It seems Bride always finds itself fighting through a transition of sorts. This album, the band's 10th studio effort, showcases a band that is, perhaps, fighting for its very survival. Can they make a relevant musical statement? Will they please or lose their old school fans? How much this band can change has always been a tension that it's had to weather. It looks like producer Plinky Giglio (Snakes In The Playground) has risen to this challenge. The deep 'n' heavy grooves are present, and it's the vocal department that seems to have the first disguise thrown up. Dale Thompson's trademark lead vocals burst through the distortion often enough to make it clear this is a Bride record, and he goes for a rap delivery in places (like "Too Tired"). Other new additives include the large, doomy, down-tuned bass tone, as well as the occasional guitar effect. However, the low-end beef that Bride fans are expecting is present everywhere. Newcomers Michael Loy and Lawrence Bishop do a great job of filling the able shoes of Jerry McBroom and Steve Curtsinger.
The first songs that 'pop' for this reviewer are the energetic "California Sunshine," with its frenetic post-punk delivery and funky breaks. This one is flat-out fun. Seems like I've heard "Beginning Of The End" on the Scarecrow... album, but I like it. I love the experimentation of "Never Thought" -- part Rage energy burst / part Zeppelin grandiose -- but the rap vocals lessen the impact. Speaking of such, the rapping in "Do Your Own Time" sounds obviously suburban, which detracts from the impact the heavy choruses could make. I can hear this one being a Christian rock single, and I think that would be unfortunate, because (even though it will go #1 on 5 dozen stations) I think it shows Bride at their weakest. This approach is cloned in "Jesus In Me." Give me the machine gun boogie of "Soul Winner" any day. I think this is Bride's greatest strength -- no apologies straight-ahead blues rock. While some might dismiss this band as "the AC/DC of Christian music," I say that ain't a bad place to be. While I've never aligned myself with the "return to Snakes..." critics, I do agree that this band doesn't have to reinvent itself. Their wheels work just fine. So, stop trying to stay young and just rock on.
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Brian A. SmithBride, a pioneer among early Christian metal bands, has returned with their tenth album, Fist Full of Bees. The group here portrays a lost generation of youth relying on drugs, gangs, or the comforts of the opposite sex, and pointing out their need for Jesus. "Too Tired" opens the album, and is a rap metal tune that recalls Faith No More. "White House" presents a prisoner in jail, and contrasts…Dead Zine 2001Reviewed by the ProjectWell let's start by saying Bride has transformed yet again in their new disk Fist Full of Bees. I don't know why and I don't know how, they just did. They transformed...well tried to transform into a rap-core band. It didn't work out too well. I did think the music was good and the production was great, but for a rap-core band to attempt what they did is a little too much. I don't totally know…Similar sounding releases
2004The Jelly Jam2
2002NonpointDevelopment
2003SkilletCollide
2005DiscipleDisciple
2005Half ZaftigRetrograde
1998Galactic CowboysAt The End Of The DayMore from Bride
1988Live to Die
1998Oddities (Video)
1994Scarecrow Messiah
1991Kinetic Faith
1989Silence Is Madness
2003This is It
