Back in college in the early 1980s I discovered the first real wave of Christian punk and new wave bands, among them being the Altar Boys. I have fond memories of their first few albums, culminating in the classic disc Gut Level Music. Going back and listening to those albums I find them very dated...and while they were "cutting-edge" at the time, they sound very tame these days.
Fast-forward twenty years and Altar Boys frontman Mike Stand is back with another release with his band, Clash of Symbols. The unfortunate thing is that this just sounds like an Altar Boys redux, with the decibels turned down a bit. There is nothing new here. Nothing to write home about. On its own it's a decent enough CCM-ish sorta album.
Stand still has one of the cooler voices around, but he should be doing so much more. The music and lyrics are so run-of-the-mill, and I expected so much more. I'll stick with the Altar Boys back catalog from now on.
2 tocks
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #97Reviewed by Doug Van PeltWith one solid album, Mike Stand proves that old guys can get past the reunion schtick and get on with creating excellent new music that connects with a fickle modern audience. Utilizing simple song structures (with the occasional odd Beatlesque psychedelic instrumentation, like in the title track) and his seasoned voice, this first generation Christian punk is back in the game as a serious…The Phantom Tollbooth 2002Reviewed by Dave KerschbaumIt was 20 years ago that Mike Stand and the Altar Boys started giving the rebellious youth-group crowd something to sing about with their Southern California, punk new wave rallying anthems such as "GLM," "I'm into God," and "When You're a Rebel." After a brief solo career in the early nineties and two critically-acclaimed modern rock albums with his new band Clash of Symbols, Stand hung up the…Similar sounding releases
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