribly dated. But, now, with the revival & resurgence of metal, along with many old bands returning to the scene, I know there are folks out there who would relish in the pre-mp3 80's rawness of this release. Allen, whose also a professional graphic artist as can be seen on his website, has since gone on to heavier music which hopefully will someday be released, alongside reissuing this nugget with some bonus tracks I've heard exist. 

Phil Keaggy ~ Phil Keaggy & Sunday's Child (album review) ... When the Beatles met God!

Style: christian, retro, folk-rock
Label: Myrrh Records
Year: 1988
Home: n/a

Members: Phil Keaggy ~ lead vocals/guitars/bass
Rick Cua ~ bass
Mike Mead ~ drums
Lynn Nichols ~ b. vocals/guitars

Additional: Lenny Castro ~ percussion
Robbie Buchanan ~ Hammond B-3
Rudy Valentine, Jimmy Lee Sloas ~ b. vocals

Guests: Mark Heard ~ guitars/keyboards/b. vocals
Steve Taylor ~ percussion
Randy Stonehill, Alwyn Wall, Derri Daugherty, Russ Taff ~ b. vocals
James Hollihan ~ guitars

Phil Keaggy is probably one of the most recognized names and guitarists in Christian music, having been performing since the 60's when his first band was opening for prog-rock legends Yes. Albeit, as a guitarist his albums are not stuffed full of expected guitar solos but rely more often on the folk or Neil Diamond approach of interesting melodic arrangements where solos are almost trivial. Keaggy has always had more than a hint of the Beatles in his happy sounding upbeat arrangements, but on Sunday's Child the evolution is complete. This is the legendary lost Beatles album (that you never knew was lost until now)! And, it's quit deliberate ... as Ringo's own drum set was borrowed & only vintage guitars & amps. But, it takes more than equipment to recreate a sound. A few songs are a bit too modern sounding, while a few others are filler, but on the whole this is the Beatles reincarnate. Even the Beatles had filler & they definitely were too modern sounding at times. There's a few rockers (i.e. "I'm Gonna Get You Now" & "I Always Do") but the Beatles approach of melodic little mini-stories shines through with bare bones solos akin to Harrison & Lennon. Keaggy has never changed his musical style to suit the decades & many of his albums have often fall into the world of lightweight overly sentimental pop tunes, though always well-received if for nothing else but their predictably. Sunday's Child breaks the predictability making this the best album for rockers who want to check him out. But, Keaggy is quit prolific, often releasing multiple albums a year, so there's no lack of potential starting points. This further features an all star guest list, including compositional co-credits, of Christian music icons including Randy Stones, Mark Heard and Steve Taylor.

Stryper ~ Murder By Pride (album review) ... Eclipse of the sun!

Style: Christian, hard rock
Label: Big 3 Records
Year: 2009
Home: California

Members: Michael Sweet ~ lead vocals/guitar
Oz Fox ~ lead guitar/b. vocals
Tracy Ferrie ~ bass

Additional: Kenny Aronoff ~ drums

Guests: Tom Scholz ~ guitar

Styper was one of the first & most successful openly gay ... sorry, I mean, openly Christian heavy metal bands & became famous for their yellow & black stripped outfits & passing out Bibles at their concerts. Murder By Pride, which happens to be a great title if you contemplate it's meaning, was released on the 25th anniversary of the band & is a wonderful throwback to 1980's hair metal with a touch of modern metal. The highlights are "Eclipse Of The Sun," "Murder By Pride" & "The Plan", which could be on the radio now with their alt rock metal sound, along with "4 Leaf Clover" with the great obviously Christian chorus: "no strength in a unicorn, no luck in a 4 leaf corner, no life unless he's born". How many metal bands write about unicorns? Even Christian ones? This is a solid release, albeit a bit scary because though there's bits of modern rock this is a band that doesn't sound like they've aged a day nor want to. It doesn't help that they do the Boston cover "Peace Of Mind", featuring its author Boston founder Tom Scholz on guitar & could be right out of the Boston catalog. Actually, it would be hard to say that this wasn't Boston if you heard it. Looking a little into Stryper's bio one finds that frontman Michael Sweet is a touring member with the latest incarnation of Boston. What a surprise! Following the 80's mold that this album is in it even features the typical 80's chorus vocals & the the obligatory love ballads "Alive" & "Run In You" a la Bon Jovi, albeit I swear I've heard "Run To You" before. As to the Christian message, not so strong as one might think, but then being a Christian band doesn't mean that every song is about God. Actually, both Alice Cooper & Dave Mustaine of Megadeth are Christians ... Does this mean they'll be adding to their repertoire Boston songs? I mean, Stryper songs? There's nothing here remarkably new or even inventive for a band celebrating a fourth of a century together, or even as Christian as some other bands in the genre. But, it's a solid set of solid music & it's nice to see 80's hair bands continuing to push their music out even when that scene has come & gone & come & gone.

