New Releases - Living Sacrifice, Steel Pulse, Crush Efkt

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Artist:	"Living Sacrifice"
Title:	"Reborn"
Label:	Tooth and Nail Records
Reviewed By:	Jill Williams
Rating:

Hailing from Little Rock, "Living Sacrifice" has been together for 7 years. After recording a demo in '90, they managed to snag a small label in Nashville and went into the studio at an average age of 19 to record their first album. The members of the band are Bruce Fitzhugh on vocals and guitar, Lance Garvin on drums, Jason Truby on bass, and Chris Truby on guitar. They say, "We do not consider ourselves religious but strive only to live by our convictions. We are compelled to share our faith so that others can experience true peace and joy. For "Living Sacrifice" not to share the reality of peace that Jesus has given us would make us selfish." This will give you some idea what to expect from the album. You say you've never heard of a christian hardcore band? Well now you have, and they have some really outstanding things to say.

"Reborn Empowered" sets the tone for the cd with it's message of God-given strength. The music starts out slow and rough and picks up speed as it goes along. It's not one of the best examples of hardcore I've heard, but it's not bad. The music is fun, but the shouting makes the words impossible to understand, so the message is lost on anyone who doesn't read the liner notes.

Next is "Truth Solution." The lyrics on this one don't really make any sense. It's got a basic theme, but no real cohesion. The basic idea is that Jesus is the only solution and the only truth. The music is really terrific, but I'm really not thrilled with Bruce's vocals. We move on to "Threatened" and are told of the need to let go of pride in order to know God. The music we hear in the beginning of this is wonderfully slow and pretty. This shortly transcends into a slightly louder and faster, but not especially hard tune. Softly spoken lyrics begin the vocal portion of the tune, then lead into screaming. The whole song seems to be a gradual build up. It gets louder and harder as it goes along, and it's great! This is the first really good song to be had on the album.

"Awakening" starts with serious drums and we really get into the meat of the album. If you haven't liked them yet, they'll begin to grow on you here. The guitar is amazing and this tune will rock your socks off. "180" might be the most preachy of any song on the album. All of the songs incorporate God and their beliefs, but this one goes a little further. "His death was your rebirth/why embrace a lie/why refuse the spirit" is a sampling of what you'll find. The music isn't quite as good as in some of the previous songs, but it's far from bad. They vocals are a little more clear, which is a nice change, but still not completely comprehensible. I'd still say it's a good song overall.

This next song struck a real chord with me. "No Longer" is all about fear and doubt and coming back from a life of sin. The lyrics are wonderful. It's speaks more of taking a break from the past and building our life again. That's something we all have probably thought of regardless of our religious beliefs. Musically, it's not quite as good. The guitar and drums are pretty repetitive and the screaming got on my nerves a bit here. It doesn't make good use of the positive idea they've written about.

"Something More" is very strange in the beginning. There's something going on in the background that sounds like a record being played backwards and the music itself is a little strange and creepy. The song is about trying to make more of onself and the doubts that can creep up in that journey. Unfortunately, the lyrics only make sense about half the time and the guitar doesn't get interesting until halfway through the song and then only for a short while."Sellout" starts with an acoustic sound and then gets louder. We're finally back to the good stuff. Again, however, the lyrics are not really well written. At least the guitar rifs are a lot of fun to listen to.

Fast drums and speed metal music get "Spirit Fall" off to a good start. I didn't even have as much a problem with the vocals on this one. Good tune to bang around to.

"Presence of God" is the highlight of the whole album, for me. For one thing, it's an instrumental, so it's got a whole different feel. It's slow and beautiful in a way you'll not hear elsewhere on this cd. I could relax as this acoustic tune washed over me. I don't know that a lot of hardcore fans will be as enthusiastic about it. "Reject" is a serious contrast as the next song. It's a fast and heavy song, and also very interesting in all respects. The music is varied and matches the vocals, which are clear and sound great. For being a rather forceful and not exactly happy song, it's a much bigger kick to listen to than I would have imagined.

