Bride no longer needs any introduction, and Scarecrow Messiah is one of those albums that gets better with each listen. Like its previous two releases, Bride unleashes a groove that barrels down the road with the power of a Harley at full throttle. "Beast" kicks off this album in like fashion - taking advantage of a drum production that's wider than Snakes... had. Troy's guitar tones are so hot you'd think he blew some tubes along the way. Things cruise along at this pace until "Crazy," which just subdues the power to a low rumble in the mix, maintaining a big fat heaviness. The album doesn't really slow down a beat until track #10, "Thorns" - a heavy tune about the loneliness after a breakup.
Tunes like the title track, "Beast" and "Murder" have monster riffs that are simple, yet forged with the bass and drums in tight union with the distorted guitar. "One" is another song where Troy takes center stage with his wah-wah effect, which Dale imitates very well. These guys would make Guns 'N' Roses proud...or is that jealous?
The only cut that doesn't win in all categories would have to be "Time," where Dale does his famous high-pitched wail along to a skipping tempo. Track #11, "Questions," could just as well have been from Dale's solo album. It's an experimental ditty with a rapid spoken rap delivered by Dale over a meandering background of strange percussion and jazzy guitar play.
Overall, this is easily Bride's best album to date - and I didn't even like it at first listen! Casual observation showed little departure and growth from the previous album, but that feeling soon changed once I really took a listen to these tunes. These tunes stay within the confines of the hard rock genre, but stale they ain't!
Some artists are a volcano waiting to explode. Well, Bride is a volcano in mid-explosion. They're blasting it all out. Don't worry about the ashes, though, they wash off in the shower.