Reviewed by Terry Wright

Mortification, and this particular nuance of the genre of thrash as a whole, have always reduced me to stifled giggles mingled with a healthy respect and awe for the quality of musicianship involved. For instance, one listen to the earlier 'Scrolls Of The Megilloth' reveals a blatant similarity in song introductions, but those very introductions foreshadow the musical technicalities that follow; and although on consequent albums the lads have mellowed, the same level of ability has been evident. It's a shame that they've run out of ideas. The title track is 19 minutes of technical thrash proclaiming the triumph of God over evil, but lyrically it's mostly bland and musically it sounds like something from the '80s. Unfortunately, the rest of the album follows suit. Let's all appreciate the speedy intricacies on show, but in that case let's also forget industrial, hardcore et al, the styles which arguably maintain thrash as a viable musical option. The CD's inlay card mentions some Christian bands (mainly from the '80s!) and boasts "The era of true Christian metal lives on in this album." Let's hope this was never "true Christian metal".

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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