| Musical Style: Metal/Hard Rock | Produced By: Dale Thompson & Nenel Lucena |
| Record Label: Roxx Records | Country Of Origin: New Zealand & Brazil |
| Year Released: 2019 | Artist Website: |
| Tracks: 12 | Rating: 90% |
| Running Time: 58:08 |
Vocalist Dale Thompson is best known for his work with Christian metal and hard rock veterans Bride, a collaborating with brother and guitarist Troy Thompson that has produced fifteen studio albums, seven live albums and nine compilations over a four-decade spanning career. Now he’s branching out with new projects, spearheaded by his partnership with multi-instrumentalist Alan Zaring that is The World Will Burn. With 2 full-length albums to its credit, including 2016 debut Severity and 2017 sophomore effort RuiNation, The World Will Burn stays true to the modern and grungy but with an old school hard rocking edge to bring to Bride’s 1997 release The Jesus Experience. Forward to 2018 and Dale has joined forces with Brazilian guitarist Tiago De Souza to form Perpetual Paranoia, whom combines aspects of melodic thrash and straightforward heavy metal on its Retroactive Records debut The Reapers from the same year. Old school Bride albums Live To Die (1988) and Silence Is Madness (1989) are potential points of reference.
February of 2019 finds Dale returning with his most recent project, No Other God and its Roxx Records debut full length Take It By Storm. Also an international act in drawing its lineup from Brazilian musicians guitarist Nenel Lucena, drummer Alexandre Aposan and bassist Raphael Dafras, No Other God challenges Perpetual Paranoia as heaviest project in which artist has participated. On one hand, Take It By Storm draws upon a slash and snarl hard rock basis not unlike iconic 1992 Bride album Snakes In The Playground and highly regarded 2018 comeback effort Snake Eyes (also Retroactive). On the other, it also impresses of a catchy heavy metal sound in similar vein to Bride’s underrated 2006 offering Skin For Skin, noting how the crazy good guitar playing of Lucena brings to mind the work of late Bride guitarist Steve Osborne. When further factoring how No Other God branches out into melodic hard rock and even progressive territory, the picture is complete.
Albums title track best personifies No Other God in walking a fine line between straightforward hard rock and all out metal. “Take It By Storm” otherwise calls into play the gritty hooks to the former and matches it with the raw bombast of the latter, immediately recognizable in terms of the native passion to Dale’s vocals but seething as the groups inbred angst sets the rousing tone to follow. Lyric snippet:
Can you see the lightening? Hear the roar of the thunder?
Above the mist of the earth glowing with knowledge and light
As the stars wheeled over me, hell burned beneath
High places are thrown down and their crowns
When the shadows fall between us
Separate the strange and the dead
The Stone that the builders rejected
Is where I lay my head
“Burn All The Way” follows in a similar catchy hard rock meets driving metal style, albeit at the more tempered pace to find guitars making the greater pronounced austere statement. Lone critique, which you can accept more as neutral observation, is how “Burn All The Way” shares near the exact same melody as “Blow It All Away”, the lead off track to Bride’s 2003 album This Is It. Which means it is a very good song but you also cannot help but get a sense of déjà vu as you ask yourself ‘where have I heard this before?’
“Turn” separates as another top of the line bruiser. It storms through its stomping verse section to the groups keyed up rhythm section - noting the fastidious timekeeping of Aposan - only to erupt for an epic flavored (and very catchy) chorus exclusive to shouted (but not overbearing) backing vocals. Instrumentally, Lucena lets loose with his above the line abilities to include animated soloing and power metal style riffing.
“Phobia” proves an all out crunch-fest, maneuvering its mid-paced distance to classic rock infused cowbell as emboldened guitars hammer in and out of the mix. A joining of the laid back (noting the lightly done hooks) and caustic (bands signature energy leads the way) is the feel at hand, in a positive sense either way. Coming to mind in the process is Snakes… era Bride but infused with a sense of Rez Band style bluesy groove. Lyric snippet:
Angels of Sodom at the Dragon’s Well
Drinking from the fountain in their dreams
Believing they had killed the Savior of the world
Celebrating not knowing what it means
Sins of the flesh is an evil kind of death
It chases you until you’re out of breath
The army of pornography, addiction and apostasy
All of its profanities slow killing with fantasy
“Death On The Millions” challenges for albums heaviest and most powerful. Starting with a scream followed by reverberating doom like riffs, the song cuts a swath of destruction through its bludgeoning verses on the way to a shouted refrain to touch upon extreme territory, noting the harshly done snarl to Dale’s voice. This one hearkens back to the thrash-like mindset to Perpetual Paranoia or the more aggressive Live To Die material.
