Now there was a band.
At its core, one of the greatest rock/metal vocalists of all time in the incomparable Scott Wenzel, plus mighty metal axeman, Rex Carroll.
They released a dozen or so albums, probably peaking with '
High Gear' in 1992, though '
Equilibrium' in 1995 was more than decent.
Two years ago these two got back together with drummer, Mike Feighan - the man who makes keeping the beat sound like it's something to do with exploding artillery shells - and re-recorded their debut album,
'Nineteen Eighty Seven'.
Recorded, appropriately, at Girder Records.
On this new version, the anaemic '
You're Mine' has been jettisoned, but the immense
'Love On The Line' and instrumental, '
Re-animate', plus four unlisted, extended solo pieces have been added as bonuses.
That debut was a startling collection of hard edged melodic metal songs that elbowed their way into the global metal arena while trumpeting the word of God. Not to everyone's taste, but you couldn't help but sit up and take notice.
The new recording has utilised contemporary studio technology without losing the raw energy and aggression of the original.
The really outstanding stuff is comes fast and furious at the front end.
'Who Will You Follow' and '
Enough Is Enough' are a blaze of tough as teak riffs - melodic, bone breaking, underlined by woofer challenging bass rhythms - counterpointing Wenzel's gritty, high toned delivery.
Absolute standout perhaps is
'He Is The Rock'. Indeed he is. This magnificent track is a clarion call to all Christians, a metal anthem with a simply fabulous (and fabulously simple) riff, with Wenzel's lyrics raining down like body blows on a faithless, nihilistic society.
The Dan Huff-ish, Eddie Van Halen-esque '
Nagasake' is perhaps an instrumental too far, but Carroll was never known for hiding his light under a burning bush.
Elsewhere, '
Looking for A Reason's stuttering riff and razorwire axework, matched to a hard as nails delivery would have given Ratt a run for their money, and probably did.
The big, bold, and rather more generic '
Seeing Is Believing' was in keeping with the times. You can easily visualise fists punching the air, bodies swaying, heads banging.
All in all, this is a worthy reissue, and a reminder of just why the name
Whitecross looms large in Christian metal folklore.
Written by
Brian Tuesday, February 12, 2008
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