What do you get when you get when you throw Michael Sweet (Stryper), Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake, TSO, Cher, Night Ranger), Tommy Aldridge (Whitesnake, Black Oak Arkansas, Thin Lizzy), Marco Mendoza (The Dead Daisies, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Blue Murder), and Nathan James (Inglorious) into a studio? You get blistering rock the way rock was intended to be! As a huge fan of these bands, there was simply no way I was not going to love what Iconic produced, and when they released their first song "Nowhere To Run" from the forthcoming album Second Skin on Frontiers Records, I was not disappointed. Actually, I was. I was disappointed I couldn't get any more work done because I had to keep listening to this song over and over!
The Music
Hoekstra and Sweet on the six-string attack...what more could you possibly want? These guys have worked together on some of Michael Sweet's solo projects, and theirs were always the finest tracks on those albums. I have had the pleasure of interviewing both axe slingers on my podcast The Wildman & Steve Show, and I can tell you that they are true professionals who continue to dedicate endless hours to getting better at their craft. Take one listen to "Nowhere To Run," and you will agree. Their frantic fretwork is fierce, which is just what the doctor ordered.
Moving to the foundation of the sound we get to Tommy Aldridge, one of the all-time greatest drummers in rock, and Marco Mendoza. Are you kidding me? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? You could isolate just the drum and bass tracks and you would STILL have a killer piece of music! These two guys are having FUN, and it comes through in the blistering rhythm section of this band. And while we're on it, let's just say a word about the overall sound. This thing is mixed perfectly! You hear it all, and every lick, every drum beat, every note is crystal clear.
Finally we get to Nathan James. This man was born to sing the kind of bluesy rock and metal that made the '70s and '80s...well...the '70s and '80s. I keep coming back to the words "fierce" and "aggressive," and that is what you get when James grabs the microphone as well as your attention. His voice has grit, but he does not produce the kind of guttural growl that obscures lyrics. Put simply, he can SING!
The Video
Rock music is a visual artform. From the over-the-top stage antics of bands to their sets and costumes, there is a visual element that goes with the music that just makes everything so much fun, and that is front and center in this video. This would have gone straight to the top of Headbangers Ball back in the heyday of MTV. It starts out with bubbling lava and the band members in silhouette, for heaven's sake! Can a video get much more metal? The other word that keeps coming to mind is "fun." Tommy is having the time of his life, and if you look closely, Marco can barely keep a smile from spreading over his face. Nathan is a great front man in this video with a presence that matches his voice. As for our six-string warriors, Joel and Michael are every inch the metal warriors. Does Joel need sunglasses in the darkened room of the video? No, and that's why he looks so cool wearing them! And Michael...yes, he did have eye surgery not long before the video was made, hence the eyepatch, but as for a look, it gives him the appearance of a heavy metal pirate, and those are always two things that go together.
Bottom Line
If the rest of the songs on Second Skin are anything like "Nowhere To Run," we just may be in for a true metal renaissance!
In 1987 I picked up the cassette of Bloodgood's album Detonation. I was new to metal and wasn't in a place to appreciate fully just how good this album really is. Did you ever read a piece of literature in school only to re-read it years later and be blown away by it? Sometimes it just takes maturing of taste to grasp a work of art, and such was the case with this album and me.
In 2013 the band released Dangerously Close, a monster masterpiece that brought me back to the band, and then in 2020 I had the good fortune to interview Les Carlsen with Pastor Wildman on The Wildman & Steve Show.
I found myself spending lots of time, dwelling really, in the Bloodgood catalogue, and now, more than thirty years after buying Detonation on cassette, I am finally ready to offer some thoughts on this magnificent album.
This sophomore release from the band was ranked by Heaven's Metal as one of the best Christian metal albums of all time, but I would argue its position at #23 on that list should be considerably higher. Let's look at three factors: instrumental music, lyrics, and vocals.