The last song is "Liar" and is, as you might guess, about Satan. A bit of sampling in the begining kicks this off. Tons of energy present in this, the most hardcore of any song found on the cd. It's exciting and fast and very slam-dancable. A great ending to a slightly less than great album.

It's rather nice to see a band giving a positive message. It's not something you hear regularly anymore. The basic problem with this album is that the music doesn't match the vocals all of the time and while the musicians are very talented, I'm not sure I can say the same for the singer. There's nothing exactly wrong with him, but there's nothing that really makes you think that he's good either, which results in a less than perfect impression of the album. On the upside, it's far from the worst hardcore you'll listen to, and it's actually a pretty good bridge between metal and hardcore, so fans of both should like this pretty well. If you're into heavy music and are interested in hearing something a bit out of the ordinary, you should pick this up. It's not often you'll find a christian band that can really kick out the tunes. With a little fine-tuning, this band could be great. As it is now, they're only pretty good.

Artist:	"STEEL PULSE"
Title:	"RAGE & FURY"
Label:	Mesa/Atlantic
Available:	Any Major Music Store
Reviewed By:	Dave Merrill
Rating:

For the last twenty years, "Steel Pulse" has been a major force in Reggae music. "Rage & Fury" is their twelfth album, their first for Mesa/Atlantic. Three original members make up the core of the current band line up: singer, songwriter and guitarist, David Hinds, keyboardist, Selwyn 'Bumbo' Brown and drummer Steve 'Grizzly' Nisbett. Helping to fill out the sound on the album are Diana King, Mega Banton, Prezident Brown, Jukie Ranks, and Spearhead’s Michael Franti.

"Rage & Fury" finds "Steel Pulse" making an updated version of the Reggae sound their fans are used to hearing. They recorded the album at their own studio, Dub Factor, in Birmingham, England. At its core, "Rage & Fury" is a protest album. At the surface, it’s melodic, and easy on the ears. The Reggae beat makes you want to move and gives the album a light feeling, despite the lyrics’ heavy message.

The single, a remake of Van Morrison’s "Brown- Eyed Girl," made me laugh at first. The Reggae beat seemed not to belong. A few more listens made me realize it’s a good version of the song. Less gritty and lighter, the song becomes an entirely different entity. "Steel Pulse" makes it their own. In an era where covers are usually just an attempt to reproduce someone else’s sound note for note, this is a refreshing change. Another cover is a song of their own, "Ku Klux Klan," the classic Reggae protest song. Updated for a new generation of listeners, "Steel Pulse" will carry its message forward.

Some of the songs on the album are truly uplifting. Tunes like "House of Love," "Spiritualize it" and "Peace Party" are light, and extremely danceable. I found myself dancing at the keyboard as I wrote my review. "House of Love" is about repairing a relationship and finding a deeper love. "Peace Party" reminds me a lot of "Arrested Development" with a Reggae beat. The combination is wonderful. "Spiritualize it" is a beautiful, multi-influenced, alternative, reggae, dance tune. This is my favorite song on "Rage & Fury." It’s amazing that "Steel Pulse" can bring such strong protest lyrics into a song like this and infuse it with such hope and happiness. This isn’t about a rioting protest. It’s about a protest that must be born within everyone, to bring us into a more enlightened age.

Songs like "Emotional Prisoner," "Role Model," and "The Real Terrorist," are more direct about their protest. "Emotional Prisoner" brings up slavery and the "Rage & Fury" from the album’s title. It describes the emotional chains that still exist even without slavery. In "Role Model," Hinds laments the death, murder and falling down of good African American role models that has marred the last decade. The song features rap by DJ Mega Banton. Hinds says that "The Real Terrorist" is the politician who works from within the system, lying to get votes and power. As long as there is poverty, these hypocrites are the true terrorists of the world.

"Rage and Fury" showcases "Steel Pulse’s" versatility. With each song, I became more aware that they are comfortable with many styles of music. This is Reggae for the millenium.

