Inner Lite
Rockin' the Faith
Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt
Inner Lite is another new Christian metal band in California that has been blessed with a record pressing. Oasis Mail Order has been selling Inner Lite's Rockin' the Faith very well for the past few months. This tape has some good melodic, Stryper-style metal on it. There's some hot double leads here. "Live Eternally" is the first song on this 4-song tape. It has some blazing guitar leads. Shiro Nobunaga handles the first lead, which is a high-pitched trip up and down the neck with hammer-on and tremolo effect thrown in to dazzle. The chorus here is anthem-like a la "Crush the Head of Satan." "Open Your Eyes" is the next song, which rips along at high speed. The rhythms are accented in a Robert Sweet-style cymbal dance. Billy Birkholz pleads, "Please turn to Jesus, your drugs just have no 'life.'" The title track is a good ole' anthem that has some great acapella choruses and hefty drumming. "Like a caravan moving from town to town/ If you don't like Jesus you better not stick around/ Crank your power to ten, who cares what people say/ Rock It! Rock It! Rock It! For your faith." "Perfect Love" is the barn-burner here. This song definitely belongs in every headbanger's library. Both Shiro and Nick Powers tear it up on this one. It starts off with some great notes that are destroyed by the slow motion of the vibrato bar. After this repeats a few times, a quick rhythm kicks in that puts energy into your heartbeat. The rhythm section of drummer Chris Powers and bassist Dan Castro add the needed kick to drive the song home. It's a winner! This young band, no member of which is over 18, rocks with enough good hooks and talented guitar work to attract a sizable following. These guys should just get better and better. With their frequent gigging in secular clubs, these guys will quickly get all the experience they need to become a serious spiritual warfare team in the rock world. Chris is tentatively planning a trip to the Amazon jungle as a missionary leader, which will give him great insight into the ministry he's currently in. Heaven's Metal will keep you posted on Inner Lite's progress and prayer needs.