Reviewed by Cliff Doust

"The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and violent men take it by force." Much in the mould of Keith Green, Steve is in no mood for taking prisoners. Non-Christians may find his lyrics a tad unpalatable, but then many thought Jesus Christ well OTT. Nonetheless, this album could arguably be better described as gospel rather than contemporary and is not as hard edged as earlier works (ie, 'Shake Me To Wake Me', 'It's A Dying World') or as the title implies. There's nothing fey about the lyrics, but the arrangements are too lavish and to my ear over produced. No doubt Steve has been criticised in the past for being too abrasive, but that's better than losing the message in the orchestration. There's a fair reworking of "It's A Dying World"; "He Is Able" and "In The Hands Of God" are fine songs (particularly the latter) but for me most of the remaining tracks are too sanitized.

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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