The lineup includes Michael Bloodgood on bass, Mark Welling on drums, David Zaffiro on guitar, and Les Carlsen on vocals, and a powerful lineup it is. Michael Bloodgood puts down a solid bass line that gives a heavy, dark feel, which was far less common for a Christian band, even of the metal variety, back in 1987. Mark Welling's drums are bright and fast, especially on the attack opening of "Self-Destruction." Taken together, these two set a solid rhythm foundation as good as anything else on the market at the time and making it clear that this is not a group about which you say, "Oh, they're good for a Christian band," but simply, "Man, these guys are GOOD!" David Zaffiro is simply blistering on the six-string axe. I get a bit of a Mötley Crüe feel at times, and in general the sound is solid '80s metal, but it still holds up well more than thirty years later.
When it comes to lyrics, these are some of the best out there. No, I didn't say some of the best metal lyrics or some of the best lyrics from the '80s. These are solid, thought-provoking lyrics, period. Consider just this epic line from "Eat The Flesh." "Share the bread and living water. Eat the flesh, drink the blood of Christ." This is straight from the words of Jesus Himself and about as metal a lyric as you are going to find. "Battle of The Flesh" opens the album with a lyrical onslaught dealing with temptation, but as many many know, the sheer poetry comes in with tracks 8 and 9, which go together, "Crucify" and "The Messiah."
This, my friends, is rock theatre, which is no surprise given Les Carlsen's background on the stage. Even if you only listen to these two tracks rather than watching the full Bloodgood dramatic treatment, the lyrics, which again are drawn straight from Scripture, are unbelievably powerful.
Of course, lyrics have to be sung, and no one does it better than Les Carlsen. It has become commonplace to compare rock and metal singers with Ronnie James Dio (Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio), but the more I listen to Les, the more I think these two were cast in the same vocal mould. Les reaches higher than Ronnie, but what they share is power and clarity. Put that together with the background Les had in theatre, and you have a vocalist who knows how to shape and present a lyric rather than merely belt out words.
Detonation holds an interesting place in the catalogue of '80s metal. There are aspects that won't let you forget the era in which it was made. This is not a bad thing. Let's be honest. The Deep Purple Mk II albums could not have been recorded in any other decade than the '70s. Yet Detonation is incredibly enjoyable today, and not just as a nostalgia trip. It remains one of my favorites, but only now am I able to appreciate it in its depth. If you have never heard it or need a reminder, check it out today.
Most fans know that Stryper's 2005 release titled Reborn was originally intended as a Michael Sweet solo project. Instead, the band reformed with bassist Tracy Ferrie and released it as one of their own. It was a clear departure from their classic sound of the '80s and included hints of nu metal, a style known for drawing on other musical influences such as alternative, funk, and grunge, all of which can be heard on Reborn.
I was thrilled when it came out and played it endlessly. It was an exciting new musical direction for the band, and I was on board with it. In the more than fifteen years since its release, I have continued to enjoy it just as much as I did in 2005. The lyrics are deep and the music is hard and aggressive, just the way I like it.
Now here we are in 2021, and Michael Sweet has decided to re-release the album under his own name. As he says on his website, "After years of requests and a lot of thought, I decided to release the original versions/tracks and add some things that I felt were always missing: guitar solos, high vocal notes, more rhythm guitars, synth parts and an alternative version of 'Passion.'" The question we have to answer is whether this is a good thing.
My first step was to create a playlist that included the songs from each album in alternating order. In other words, the first track was "Open Your Eyes" from the Stryper album followed by the same song off the Michael Sweet album and so on. As I began listening to this song from Reborn Again, I noticed that it sounded a bit cleaner, and had that been the only difference, I doubt I would have recommended the new album, but then the guitar solo hit and my eyes flew open. Literally. I was blown away and suddenly couldn't wait to hear each of the others songs paired with the 2005 versions.
Michael Sweet certainly achieved what he set out to do. There are indeed additional synth and rhythm guitar parts and high notes, but what really knock me out are the guitar solos, and for my money, these make this an entirely new album. Overall the feeling is heavier in places, perhaps even darker.
