Bride

Item: Across The Border
Author: Doug Van Pelt

Across The Border

(1994)

Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt

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Label Stephans-BuchhandlungHeaven's Metal #52March/April 1995

blues rock hard rock heavy metal

Here's an official European limited edition live recording of one of Christendom's hottest rock bands -- Bride. This unit knows how to create a mood and move with it in concert, and this full-length CD captures it.

The sonics are weak in the vocal category only -- as Dale's vocals are about totally dry (no effects). This detracts from the performance, as you can't quite crank the music loud enough to drown out the vocal inadequacies.

All this is shoved aside by the time the band rolls into the extension of "Hired Gun," when the band kicks into the "In My Time of Dying" Zeppelin hat tip and Dale does some wailing moans. An even better moment is during the breakdown during "Under The Influence," with the band's excursion into "Bullet The Blue Sky." By the time the album reaches this point, the vocal sonics seem to be a little beefier. This carries over to the songs that follow, like "Thorns," "Everybody Knows My Name," and "Murder."

The album ends with two songs acoustically performed. "I Miss The Rain" sounds exceptionally well, as does a new one called "How Long." For those of you who've never heard a bootleg live recording before, you'll think, "What's wrong with the sound?" Those who have will appreciate this as an above average live recording. All Bride fans should get ahold of this, but there's only 2,000 being printed, so you'll have to act quickly.