Jerusalem

Item: Dancing on the Head of the Serpent
Author: Daniel Baillod

Dancing on the Head of the Serpent

(1987)

Reviewed by Daniel Baillod

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Label Refuge RecordsAdonai Metal Rock #3July 1989

heavy metal melodic metal pop metal

Translated from the original French

You do not teach old monkeys how to pull faces, as the proverb tells us...! Exactly!! The guys in JERUSALEM, let us remember, were among the first to dare to play hard (and this well before STRYPER), on the Christian scene. And our Swedish white metallers come back to us here with a sixth LP that is frankly a smash. The sleeve of "Dancing On The Head Of The Serpent" ("DOTHOTS"...! Let us abbreviate!!) is already a hell of a thing: it shows a sort of vampire, more or less serpent, sprawled on shiny tiles (of a bathroom...?!). And above him, on his neck, two legs shod in combat boots, preparing to crush him (the devil!!). This more or less violent sleeve created problems for JERUSALEM, since many Christian record shops in Sweden boycotted the album, on the pretext that the sleeve was too violent... And yet these same Christian record shops did not hesitate to display the third STRYPER "To Hell With The Devil", whose sleeve was no less violent... "No one is a prophet in his own country"... that is well known. That said, the sleeve of "DOTHOTS" is very biblical: does the Bible not say, after all: "The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet"?

Let us set the sleeve aside, and see what JERUSALEM offers us with this sixth LP... Well, if up to now JERUSALEM was not among my favourites, I am obliged to acknowledge that "DOTHOTS" is rock solid!! JERUSALEM offers us here a properly beefy and melodic hard. From the intro of "Dancing On The Head Of The Serpent", you know that the keyboards are often very present with JERUSALEM: and they demonstrate it throughout the track, which is an excellent single. It is majestic, it is powerful, it is classy. On the sound side, JERUSALEM is at the top level, and they know a thing or two about the subject: let us recall that they had their own recording studios built, and that it is there that they laid this "DOTHOTS": the producer is none other than JERUSALEM's leader, Ulf CHRISTIANSSON. The sound is very clear, very clean, and powerful. Excellent.

The album is varied, and well balanced. Oddly, the three biggest smashes are one after another, on side A: "Dancing...", "Plunder Hell And Populate Heaven", and "Rebels Of Jesus-Christ". "Plunder Hell And Populate Heaven" is the heaviest on the album, and is one of the best hits in White Metal: the background vocals are powerful and aggressive. JERUSALEM is manifestly one of the "attackers" on the most advanced line of the front. They attack hard!! "Come, let us empty Hell and fill Heaven"!! The third track, "Rebels Of Jesus-Christ", faster, is also one of the best hits in Christian metal: the chorus is underpinned by the synths and gigantic choral vocals: "Rebels of Jesus Christ, with music like the thunder... The rebels of Jesus Christ, they raise their weapons high. And we fight, we come and we love you!! Rebels of Jesus Christ..." Without doubt the best track on the album. A real war hymn!! Note that the guitarist (and vocalist) Ulf CHRISTIANSSON has an extraordinary guitar sound. Frankly excellent.

With "Listen To Me", the rhythm is broken, since we arrive at a semi-slow, only to come back afterwards to a battle hymn: "Woe, woe... The Great Fall". The vocals are aggressive, and very biting. The drummer, Michael ULVSGARD, is one of the big names of White Metal, as is the bassist, Peter CARLSOHN.

Side B seems to me less interesting, although the band never descends into mediocrity. "We're Gonna Take Europe" is another attack hymn, as are "Come Higher" and "Catch The Devil, Catch The Thief". "The Night When Revelation Came Into My Life" (Pff... They could shorten their titles...!), on the other hand, is a testimony from Ulf CHRISTIANSSON, but it is a far less heavy track. As for "Still", it is a ballad, on piano, with an excellent guitar solo.

On the lyrics side, JERUSALEM is very beefy, and nobody can remain indifferent to such words. These guys really have something to say. Between the victorious "Rebels Of Jesus-Christ" and the touching "Still", JERUSALEM communicates something true, deep and sincere. "DOTHOTS" is without hesitation the best JERUSALEM LP to date (alongside "Warrior"), and if properly cutting hard turns you on, then this is for you. Plunder Hell And Populate Heaven !!!