Let's also not overlook the cover by Stan Decker, who has worked with Sweet before on the covers of the most recent Stryper albums as well as Sweet & Lynch. For me an album is a whole work of art, from the lyrics to the music to any graphics included in the packaging, and Decker continues his powerful imagery and color scheme on this cover.
In short, I give this five of five stars. I can listen to the 2005 Stryper album and then this one and have two completely different musical experiences, each of which is a shot of powerful, aggressive rock.
For the interviews Pastor Wildman and I did with Michael Sweet and Oz Fox along with even more goodies related to Christian rock and metal, head on over to www.wildmanandsteve.com and be sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @wildmanandsteve! And don't forget to subscribe to The Wildman & Steve Show! Thanks!
It is not too much to say that Columbia House changed my life. The ads for this record and tape club were in the Sunday newspapers and all the music mags back in the day. In fact, you can find a cool retrospective on the service Columbia House provided millions of music lovers here.
But isn't it a bit extreme to say that such an organization changed my life? Sure, it offered eleven albums for a penny and the twelfth for free, but why was this different from any other promotional gimmick?
The year was 1987. I had been part of Columbia House for several years because of my fondness for...wait for it...country music. Yep. I was a huge fan of The Oak Ridge Boys, Ronnie Milsap, Johnny Lee, T.G. Sheppard, Eddie Rabbitt, and on and on. I still am. Yet one day in 1987 the latest Columbia House mailer arrived and I found in it an album by a band called Whitesnake. The description listed it as "Zeppelinesque," and while I had heard of Led Zeppelin, I really didn't know that band, so I thought I would dip my toe in the waters of hard rock by getting an album by a band that supposedly sounded similar.
When that cassette arrived a short time later, my life went speeding down the offramp from Nashville straight into the heart of rock and roll. I was hooked. Oh. My. Goodness. This was like nothing I had heard before, and I played it nonstop.
Eventually a friend told me that Whitesnake had recorded some other albums, and in my search for them in record stores and by doing research in music magazines, I discovered another universe. Through lead singer David Coverdale, I found Deep Purple, and with Purple I found Led Zeppelin. I was a kid in a candy store! I read everything I could find in Hit Parader, Metal Edge, and Circusmagazines. And as I came to know and love the hard rock of the late '60s and '70s, I discovered blues. At first it was the Delta blues of artists like Robert Johnson and then, just as they had done in actual life, my tastes traveled up the Mississippi to Chicago and the likes of Willie Dixon and so many more.
Now I co-host with my good friend Pastor Wildman a hard rock & metal podcast, The Wildman & Steve Show, on which I have had the pleasure of talking with many of my favorite musicians, truly a dream come true, and to this day the best way for me to unwind from work or even to get my motor runnin' in the morning is to listen to the classic rock sounds that all started...with the Columbia House Record and Tape Club.
Michael Sweet of Stryper with my Latin translation of "Soldiers Under Command" I had given him
I'm not sure what strikes people more oddly, that I am a Latin teacher who likes heavy metal or that I am a Christian who likes heavy metal. However I put it, it raises eyebrows. The first combination seems strange because Latin teachers and Classicists have an image as people who are scholarly and like the so-called finer things, such as poetry and philosophy, history and art. Heavy metal music, by contrast, seems to be about a bunch of Neanderthals who barely know three chords screaming inane lyrics that could only be heard as profound by a seventh grader. The second combination seems equally unlikely, since the metal scene is often perceived as trading in devil worship, sex, and drugs, or even drug-fueled sex as an act of dark worship. The Christian faith, on the other hand, is about love and joy and light.
Well, I do like to think of myself as a scholar in that I love to study and learn. I am positively giddy in a used or rare book store and have been absolutely beside myself tracking down a journal article in a large, research library, often in preparation for an article of my own. I love reading Homer, Plato, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristotle, Cicero, Horace, Catullus, Seneca, Ovid, and Vergil, and perhaps even more, I love teaching them, or rather, exploring them with other learners. Masterworks of art and architecture thrill my soul, and few things are better than going on a walk while pondering a particular point of philosophy.
