Holy Soldier

Item: Promise Man
Author: Shannon Lewis

Promise Man

(1995)

Reviewed by Shannon Lewis

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Label ForeFront RecordsThe LighthouseDecember 1995

alternative rock hard rock heavy metal

Two years after I completely gave up on metal music comes Promise Man by Holy Soldier-by no means a gem, but unique none-the-less.

From the opening title track alone, it's obvious that this isn't the same Holy Soldier that I knew and loved back in my younger years. It seems that Stephen Patrick, the former vocalist, has taken the solo route. Eric Wayne, Patrick's replacement, has been performing with Holy Soldier live off-and-on for several years now, and-as I can vouch-not only can he perform the old material with tremendous accuracy, but he has a wider range and adds a very distinct sound to the new material. He's a cross between Geoff Tate of Queensryche, and the Crash Test Dummies-something you should hear to believe.

Though pleased with the vocals, I mourn the loss of Terry "the Animal" Russell. Formerly on drums, Russell was one of the best drummers in rock music (especially live), and his presence will definitely be missed.

Back to Promise Man-it's an okay release. In places I'd call it original. In others, I'd call it corny. Musically, they've taken a drop tuned approach-which on the title track is extremely effective-but on others, like "Break it Down," doesn't come across quite as strong. The technical guitar work of Michael Cutting, backed again by Scott Soderstrom, is still there, but never does the album regain the shred-fest sounds of older songs like "Stranger." I think this is good. This is new Holy Soldier, and they shouldn't be expected to get away with rehashing the same material over the entire course of their career as other bands seem to do.

The lyrics are spiritual and more scripture-related than those of Last Train. They never really delve into preachy wordings, except when they cover Larry Norman's "Why Don't You Look Into Jesus," which is very true to the original. With the exception of the ballad, "Love Conquers All," which should have never seen the studio, the material on Promise Man ranges from average to ingenious. Old Holy Soldier fans should give it a second listen. All rock and metal fans should give it a listen-it deserves it on the merits of originality alone, and the fact that it's Holy Soldier.