BRIDE - HERE IS YOUR GOD (*NEW-Orange Vinyl, 2021, Retroactive Records)

BRIDE - HERE IS YOUR GOD (*NEW-Orange Vinyl, 2021, Retroactive Records)

• Classic Bride with the band's best song-writing, vocals, and guitar wizardry!

ABOUT THE ALBUM
Bride has been releasing music for more than 30 years, and they are still going strong! “Here Is Your God” is the band’s 16th studio album. It picks up where “Snake Eyes” left off and takes it to a whole new level. This album has major cojones! Here Is Your God, seamlessly blends elements from the first six Bride albums, creating nothing short of an epic hard rock and metal masterpiece.  It’s heavy as a freight train, and it’s as melodic as Kinetic Faith & Snakes in the Playground.  Some bands play around with sound, trying to appeal to modern fans, but Bride went back to their roots with Here Is Your God. This just might be the band’s most accomplished moment and best release - ever.  It’s that good.  Trust us!  Expect a heavier, grittier sound more in line with mid-period Motley Crue (Girls, Girls, Girls & Dr. Feelgood eras). The Thompson brothers are skilled professionals in both style and execution, and this is one more Bride album that shows exactly why this band is the single most prolific Christian hard rock band ever - period. No band does heavy riffs, screaming guitar solos, and belting vocals better than Bride. The album captures all the brilliance of classic Bride, while reminding fans this band is definitely getting better with age.  While it may be true that Here Is Your God could be the last push for these ground-breaking/genre-defining rockers, there is no denying the age-defying quality and intensity contained within these 12 songs. Dale sounds better than ever – his vocals right high up in the mix – and the venerable guitars of Troy cut through with conviction like it was 1990/1991 all over again. Brazilian, Aposan delivers a nice mix of speed and traditional classic hard rock/metal drumming, and Nenel’s bass rumble drives Bride’s rhythm as steady and prolific as it comes. The jewel case CD version comes with a 12-page booklet and each CD has one foil stamped trading card (either Dale or Troy Thompson - collect them both!).  

Tracks

Side A
1. Demon Speed 3:37
2. Here Is Your God 4:18
3. In My Own Time 3:58
4. The Unhallowed 6:04
5. In the End 4:02
6. I Promise 4:59

Side B
7. Like I Never Was 3:44
8. Shine On You 4:14
9. What Will the End Be Like 3:42
10. Send Your Angels 4:27
11. Letter of Light 4:50
12. Burning From Within 7:30

CUSTOMER REVIEW
Bride formed in Kentucky in the early 80's and have released 15 studio albums, many compilations, and won 4 Dove Awards.  Over that time their style has expanded from classic metal to blues-based hard rock to grunge and even some roots-rock.  Their song output has ranged from brilliant to filler.  So what does this new album sound like and how good is it?

Well the album starts off with a real barn-stormer called "Demon Speed," which harkens back to the classic metal days of "Live To Die" but with a more modern sound.   After that the album mostly sticks to a mid-paced, blues-based hard rock style with a dark edge, something Bride is very good at.  However there are some pleasant surprises along the way as well.

Overall, the material is very strong and consistent.  Sometimes, otherwise good songs like "Here Is Your God" or "The UnHallowed" or "In The End" are marred by choruses that get monotonous, but otherwise the material here is good enough to please the most discriminating Bride fan.  The guitar melodies also tend to be more complex than usual, even veering into territory that one would expect to find on a U.S. power or prog metal release from the 80's.  In fact, Crimson Glory's 3rd album "Strange & Beautiful" would not be a bad comparison (musically, not lyrically!).

Standout tracks include the aforementioned "Demon Speed," "In My Own Time," and "Shine On You," which starts off like Pink Floyd and becomes a Led Zep / G 'N R stomper.  Other top tracks are "I Promise" and "Send Your Angels," two blues-based hard rockers with some excellent guitar work).   "Like I Never Was" is another speedy metal number like the opener.  Finally, "Letter Of Light" deserves special mention for its superb riffs and atmospherics that recall bands like Crimson Glory and Titan Force.  That would be my #1 song here.  "Burning From Within" is also a very strong closer and features passages that are reminiscent of the classic sounds of "Live To Die" or "Silence Is Madness."

In addition to main members Dale and Troy Thompson (vocals and guitars, respectively), both Nenel Lucena (bass) and Alexandre Aposan (drums) return from the "Snake Eyes" album and from another Dale Thompson band called N.O.G.   All four put in strong performances.  Lyrics are also pleasantly more Christ-focused this time but not at all cliche' or preachy.  Overall this is a very worthy addition to the band's already prolific catalog.