I am also a Christian. I confessed Jesus as my Lord and Savior and was baptized as a boy. I fully surrendered to His lordship years later with my friend and noted Christian apologist Mark Mittelberg. I am at a place in life where I truly do not want to think, say, or do anything that is not in accord with the Holy Spirit, and while I do often fail at that, I am confident in the saving grace of Jesus Christ to put me back on the right path.
So how could a guy like me be into heavy metal?
There are three parts to the answer. It is a matter of taste, it is a matter of style, and it is matter of form and content.
A Matter of Taste
Loud, I wanna hear it loud
Right between the eyes
Loud, I wanna hear it loud
Don't want no compromise
So sang KISS in their 1982 song "I Love It Loud," which has become a staple in their live shows. And guess what? So do I. I love cheering for my favorite teams...LOUD! I love cranking the beginning of Star Wars and Rockymovies...LOUD! I love playing my favorite bands...LOUD!And the reason for that is the last line in the chorus of that KISS song. I don't want compromise. As John Cougar Mellencamp put it in his 1987 song "Real Life," "I want to live my life close to the bone." Such a perspective is not one based in a reckless, adrenaline-junkie, YOLO mindset, but rather in what Jesus offered in John 10:10. "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." As a result, I enjoy music that is uncompromising and, well, loud.
I have taught students for three decades to confront problems head on and not in a passive-aggressive, manipulative way. If you have something to say, say it. Don't sugarcoat it and don't qualify it to such a degree that you end up not committing to a position. For me, the straightforward poetry of Alexander Pope, the unflinching songs of blues music, and the face-melting rock of heavy metal all go hand in hand. They are of one piece for me.
A Matter of Style
At the end of the school year in 2014, my students gave me tickets to see Mötley Crüe's The Final Tour. They were sweet enough to give me two tickets, thinking I would want to take my wife. What they did not know was that my wife has no interest whatsoever in hard rock and metal. She enjoys country and pop, which is pretty much as far from Mötley Crüe and opening act Alice Cooper as you can get. Ever the good sport, she accompanied me to the outdoor show, and while I enjoyed and she did not totally hate Alice Cooper, we left just a few songs into the Crüe's set. There was only so much profanity from the stage and the crowd we could take, along with only so much debauchery amid the lawn seats at the outdoor venue. I found myself praying as much as singing along, but there came a point where we had to call it quits.
While I thrill to guitar riffs, pounding drums and bass, and soaring vocals, I do not condone and cannot participate in certain activities that some who like the same music seem to enjoy. Then again, the same can be said for some sporting events I have attended. When I am in public venues, including theme parks where I have witnessed some truly debauched behavior, I find myself praying. A lot. I pray for protection of people who are opening themselves to all sorts of spiritual attack. I pray for those who do not know Christ to find Him. I pray for His covering on children who have accompanied their parents and are witness to their less than exemplary behavior. My point is this. I can still enjoy a roller coaster despite the woman sporting the "MEN=SH_T" tattoo who is holding the hand of her little boy walking by, and I can enjoy the style of rock and metal without becoming myself the subject of a "Behind The Music" documentary.
A Matter of Form and Content
Here's where I get explicitly Christian. Hard rock and metal are two of the best genres of music for communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Christian life. Consider just two quotations from the Bible.
I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. -- Jesus, John 14:6
So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." -- Acts 4:18-20
One thing Jesus was not was confusing. He made it utterly clear who He was and what a relationship with Him meant, and when it came to His disciples, they followed in His footsteps. Peter and John were big and bold in their response to the religious leaders. I can imagine kind people with good intentions telling all of them, including Jesus, that they needed to be a bit more delicate when sharing their message. They would offer tips on how to fly under the radar and how not to give offense. But if you think Jesus would have gone in for market-tested strategies, think again and consider passages like these.
