Liberty n' Justice

Item: Welcome to the Revolution
Author: Rick Chromey

Welcome to the Revolution

(2004)

Reviewed by Rick Chromey

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Label 3 Chord RecordsThe Phantom Tollbooth2004

arena rock hard rock melodic rock

Welcome to the Revolution? Well, not really. Actually, it's howdy to an '80's headbangers ball reunion, with a few lightweight surprises along the way. And like any reunion, it's good to see everybody again but by the end you sometimes wonder why you came.

First of all, a little background. Liberty N' Justice is the band. Justin Murr is the songwriter. After years of nominal success and paltry sales, Murr finally calls it quits until his pastor renews his personal songwriting vision. Murr pens several songs but he's no singer so he calls in a favor from one vocalist friend after another. Before it's all said and done, Welcome to the Revolution is recorded by a heavy hitter list of former frontmen, including Scott Wenzel (Whitecross), Ken Tamplin (Shout), Lou Gramm (Foreigner), Mike Roe (The 77s), Rick Florian (White Heart) and John Schlitt and Greg X. Volz (Petra). Toss in Mitch McVicker and Bob Carlisle (who seem a little out of place) and you have an all-star lineup of '80s metal/rock that gives this effort a special distinction.

If only it could be so distinctive in the long run.

Musically, this effort runs the table from nu-metal ("Noise") to 80's power ballad ("Shed My Skin") to rap ("Rise"). Some critics have already panned the rap metal and that's understandable, but overall I don't find that part overly obnoxious. The real issue is this work doesn't cover much new ground (nor old ground for that matter), musically or lyrically. It's like ordering your favorite meatloaf meal. You know what you're getting; it digests well and is plenty tasty. Unfortunately, it doesn't juice the palate or cause any amount of ranting for a second helping. Been there, done that (burp).

Murr might have predicted such an outcome in his homage to has-beens ("Bargain Bin"): You can say my sound isn't in, I don't care as long as everybody lets Jesus in,...even if they get it in the bargain bin. Hmmmm. He might get his wish.

If you're a fan of these vocalists (like I am), this work is a nice complement to your collection and worth a spin or two. I suspect you'll find a few cuts to your liking (I did). But overall, it might be wiser to let it age and look for it in that old bargain bin.

2 tocks