Anthem ~ Cuttin' Thru (album review) ... Happy Christian metal!

Style: heavy metal, Christian metal
Label: Tunesmith
Year: 1982
Home: Canada

Members: n/a 

 

Few may believe this, but there is a genre of metal called 'happy metal', versus 'doom metal', & it's exactly what it sounds. No, this is not the same as 'Christian metal', but I'm sure the overlap is pretty overwhelming because happy & metal tend not to be words you find in the same sentence so there can't be that many bands in one group & not the other. Well, knowing the fringe Christian groups out there, there might be a Christian death metal band that believes Jesus didn't resurrect ... if you know of one I'll be happy to review them! Anthem, a female fronted Christian metal band not the famous Graham Bonnett outfit, is probably a candidate for happy metal if there ever was one, if only they weren't 20 years too early. If your church going grandma doesn't approve of metal, this is the album to share with her ... & make her see the light ... of metal. Light of metal? The Christian message is belted out clearly here as unabashadly as Nunslaughter sings of Satan worship or Nile of Ancient Egypt or Sammy Hagar of partying. There's no hiding the Christian message like some metal bands do to appear more metal than Christian. Musically, picture Judas Priest or Thin Lizzy, considering the year this was released & what metal was around at the time, but with a soft-spoken lead singer that might be better in a blues band ... or a gospel choir. If you know Christian blues-rock icons Rez (aka Resurrection Band) this is probably the metal equivalent. This is full of riffs & keyboard ambiance, but often has the pacing of a Rush album, where speed is not an issue or even a goal. There's no typical metal-esque darkness on this album, even when you hear "the world is falling deeper into sin, Satan's pushing harder than he's been, his forces working over time, to drag you down into the slime of his dark world" which doesn't even come off as venomous, albeit in 1981 death metal wasn't quite a mature musical form to be generally influenced by. Ah, metal without the influence of death metal ... it really sounds so weak & like it's missing something. The sole release from this little band Cuttin' Thru is not just is a historical musical moment from after the death of Christ but before the birth of death metal. This is music for rosary counting grandma. She'll be pleased you finally gave up your satanic mush. This is still metal but she can't win them all. What? She's Jewish? I've got something for that, hang on. What? She's Muslim? I've got something for that too. What? She's Hindu? You'll never guess what I just found from Singapore. What? She's an atheist? You've got a problem with her?

Leviticus ~ Sta Och Titta Pa (EP) (album review) ... The strongest power is god!

Style: hard rock, Sweden
Label: self-released
Year: 1982
Home: Sweden

Members: Kjell Andersson ~ drums
Björn Stigsson ~ guitars/keyboards
Håkan Andersson ~ bass/vocals

 

 

 

  Those knowledgeable of Christian metal history will probably recognize this band due to their 1985 breakthrough release The Strongest Power, as they are considering one the few Swedish Christian metal bands - they're the first I've ever heard of - & one of the earliest Christian metal bands here or there. This is their debut EP, coming before their famed English Christian releases, which sadly have become more collector's items than legendary albums. Even though it's entirely in Swedish, I feel, having heard their later work, this is one of their best. New wave-esque washes of synthesizers layered against a hard rock drum & bass rhythm highlight the 4 tracks with occasional distorted guitar parts that at times has a very 70's rock feel. The only fault is that the guitars & keyboards never are heard at the same time. Most of the time this is obvious but not distracting. If anything it's interesting because it shows a band imitating what they sound like on stage, compared to what the studio can make them sound like. We've all seen bands on stage that are but shells of their studio sound so it's an interesting change of direction.