To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." And Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." -- Luke 9:60-62
And I really don't think Jesus could have been more clear and direct than this. "For whoever is ashamed of me and my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." -- Acts 9:26
That sort of bold, powerful content finds a perfect form of communication in the guitar-driven, rhythm-pounding, vocal pyrotechnics of hard rock and heavy metal. Do you want to proclaim the deep theology of the atonement? You can't do much better than Bloodgood's "Lamb of God."
Do you want to announce what awaits Satan, the great plague of your life, at the end of time? Or perhaps you just want some music to accompany your study of Revelation 20:10. Either way, Stryper's "To Hell With The Devil" quite literally screams the truth.
Do you want to draw someone into the excruciating moment of the crucifixion of Jesus? Jacapone da Todi did it in Latin, and no classical version is better than that of composer Arvo Pärt, but I would argue that W.A.S.P.'s "Golgotha" is every bit as poignant and pleading. It also has the benefit of being an example of what a new life in Christ looks like, for lead singer Blackie Lawless was one of the most notorious and obscene metal musicians in the heyday of the 1980s.
So, there it is. If it still doesn't make sense how a Christian and a Classics scholar could enjoy music cranked to eleven, then you'll just have to fall back on that old Latin expression, de gustibus non disputandum est. There's no arguing about tastes.
"We are the soldiers under God's command," announced Stryper on this day in 1985, and the army of Christian metal fans continues to march thirty-five years later. For me, the cassette from Enigma Records took up more time in my Sony Walkman and Sears jambox than it did in its plastic case.
So what is it that makes this album so good that it has stood the test of time and continues to be blasted not just for the sake of nostalgia?
It kicks off with the title track, whose opening guitar riff is one of the true signatures in rock history. Its fast and furious attack makes this an anthem calling everyone to join in, and join in people do. When the chorus hits, fans over three decades have screamed their heads off in unison with the boys in yellow and black.
"Soldiers Under Command"-Official Video
This is also the song I translated into Latin many years later and gave to Michael Sweet. A few years after that, I was able to get him to autograph it for me.
"Makes Me Wanna Sing" comes up next with chugging guitar that opens into an unabashed, Christ-glorifying lyric. "Jesus, King...King of Kings" then flows into a killer guitar solo of the kind that defined the era of '80s metal. If you think that metal must be doom, gloom, and depression, then think again. This song is full on metal, but it, well, makes you want to sing!
The third track, "Together Forever," may be the only metal song in history to feature a doo-wop section. Not only does it talk about the promise of eternal life, but it shares the way to receive it. "Together, forever...all you have to do is receive the One Who died for you." And mixed with the screams and doo-wop is more solid guitar riffing along the lines of Poison, White Lion, and the other '80s guitar-driven bands.
"First Love" gives us a chance to catch our breath. It is an elegant ballad that showcases the upper end of Michael Sweet's vocal range. Some people were surprised when this was the ballad they chose for their 2015 album Second Coming, which was a re-recording of songs from their first three albums, but give this a listen and you will see why. It is a powerful, soaring ballad that could seem to be merely a secular love song, but when heard through the words of Scripture reveals a much deeper message. Plus, and this is a huge plus for me, it is not just a piano-based ballad, but once again has a soaring guitar solo.
Ok. Break time is over. The soldiers continue their attack on the next song with "The Rock That Makes Me Roll." Chugging guitars under gird a lyric that challenges you to "stand up and fight for what you believe in." And if that seems daunting, we are promised that the rock that makes us roll will give us all the courage that we need. Air guitarists and air drummers of the world unite, for this is a song that demands you get your whole body into the action.
The a cappella opening of "Reach Out" may make you think we are back for another ballad, but you would be wrong. This is another great rocker that has become a staple for Stryper fans over the years. "You don't need the darkness when there's a light to see," proclaim the lyrics, which go on to declare that it is Jesus Who will set you free. Let's be honest for a moment. While we older folks love our rock, back in the day music like this had a mostly teenage audience, and as a teacher I can tell you that young people often find themselves in dark places. This song offers a message of true hope for those who seem to be in the dark.
