Various Artists
Ultimate Metal
Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt
I would shy away from using the word "ultimate" to describe this album, but I think it is better than any of the other Christian metal compilation albums released. I mean, any compilation album with "Burn" by Vengeance on it gets my thumbs up. The only shortcome I see is including Petra (who, by the way, appear on three of the four Ultimate Series albums: metal; rock; and dance??). Where is Stryper? Bloodgood? Barren Cross? It seems someone's loyalty to Star Song got in their way of song selection. If I had to include a Petra tune on here, it would've been "Mine Field"; not "All Fired Up". The roster also includes other bands we've come to know and love: Sacred Warrior, with "Sword of Victory"; Whitecross, with "Living in a Lost World"; Rage of Angels, with "Do You Still Believe in Love"; One Bad Pig, with "Let's Be Frank"; Rez, with "Shadows" (yeah!!); Neon Cross, with "Heartbreaker" (glad to see they pulled something from these crunchers); Shout, with what I consider one of their best tunes - "Faith, Hope & Love"; Mastedon, with guest appearance by X-Sinner's Dave Robbins on "It's a Jungle Out There"; Scarlet Red's "You Live Fast" (which I think is their best tune); and something quite rare these days - a cut by Messiah Prophet, "Blinded". The song was written by recent members added to vocalist Charlie Clarke's surviving band. If you want to introduce someone to a good cross-section of Christian metal, this is it.