Various Artists
Metal Praise
Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt
Put guys like Les Carlsen, Glenn Kaiser, Rey Parra, Jim LaVerde and Rex Scott in a room together and what's likely to happen? Worship! And that's exactly what took place at the Sonic Temple in Elgin, Illinois (the home of Wonderland). Instead of re-hashing Sacred Warrior's awesome version of "Holy, Holy, Holy", it was done differently. A small choir starts it off and Les Carlsen takes it home. It sounds great, albeit not as big as the aforementioned version. "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" with Rey Parra sounds cool, with high-pitched exhortations to "Rejoice! Rejoice!" "What A Friend (We Have In Jesus)", sung by Glenn Kaiser sounds good 'n' gritty, while still keeping the "up" feel and tempo of the song. The infectious guitar rhythm sounds a lot like a Van Halen song, causing somewhat of a distraction for those familiar with it, but only for a little while. The highlight of the album is an old Maranatha Music song called "Spirit Song", which Rey Parra pulls off beautifully. He totally does justice to the song, which draws the participating worshipper into an intimate exchange with Jesus: "Jesus, oh Jesus, come and fill our lives." "I Love You Lord", which I've always thought Stryper would do great, is done here with many voices, but much too short. In "Jehovah Jireh", Les Carlsen straddles atop a hard driving rhythm to commandeer this worship song about God's provision. Rex Scott takes an olf Bluesy standard--"Rock Of Ages"--and delivers it with grit and sass. The big gang choruses at the end really sound great. "Life Begun", although more of an inspiring tune than a worship number, is a pretty song. It sounds like a great altar call song, with the harmonies of: "This is the moment you've been waiting for/ When you will find eternal life/ And you will know He is your God/ You can feel His precious love." Some killer guitar tones finish out the song with just the amount of sweet Rock 'n' Roll style to make it melt in the mouth of metalhead worshippers. "I Exalt Thee" rounds out the album with an intimate "campfire" acoustic feel. I can picture the vocalists in the studio with their eyes closed and hands lifted toward Heaven, giving God their hearts in praise. This great idea of an album was pulled off with class and fine production. It has fulfilled its purpose in me. I have worshiped God to it.