Last December, Germany's annual Christmas Rock Night was captured on tape, and the results are beginning to hit the shelves as this year's event approaches. Grammatrain's final show was among those captured and now it's ready to complete the band's trio of label releases.
One of the few bands to appear on the Christian scene who actually reflected the "alternative rock" label which they were handed, it's not surprising to find that Grammatrain's live sound is turbulent, churning, and bass-heavy. The quality of the mix is unfortunately patchy, often sounding thin, but the crowd sound excited when we hear them between songs.
The playing and vocals are strong throughout, if somewhat derivative. A cover of Larry Norman's "Six O'Clock News" (described by vocalist Pete Stewart as one of his favorite songs ever) is probably the highlight, closing the first part of the set (the band return for two encore pieces) in energetic fashion. The band otherwise mix tracks from their two studio albums, majoring on tracks from the latter, but with the best of their own material being the two encore tracks from the earlier release Lonely House. The title track of that album is slow and foreboding, while "Jerky Love Song" is frantic and, yes, jerky.
Lyrics are sometimes hard to discern, and chances are that most of those buying this album will already be familiar with the songs from previous releases. The older tracks have a darker tone than some of the newer material, and are generally more successful for it given the genre, but the band's faith is impossible to miss.
A fairly average live recording, this one's probably best regarded as a going-away present for the fans rather than something for anyone with only a casual interest in Grammatrain.
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Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #81Reviewed by A Girl Called Gordon1998 brought a sad occasion, the break-up of a fantastic band...Grammatrain. This album, recorded live at Christmas Rock Night in Hagen Germany, sums up the trio's career very well. Pete Stewart's strong vocals matched by the equally strong bass of Dalton Roraback, kept together with the guiding beats of Paul Roraback's driving drums. Production, done by Trevor Michael of ICC Studios, is…Similar sounding releases
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