Reviewed by Tony Cummings

IN THE MAINSTREAM

With millions of album sales already clocked up and seemingly hundreds of pages of the web devoted to earnest debates as to how much of a Christian believer singer/lyricist Scott Stapp actually is, here comes another blistering album if anything better than its multi-million selling predecessor. For me the absolute standout cut is "Freedom Fighter" with its telling lyrics, "I'm just a freedom fighter/No remorse/Raging on in holy war/Soon there'll come a day/When you're face to face with me/Face to face with me." Against such positive spiritual insights there's the hard music opener "Bullets" with its call of despair, "At least look at me when you shoot a bullet through my head." With the song "My Sacrifice" sounding like a number one radio hit, Scott Stapp, Mark Tremonti (guitars, bass) and Scott Phillips (drums, keyboards) deliver songs of transcendence and redemption with snarling, gutsy passion. Half the album could be equally reviewed in our hard music section while the moments of soft acoustic guitar bring welcome dynamics to a band deserving of their huge American status.

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