“Walk By Faith” is another in a long line of very fine cuts to open albums first half. I appreciate its bare bones and no frills heading, mid-tempo with its bottom heavy demeanor and crunching guitars but also haunting in light of the whispered vocals decorating the backend (you have to listen to it with headphones to experience the full effect). Lead guitar approaches the bluesy. Lyric snippet:
Something’s in your bedroom
Something’s under your bed
Something’s in your nightmare
Something’s in your head
Whispers all around you
There are devils underground
Snakes beneath your feet
That never make a sound
Walk by faith, not by sight
“Life Is Long” is first of several protracted tracks (in a positive sense) to decorate the second, noting its five and a half-minute length. It chugs forward from the get go as a hulking mid-paced plodder, pulverizing with its immodest affection but also able to smooth out to polished harmonies to allow a soothing melodic bent despite the near doom-like mindset. An awesome run of lead guitar adorns the extended instrumental break.
No Other God exhibits its melodic hard rock side on classy ballad “One More Day”. It proves above the line as far as ballads go, with delicately done portions home to acoustic guitar and breathing bass and others of a more forward nature as resounding guitars step in to make an expansive statement. Dale’s lower register vocal performance builds upon the songs prodigious melody. Lyric snippet:
Also of a slow and driving nature, “Pay The Price” epitomizes all out metal with mammoth guitar walls and pensive bass to suggest of the darkly tinctured if not all out callous. A slight repetition also rises to the surface - it comes across as more powerful as opposed to accessible - but it holds up all the same with a ponderous nature to approach the forlorn and melody on the subtle side of things. In the end, I identify with it as not among my album favorites but essential all the same. Lyric snippet:
Into the blackness, into the dark
The forbidden curse, the Judas heart
I lay prostrate upon our grave
Hoping in Jesus name you will be saved
Never gain, never more
Will I hurt this bad to the core
In the web of twisted lies
If I’m going to live, I must die
Take It By Storm closes to three of its better tracks, starting with “Matter Of Fact”. This one crossed the power metal threshold, noting the repeated punishing double kick drum, but overall makes an assailing statement with its unflagging aggression and unabashed rationality overall. Dale, whom composed all lyrics, maintains his biting sense of wit as it pertains to the sarcastic, ‘fact is the matter if a matter of fact’ refrain.
“The Great Ones Fall” opens its first of six minutes instrumentally to accordant guitar harmonies only to make an abrupt change to the unearthly bass to carry its opening verses. With guitars mauling in and out of the mix, it slowly crawls forward to a dreadful sense of foreboding only to burst forth for a symphonic refrain meshed with darkly changed backing vocals. Effect comes across menacing, haunting and just plain catchy!
No Other God reveals its progressive side on eight minute “Your Time Has Come”. It builds upon a dramatic flair similar to Bride’s “Heroes” (off Live To Die), noting the haunting narration backed by classical keyboards to cover its opening two minutes as impetus gradually builds. Bottom drops out for the bass solo that ensues, with an unnerving setting put in place as impetus gradually builds for the lunging guitars to lead the way to a galloping refrain of a legendary quality (one of the albums finer, actually). Instrumentally, the group pulls-out-all-the-stops as Lucena gain exhibits why he is one of the better guitar heroes to emerge in recent years. It might be a bit early to make such pronouncements, but I see “Your Time Has Come” challenging for song of the year. Lyric snippet:
Feeling the fool in your own play
Shadows closing in on the hearts of men
Beg for a Savior pray for relief
The curtain has dropped on your stage
The Spirit is there to teach us
The Son is there to guide us
The Father is there to love us for evermore
Of all Dale Thompson’s outside Bride side projects, No Other God ranks among my favorites, referencing how Take It By Storm is first to cross the line into 90% territory. As is often the case, it comes down to songs when factoring how No Other God is capable of composing such a high volume of memorable material to hold up under repeat play. Musicianship plays no small role either when factoring talented shredder Nenal Lucena and keyed up rhythm section of bassist Raphael Dafra and drummer Alexandre Aposan. Dale remains as relevant force as ever with his gritty but powerful vocal style. Looking forward, if No Other God is the future of metal and hard rock then the scene is in very good hands.
Review by Andrew Rockwell
Track Listing: “Take It By Storm” (3:51), “Burn All The Way” (3:47), “Turn” (3:57), “Phobia” (4:22), “Death On The Millions” (4:21), “Walk By Faith” (4:21), “Life Is Long” (4:09), “One More Day” (5:38), “Pay The Price” (4:59), “Matter Of Fact” (3:56), “The Great Ones Fall” (6;06), “Your Time Has Come” (8:26)
Musicians
Dale Thompson - Lead Vocals
Nenel Lucena - Guitars
Raphael Dafra - Bass
Alexandre Aposan - Drums