Organ music. Next to the guitar, I'm not sure there is an instrument that is more metal than the organ, and that is what opens "(Waiting For) A Love That's Real." Told from a woman's perspective, something that was a bit unusual thirty-five years ago, it is the story of true love, not the sappy, greeting-card version that society sells.
From the organ we move to piano for the intro to "Together As One." This is another song that could be sung from lover to beloved or heard as descriptive of the Christian's life with God. It is a soaring ballad and one that even now I could sing to my wife. Beautiful harmonies and delicious guitar combine to make a song that is as moving today as it was in 1985.
"Surrender" is one of my favorite songs every by any band. Screams and guitar assaults open this song that grows and expands into a chorus that bellows, "Freely surrender! Open up unto His majesty!" It is the battle cry of an army that conquers in love, for as these soldiers sing, "Jesus Christ is the lover of your soul." This has been a guarantee in every Stryper concert set list for more than three decades, and it's no wonder. It has the message and in-your-face sonic attack that we metal heads love.
The album closes out with "Battle Hymn of The Republic." This is a powerful hymn from the days of the American Civil War, and I have loved singing it in choirs. It is the perfect hymn to get a metal makeover. Its ominous opening grabs your attention. Its trumpet call remind you that this is a song that came from a time of war. It builds and builds so that by the time Michael Sweet finishes the first verse, you are prepared for the heavy assault that follows. A battle hymn is indeed the perfect conclusion for these soldiers under command.
*As always, check out my podcast with Pastor Wildman called Classic Christian Rock Podcast! Links are on the sidebar.
Usually when I review an album, I go through it track by track, discussing the lyrics, musical highlights, and ways it connects with other bands or work previously done by that artist. That will not be the case with Carry Fire, the eleventh solo album by Robert Plant, and you will see why.
First, however, I owe myself an apology, for I am truly sorry I did not purchase this the day it came out in 2017. I was aware of it, listened to a few tracks, and even had it on a couple of birthday and Christmas lists, but for whatever reason, I did not purchase it until recently, and for that I am deeply regretful, for it is from top to bottom one of the finest musical experiences I have every enjoyed.
Back in 1988, I purchased Plant's fourth solo album after the demise of Led Zeppelin, a work called Now and Zen, and I loved it, especially tracks like "Tall Cool One," "The Way I Feel," and "White, Clean, and Neat." Now, "Tall Cool One" certainly had a Zeppelin vibe, which it could not help but have given that Jimmy Page played on the track and that it included numerous references to Zep songs. The other songs, especially those noted above, carried a wispy feel that took me to another place and time, and it was clear even then that Plant would be exploring musical territory far beyond the boundaries of hard rock and metal.
I did not really keep up with Plant's solo work after that, although I did enjoy the collaborative project Raising Sand that he did with Alison Krauss in 2007 and the accompanying, and quite wonderful, performance they gave for the CMT show Crossroads, many videos from which can be found on YouTube.
In fact, it was this album that made get back into Plant's work, for in this collaboration, he showcased just how far he had come from the "Hey, hey, mama" days of Led Zeppelin. You could feel the soulful sensitivity that he was searching for, and often found, and the creativity he sparked with the other musicians made so much else on the market pale in comparison.
And so we arrive at his 2017 release Carry Fire. Most of the time I can only listen to a few songs, and even then, I must occasionally stop a song in its middle. They touch too deeply for me to listen to more at one time. There is only one track that hearkens back to Plant's rock roots, "Carving Up The World Again...A Wall And Not A Fence." The rest are musical streams that carry you away in their gentle currents to places in your soul that you may not have known existed. It is an album best enjoyed with a good pair of headphones. Close your eyes and let the lush, exotic, instrumental sounds, including the delicate instrument of Plant's voice, wash over you. Now, if that sounds strange to those who grew up on his chest-beating wail in songs like "Rock And Roll," then listen to the opening track "The May Queen," the exquisite "A Way With Words," or the title track "Carry Fire." I think you will agree that "delicate" is the perfect descriptor for a voice that is feeling its way carefully toward...well, whatever it is, we find ourselves grateful to go along on its journey, more than willing to carry fire to light its way.
