Various Artists
Massive Frequency Overload: U.S. Hard Compilation
Reviewed by Tom Edmondson
Every compilation album is a mixed bag, usually. This one certainly is. I think it's because in America so many bands feel like they must follow the latest trends, or, so many American bands feel like they have to be more ministry minded than metal minded. This is a fallacy (don't lose me, you'll see my point). While in Bible college I took a class called, "Church Growth" My professor made a statement that I didn't agree with at the time. He said, "when you create an area of ministry in your church you don't put someone in that position because they have a heart for it. You put someone in there who is competent to do it." Like I said, I didn't agree at the time, but, without going into a lengthy explanation suffice it to say that my nine years in the ministry have proven his words to be true. The same is true in Christian music. Many groups come and go who have a heart for ministry but aren't competent musically (i.e., Messiah Prophet's "For Whom Does The Bell Toll?" which was a poor shadow of the Metallica song it took issue with). Therefore, it is important in my mind to distinguish between the competent and the inadequate.
In my opinion the competent bands on this disc are: Covenant, Erase, Slamcat, Ultimatum, and Crimson Thorn. These are the bands that I feel are accessible to the Metal world in general. They have arrived, so to speak. But let's be fair, I think there are a number of bands on this disc that have great potential and could be very successful. They are: Amnos, Noizegate, Frank's Enemy, Antithesis, SGL, and Sovereign. Of the other bands, I don't want to be negative but I didn't care for them. To summarize, there is enough good stuff here to justify your going out and buying it.