Stone Vengeance
To Kill Evil
Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt
With a title like "To Kill Evil", one expects some powerful molten metal with lots of speed. Stone Vengeance delivers on all expectations. This band is a tight speed metal trio. Michael Coffey has a good voice with a solid mid to high range. Michael is the lead guitarist also, who leads this trio with ripping riffs and power chords. Darren Tompkins manhandles the drumkit, while Anthony Starks adds a tight bass line. For what it's worth, I feel kind of uneasy about the lyrics on this project. "Time Is at Hand", along with most of the lyrics, are geared straight at the unbeliever: "Your time is at hand/ All your life was living a lie...face your deeds/ now is your time to die...and it is written/ there shall be no rest for the wicked/ ha, ha, ha." We're talking death metal here, folks, with a wrath of God message. "The Persecution" talks about "persecution in the final days" and declares that "Heavenly Father, Jehovah, rules!" "Bullfight" is a hot Latin instrumental preceding "Malice", where "Stone Vengeance unleashed" is shouted before the band screams in mock terror before they fly into some serious thrash. Later, Mike proclaims that "Jesus Christ, our Master, died on Calvary/ The evil one was present, watching our Master bleed...Until the final conflict/ where God will take control." To order, write: Mike Coffey, PO Box 880153, San Francisco CA 94188-0153.