Reviews
Reviewed by Brenten Gilbert, CM Central
Choosing to follow Christ, while an important and noble decision, will lead to persecution and hardships here on earth. This message repeats throughout the New Testament in the story of the apostles and the early church. Several other historical documents detail the suffering that many of the Apostles endured, even to the point of being martyred. Despite all these setbacks and discomforts, they pressed on. In his letter to the church of Philippi, Paul clearly states that everything on earth - sufferings and gains - mean nothing when compared to the greatness of knowing God.
With rugged vocals and a heavy rock sound, Disciple return to the scene with a self-titled effort, a collection of songs describing the devotion necessary to follow Christ's example. With straightforward lyrics that speak of the comforts and consequences of serving God, Disciple combines crunchy guitars a la Jonah 33 and other grunge acts with course vocals to create a high-energy soundtrack for life. The album encourages the listener to pick up our proverbial crosses and start taking an active role in our lives. Opening with, "The Wait Is Over," a heavy number reminiscent of Limp Bizkit, Disciple asserts that the time is now and that there is no need to wait any longer.
Musically, Disciple falls in line with moderate hard rock acts such as Pillar and Kids in the Way focusing mainly on the heaviness of the sound rather than overall quality of the album. One of the main flaws is that most of the songs blend into one another causing the album to wear quickly. Scattered amongst the screams of the heavier rock tracks are a few mid-tempo metal ballads along the lines of the eighties monster rock ballads (Stryper, Extreme). These ballads - "Only You" which plays like a love song to God, "Beautiful" celebrates redemption and the beauty of God's grace, and "Worth It All" echoes the aforementioned sentiments of the Apostle Paul - combined with a few standouts such as the rapid fire cadence-like "Rise Up which plays well at high decibel levels, offer some texture to the album, but in an era of digital downloads, a few good tracks does not a solid album make.
Fans of heavy garage flavored rock will certainly find a lot to pump their fists about when listening to the latest release from this well-established name in Christian metal. Those seeking more compelling lyrics and guitar licks that last longer than the ringing in your ears may want to look elsewhere. Disciple certainly hits hard, but the impact passes fairly quickly.
|
