Third Day

Item: Conspiracy No. 5
Author: Bert Gangl

Conspiracy No. 5

(1997)

Reviewed by Bert Gangl

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Label Reunion RecordsThe LighthouseDecember 1997

alternative rock hard rock southern rock

The self-titled debut release by Atlanta's Third Day sold more than 200,000 copies, produced four number one singles, earned a Billboard Video Award, and even garnered a fair amount of airplay in the general market. With the success of the first album, the release of the follow-up project has been the source of both anticipation and curiosity among critics and fans alike. And, as almost always happens when a debut album attains such success, the question for many has been whether the group would play it safe and produce a carbon copy of the first album, or opt for the riskier path of artistic expansion.

Answering that question isn't a simple matter. Lyrically, the second album is like the first in that its statements are, for the most part, straightforward proclamations of unmistakably Biblical themes such as mercy, peace, and, of course, salvation. Nonetheless, on this release, songwriter Mac Powell often uses a much more confessional tone (e.g. on the haunting "I Deserve?") to more clearly chronicle both the depths of man's sin and the need for God's grace. Powell also uses this same soul-baring approach in dealing with interpersonal themes such as loneliness ("How's Your Head") and dying ("This Song Was Meant For You").

Musically, the sound of this album isn't nearly so much an issue of the band's finding a different groove as it is their finding a new sound for the existing one. To be sure, the same "Southern rock meets alternative" groove that characterized the bulk of the first release has found its way onto the sophomore effort as well. But, producer Sam Taylor (King's X, Galactic Cowboys) has helped the group achieve a more aggressive texture for much of this album, mostly through the use of a muddier, more distorted guitar sound. While the new sound does work with the majority of the songs on the new album-particularly on the gutsier Southern rock numbers-it does render the worshipful "My Hope Is In You" mostly lackluster and makes the melancholic "Gomer's Theme" seem overly long.

Still, when regarding the album as a whole, such missteps are pleasantly few, and not at all unexpected from a young band still honing its particular sound. Indeed, the members of Third Day have once again successfully melded infectious rhythms, bold, honest lyrics and Powell's distinctive vocals to produce a fine follow-up to their daunting debut.