Bride has long been too smart to be a heavy metal band. Ever since their artistic and commercial breakthrough with Kinetic Faith, through the following two releases Snakes in the Playground and Scarecrow Messiah, Dale Thompson and the boys have long itched to expand their musical options, evolving musically as they borrow from disparate styles of music. With their brand-spanking-new release Drop, Bride has evolved even further: Instead of a smart heavy metal band borrowing from different musical styles, Bride is now a smart rock n' roll band borrowing from different musical styles (including heavy metal). For the headbanger fan, there are still a few tracks that rock hard; but those of us who appreciated the stylistic experiments in Bride's past, Drop is chock full of fully-integrated, genre-jumping rock n' roll, with a mix of r&b, Gospel, blues and swamp rock (among others), with an assortment of instruments (including acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin, percussion and - I think - a dulcimer). And Dale Thompson's patented screaming-and-wailing is used sparingly, to great effect; many of the tracks feature a more subdued approach, which should give a broader access to Bride's music. Lyrically, Drop is not as bizarre or thought-provoking as the previous albums - although it has always been easy to find Bride's faith statements, they often looked for the most original way possible to present that information; however, Drop is pretty plain stuff. There is no "Hired Gun" here, no "Psychedelic Super Jesus." Not that Drop is dull stuff: There are many obvious Biblical allusions and references, without sliding into cliche or jargon. And it's hard to argue with the matter-of-factness of "Personal Saviour," a hard rocker with a great sing-along melody that comes to the point bluntly but agreeably. Drop is a great addition to the Bride arsenal.
Other coverage for this album
Heaven's Metal #54Reviewed by Brian Vincent McGovernI have waited for this album a long, long time. Usually when I wait so long for something, I tend to build it up in my mind, anticipating it to be something bigger than it could ever possibly be in reality. Drop exceeds fantasy. Change is definitely a good thing. The banjo in "Mamma" is surprising, yet delightful, as it blends well with the relaxed biker-music hard rock in that song. I was also…