Reviewed by Paul S Ganney

If you'd been following Christian rock in the '80s you'd already know that, in their day, Guardian and Whitecross were big hitters. Guardian had a sound that gradually moved from melodic metal to an eclectic concoction which took in everything from pop to Alice In Chains musical references. Whitecross were once a classic metal team but eventually morphed into a more hard alternative sound. In 2017 the vocalists of the two bands, Guardian's Jamie Rowe and Whitecross' Rex Carroll, got together with some of their bandmates to make this short seven-song set which serves up classic hair metal in the style of Bon Jovi and Poison or maybe Stryper (but with lower register vocals). As you'd expect, they're very comfortable in their genre and play it with style and fluency. There's some very nice dual track guitar on "Nunca Te Dire Adios" ("I Will Never Say Goodbye", sung entirely in Spanish - and yes, it is the same track as "Never Say Goodbye" at the end of the album except that one's in English), whereas "In The Kingdom" is a classic arms in the air, lighters aloft sort of ballad. Although the lyrics on this latter are a little trite, despite this they are very clear about the faith of the band, just in case you were in any doubt (unlikely). "Top Of The World" has a definite ZZ Top riff a la "Tush", which they carry off well and lay a nice lyric over it about the joy of finding Christ (or being found by him - debate at your leisure). Some "veteran rockers" (their words, not mine) need to know when to quit. This lot don't know and don't need to.

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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