Lightforce
Battlezone
Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt
From down under comes Lightforce, an aggressive band with decidedly evangelistic lyrics. I'm reminded of Eternal Ryte's earlier music when I listen to this 8-song tape. The vocals are melodic, while the guitars and rhythm section race along at attack speed. "Evil Desires" shows off bassist Stephen Rowe's skills at soloing. Stephen starts off the next song, "Reigning With the King," with a plucking sound. The chorus for this song has a good hook, which stays in your head long after hearing it. "Eyes of Destruction" starts off with Satan addressing his demons on pillaging the earth with mayhem, since Jesus has been crucified. One of the demons interrupts with the desperate announcement of "Wait, Satan! Jesus is risen from the dead!" The chorus sounds like many a thrash chorus, with all the members chanting, "Eyes of destruction!" The band even flies into thrash mode after the second bridge, then returns to the plodding verse. The song returns to speed at the end. These guys have been keeping touch with current trends in metal. This tape is a fine display of metal. The guitar sound is good, with just the right amount of feedback in some areas and crunch in others. There's plenty of good metal hooks and production tricks thrown in. The only drawbacks are average songwriting and tightness. If I was a heavy metal music teacher, I'd give this tape a "B". We should be hearing more from Light Force in the future, because they have lots of potential. Not to mention the need for righteous metal in Australia. The cover of this tape is very interesting. It's a full-color painting of a long-haired warrior holding a sword directly over Satan, who is cowering on his knees, about to be stabbed. Above the sword is a massive lightning bolt coming out of the sky and dancing around the sword handle. Quite impressive. The band spent $1500 making it look this good. To order this tape, send A$10 plus A$2.20 postage. Mail to: Stephen Johnson, PO Box 83, Moorrabbin, 3189 Victoria, Australia. Stephen, the lead vocalist, tells me that Lightforce has gotten a real good response from their secular audience. "It appears they are shellshocked," says Stephen, "as they stare on - trying to believe what they are seeing and hearing is really happening." Lightforce could use your prayers. "Our church is really the only one in the country who strongly supports the vision for Christian metal, realizing its power and influence on people, and how it can be used as a weapon against Satan and his army of thieves. That's what we want - revival. We'd love to see the metal scene saved."