Reviewed by Paul S Ganney

This is volume two of three albums of unreleased material which was originally rescued from the archive in 1994 and have now been remastered by Retroactive Records. What you get here are the demo versions of songs, finished versions of which appeared on early '90s albums. Being demos, these tracks generally have a rawer feel to them than the final versions (especially compared to the bonus track) and different arrangements that range from the subtle to major. Some tracks don't quite sound finished ("Kiss The Train" and "Everybody Knows My Name" sound very much like parts 1 and 2 of the same song, for example), whereas some (such as "Same Ol' Sinner") have a "ready to release" feel about them. It's a CD for the hardcore Bride collector, but certainly not a opportunistic rip-off (as so many "out-takes and demos" CDs can be). The bonus track is a cover of Steve Taylor's "We Don't Need No Colour Code" from the 'I Predict A Clone' various artists album. It's a testament to the overall ability of these hard rockers that the track doesn't fly so high above them. Indeed, I suggest the best track on this CD is their powerhouse version of "Same Ol' Sinner".

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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