faithbomb- Bleed

Before I opine on this disc,I'll have to admit to being somewhat of a novice and a skeptic when it comes to Christian metal. Maybe it's the preachiness or the fact that many seem to merely imitate other secular,and more successful(commercially as well as creatively)bands. One thing I can tell you is that Faithbomb dodge those pitfalls by finding inspiration in Entombed,Fu Manchu,and Down and adding an idealistic vibe to cultivate their own inviting garden of sound.
Lead-off track "I Won't" takes Entombed's "Like This With The Devil",empties the Black Talon bullets inside,and replaces them with rubber ones.That may sound like a put-down,but nothing could be further from the truth as throughout much of the record,Faithbomb find strength in the nihilism of the Gothenburg sound only to turn it on its ear in their own way.
As I alluded to before,a heavy doom influence is prevalent also. This influence comes to the surface especially well on tracks 3 and 4. "Carry Me To Heaven" and "The Devil And Me" each wringing out one-hundred years of pain,blues,and agony with their Sabbatherian riffs. The band doesn't mind being ecelctic in the vocals department either,as the band see-saws between a borderline grind bark,and a clean croon with a Hetfieldian growl acting as an effective fulcrum. There is also a punk influence that surfaces and to me,causes the only problem I had with this record. On one hand the punk influence adds a sense of spontaniety and danger,yet on the other hand,it causes the songs to be stunted.Which in turn causes the cd to only clock in at just under 32 minutes. I commend the bravery of this disc. Instead of telling you what to believe or else,Faithbomb just state their beliefs via power chords for the listener to ponder,almost saying "If you're with us cool,if you're not,so be it". Long-haired hell-raisers fear not this disc,as these guys make Stryper look like a bunch of crass Jimmy Swaggarts. If that isn't a recommendation,I don't know what is.


By Iwarrior- september 2002