Sometimes, it's just good to get back to where things started. That's why I'm reviewing this album. Made in '93, Bow encompassed what hardcore should be: straight-up hardcore, with intense, passionate members. At the time, Focused, Unashamed and Overcome were the biggest and best Christian hardcore bands out there. They were in their own category of Spirit Filled Hardcore. Musically, Focused does not beat around the bush at all. Their lyrics are to the point. Take for example, the words to Perfect Will.
Never will I leave you
Never will I forsake you
And now I stand with confidence Lord.
You are my healer, provider, redeemer
and I will not be afraid,
for what can man do to me?
There is no sugar-coating here. Their music is just as to-the-point as their lyrics. No fancy riffs, no double bass blasts, no outrageous vocals, nothing that most bands are doing nowadays. Focused plays hardcore the way it was meant to be. Fast, up tempo, emotional, intense, basic, heavy riffs, and yelling vocals that never change. Every song is a headbanger, and you can just see the people kicking the crap out of each other in a mosh pit. Sometimes, it's just good to get back to the things that made the world the way it is. In this case, the music world.
8/10
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #114Reviewed by Ryan ClarkWhen I first started to realize that Christian heavy music wasn’t all Whitecross and Petra (no offense to the aforementioned), I started a search for bands that might really change my outlook on the belief that Christian bands could never contend with their secular counterparts. The record that gave me new insight on this ideal was Focused’s Bow. Not only was this my primary introduction to…Heaven's Metal #46Reviewed by Doug Van PeltI haven't heard an album start off this powerfully for a long, long time. Opening with a passion-spitting speech that is as good an ending as it is a beginning, when this angry voice shouts the following words at you, you simply feel the urgent need to obey: "...Put your knee in the dirt and bow to the God that holds your blood red destiny in the palm of His awesome hands. It's your choice!" What…Similar sounding releases
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