I didn't even think I had the right CD in the player. I was pretty well sure I had accidentally put in an old Corrosion of Conformity CD. Musically and vocally Faithbomb puts together the heavy hooks, powerful punchy guitars, and severe vocals commonly associated with CoC but still have an end product that is distinctly their own.
"Rise Above" kicks this off with a very thick sound that sets the stage for the rest of the CD. Track 2 is "Come On Home" and it keeps the pace going. "The American Jesus" is a slower song, but has super low tuned guitars that come in and makes this a very good track. "Feed The Flesh" picks it up again with some serious speed and ultra heavy guitars. And on and on the songs go.
"The Down Road" is completely re-written from the Massive Frequency Overload comp. that came out last year. It's the mellow track on this CD, but with the violin that come in on the chorus this song has turned into quite an eerie, atmospheric, haunting track.
The vocals are are handled by Rob Colwell, and are done very good from song to song, with the angered clarity found in many groove metal bands. Chris Manning and Mike Griffen handled the guitars incredibly well. You don't get tired of the songs on this album. They don't all have the same guitar parts.
Scott Carter's bass drum is so low and rumbling at times on this CD it sound like sheer thunder! The snare really does make it sound like a drum machine however, and this is annoying in a few rapid fire snare parts here and there. The bass work is not credited, and is the weakest part of the music. Although it fits the songs just fine it doesn't stand out a whole lot.
"Sin", "Blind" and "Fools Gold" are all average songs that are pretty good listens but don't really grab your attention. "Fools Gold has excellent but a really weak chorus that hurts the overall feel of the song.
Do NOT miss the song "This Book" however this song is super fast and heavy heavy heavy.
Ty Tabor even appears in the credits of this CD, for mastering this work, and considering he's been doing a lot of this for bands, his talents surely show. The album is really well produced, and has a good sound.
An excellent first release, by a band that just KICKS BUTT! This is a definite for fans of CoC, Pantera, older Testament and similar bands.
8/10
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #74Reviewed by Chad OlsonI'm not sure what to call this stuff anymore. There's not much of it around, so it's kind of hard to describe. Metal, yeah, but don't be scared. I love metal, and so can you. Pantera-like song structures, but with more groove and more melodies. Cool controversial artwork of the American flag draped over the cross, thus the disc title The American Jesus. For ordering info, see ad this issue.Dead Zine 1998Reviewed by HadeSlayeRThe title of the album derived from the title track that was written in answer to some of the Rob's (band's vocalist) 'cynical about God' friends. This is one of the better Christian metal albums I have heard for ages. Why?? Because of the crunchy as an apple, bass-y as an ______ (insert object here) element in their music. These guys really know how to rock. I can only sing praises of this…Dead Zine 1998Reviewed by MuchFrom Texas, the groove-metal capitol of the universe, come FAITHBOMB. I can't emphasize enough your need to buy this CD if your taste include the "conservative thrash" sound along the lines of PANTERA, ELOI, ETERNAL DECISION, and HEATHEN (old school, I know!) Good production, clean/clear vocals, groove and a more positive sound than the aggressive/dark approach. Straight forward Christian lyrics…