Artist:	"CRUSH EFEKT"
Title:	"REAL"
Label:	P&C
Available:	Mail Order Only.
	Price: $7 (Includes S&H)
Write to:	Crush Efekt
	1768 Little Ave. Columbus, OH 43223
Reviewed By:	Jill Williams
Rating:

"Crush Efekt" got together in '95 and played their first concert in December of that year. The band consists of Jesse Blankenship on vocals and guitar, Mike Lare on vocals and bass, Mark Evans on drums, and Brad Kester on vocals and guitar. They're currently playing all around Ohio, but have yet to really be "discovered." I ran across them at the "Bruce Dickinson" concert and thought they were a great band that needed to be heard. They play a variety of music within the hard/heavy music genre and are lots of fun to listen to.

"Fear And Lies" talks about problems with religions that feed on fear in order to keep their flock. It's hard and slow and ranges from straight heavy metal to death metal/hardcore. I wouldn't say this is the best example of how good they can be, but it does give you a taste of the difference in music they demonstrate not just from song to song, but within a song as well. Next is "Backstabber" which is a song I think we can all relate to. Everyone has someone that's screwed with them. This song talks about what we'd all really like to do to them. A little too noisy for my taste, but the lyrics are great.

"Independance Day" has some really spacy and wonderful music. Again the lyrics are great when they sing about nonconformity and taking a stand for what you believe in. I liked this one a lot. Aside from the meaning of the song, the vocals are really wild and harsh. While the song is a little on the slow side, it's still easy to dance to.

"Wannabe's" is just funny. With lyrics like "Try to act so hardcore, the hard-ass act is such a bore/ I think we've had enough, no one here believes you're tough" I was laughing out loud. The tempo of the song is just crazy. It's like speed metal, but with a light air to it that just makes it that much better. This song ROCKS! Then we have "Anti-Hero," a song riddled with violence that is also a strange commentary on how a man, who is far from an angel, can also be somewhat of a hero too. The music is good, though not outstanding.

"Nothing To Say" is just too fun. They explain the thought process behind writing songs in a different light. Singing about all the things that are wrong with the world as if they were all solved, they tell us that "If my life were really this great I'd have nothing to say." The music is amazing and the singing is closer to hardcore than metal. A great song overall.

Gee, I think I've reviewed songs like this next one before. "Destined For Self Destruction" is a sad look at the world where we're headed. The difference between this one and most others is that there's some real thought behind the lyrics, not just some meaningless metaphors. After this month's reviews, I'm a little tired of hearing how we're all going to die, but the song itself is great. The guitar is heavy and the singing is some of the best on the album.

"Convicted" is a serial killer's message to the world. It was surely inspired by a recent trial of a killer here in Columbus. Some of the stuff sounds just too familiar not to be a part of that. The death metal sound fits well with the content and the stereo sound really gets put to good use, as the vocals go from one singer to another and one speaker to another. This song is very well done and I had a great time listening to it.

"Guns, Drugs, And The C.I.A." is totally political and brings up a lot of interesting points, whether you buy into their ideas or not. I probably like this song best. It's another tune where the variety of musical styles is prevalent and they're all good. From distorted punk, to Metallicaesque singing and music, this is an unbelievable mix. In the last song, "It's Your Life," they sing of self respect and doing what is right. A good song, though perhaps not a good last song, this is slow and the vocals are extrememly deep. It's a great message, but the music is a bit of a downer.

This band sounds better live than they do recorded as so many bands do. If you get a chance to see them live, go! The well thought out lyrics are the best thing about the about the cd, but the music is almost as good. I know that this band is just going to get better as they go along, but they're pretty damn good now. I didn't like every song, but I did like most of the songs. I'd recommend this CD to people in the mood for something on the heavy side. It's a lot of fun to listen to and while it might not be the best music you've ever heard, it's also a lot better than at least half of the stuff out there. The originality and variety of the music is something you don't hear everyday and that's enough to make me like it. I'm sure you'll like it too.

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