Reviewed by Peter John Willoughby

This release follows on from the self-titled debut in 2006 and features the same line-up. Las Vegas-based Bill Menchen is the guitarist, best known from his appearances in the bands Titanic, Redeemer, Rev Seven and Final Axe. Also from Final Axe, there is Rod Reasner on bass. For those of you who have been living in a cave, I will let you into the well kept secret that Robert Sweet is the drummer from that little know band, Stryper. You can forget those atmospheric little intro tracks that are so popular nowadays, as smouldering riffage ensues, the bass rumbles ominously and the drums are pounded into submission. It has a late '80s heavy metal feel with spoken word vocals which try to imitate Ozzy Osbourne. The brooding apocalyptic theme is countered with messages of salvation and redemption: "He wore a robe dipped in blood/His name is called the Word of God/Armies of Heaven in white robes/Follow him on white horses." This is unashamed Christian metal which can suffer from over-simplistic lyrics. The worst effort is "Steal/thou shalt not/Lie/thou shalt not/Kill/thou shalt not/in vain/you should have not." Also I wish that Bill Menchen would get a vocalist involved as his voice can start to grate which is a shame as his limitations detract from the excellent musicianship.

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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