This month we are going to revisit one of the most brilliant "Hair Metal" albums of the early 90's.
How's it going my faithful following (all two of ya - ha, ha). Yes I'm back and with yet another fun filled, exciting, but always-informative review! Did you miss me? I know you did. This month we are going to revisit one of the most brilliant "Hair Metal" albums of the early 90's, Holy Soldiers' self titled release. So get some Mountain Dew or your soda of choice, crank up Reign Radio, and lets visit this masterpiece of the early 90's.
Side one starts off with a song called "Stranger". This is a song about a man coming to town and turning the "religious people" upside down. The man is Jesus of course and the song is a very cool rocker. My only complaint with this album is that lead singer Steven Patrick's vocals seem to get hidden a little bit in this song. The production on this album was not that great but their musicianship made up for the difference. Track two is a song called "See No Evil", which in my opinion is one of the best anti-abortion songs ever written. The song is told through the eyes of an unborn baby, and the chorus has little baby like voices in the background, which is really chilling. Now...backtrack for a minute, back to the Stryper review I did. Remember what I said about all the Metal Bands doing ballads? Well these guys are no different. Track Three is called "The Pain inside of Me". This song is a beautiful piece of music. The first time I listened to it I could picture the video for it (although I don't think they made one). This song kind of has a Def Leppard feel to it with the music and the harmonies. This is a great song about a couple that split up and pray that God will bring them back together. Track Four is called "Cry out for Love". I would have to say that this song might be the only one on the album that just really doesn't do it for me. Don't get me wrong; it's a great song. The message is great; it's talking about reaching out for Christ and getting on with your walk but it still just didn't ring the bells in my ears. Track Five and the final cut on side one is called "Tear Down the Walls", which is a smoking tune!! Both guitarists Jamie Cramer and Michael Cutting really get to shred on this track. The song is talking about getting rid of the things in your life that keep you from getting to know Jesus. It has a lot of quick runs and dive-bombing. Great song if you love hearing a lot of "tricks" on guitar.
Side two starts off with My favorite song on this album called "When the Reign Comes Down". This song is just so cool! To start off, the bass line gets you pumped up and when the guitars come in, you know you're in for a treat. The song is about when Christ comes back to earth to set up his Kingdom. It tells of how death will be put to death and the devil will be cast into the lake of fire (AMEN). You guys or gals...if you don't have this record find it and buy it! The next track is called "Lies", which reminds me of some old Tesla riffs. This song deals with deception from a woman and the lust that this guy is trying to fight. Praise God we can conquer it right? "Eyes of Innocence" is the next track and my second favorite right behind "When the Reign Comes Down". This is a rockin ballad. It's talking about having faith as a child, and remembering back when you were young and nothing really mattered except playing with your friends. Beautiful song. The next track is called "Love Me". I love the words to this song. It talks about falling away from God and coming back to him with his arms waiting for us. It's a great rockin song. The final track of the album is "We Are Young, We Are Strong". This song talks about being a young Christian and being excited to be the next generation of Christian believers. The opening riff is pretty cool, but I've heard it a thousand times before. But nonetheless, it's still a great track. Holy Soldier to me was a band that I thought could have gone far in the Christian metal arena, but when Nirvana came to power in 91'and changed the face of music, the Christian market fell too. Because as we all know the "Christian market" has to be just like the secular market (ugh!). Anyway, Holy Soldier was a casualty of war when Grunge came and killed Metal. They put out some albums after this but I just think that this was their best effort. Well dudes and dudettes this brings me to the end of another edition of .......my column. I need your help to find a name for my column! I can't just keep calling it my column. Anyways, God bless and see ya next time and remember...........pray for someone you love and keep your nose in the WORD!!!!
