Various Artists
Volym X - En Tribut Till Jerusalem
Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt
As you can guess by the title, this is not your average album. It is the Swedish release of a 13-band Jerusalem tribute album. Right off the bat I am blown away by Momo, a female-fronted band tackling "Read Between The Lines" from the Can't Stop Us Now album. These modern translations really point out the strong songwriting Jerusalem has exhibited over the years. Even a Celtic-inspired artist in the vein of Rich Mullins (Vite Krist) shows off the sweet melody that Ulf Christiansson and co. created. Even though Jerusalem experimented with cheese metal in the late 80's, a song like "Dancing on the Head of the Serpent" gets a facelift here that gives these powerful lyrics new life. Since 9 of these 13 tracks are sung in Swedish, it will be hard for the American audiences to fully appreciate this fine release. The crazy Monty Python type humor seems to translate okay in Tekla Knos' version of "Ger Noa," complete with bleating sheep and rain. The intense Blindside is represented here as well, with the Swedish vocals of "Blomma." It allows an interesting look at the band's instrumentation and great dirty tones. The song I wanted to hear the most on this record comes from another Swedish import we're familiar with - Royal. The song is one that I would pick as perhaps the greatest Christian hard rock song ever - "Sodom." The band keeps the trancy keyboard intro before romping in guitar distortion / shoegazer land for a few bars, mixing it up emo style when the verses come. They should play this live! Another highlight I can't help but mention is the industrial take on "In His Majesty's Service" by NovCom (The November Commandment). As an extra special treat, highlighting the preaching lyrics of Ulf Christiansson, is a spoken word adaptation of "Plunder Hell & Populate Heaven." As a tribute album, this one ranks very high. For ordering info, write: Day-Glo Records, Box 7561, 103 93, Stockholm, Sweden