Reviewed by Matthew Cordle

It's immediately obvious that a lot of thought and preparation has gone into writing, arranging and performing this concept album, recorded live at Christ Church, Bridlington. The back cover states, "This CD aims to capture some of the themes of glory to reflect the peace of Heaven as Jesus breathes out his prophetic word into the Earth," and the songs are themed accordingly and flow together in sequence. "Prelude: The Heavens Have Opened" kicks off thoughtfully with piano and narration, progresses through a slightly madly dissonant section to reflective cries of "Let your glory fall on me" with violin and flute evocatively meandering around the piano. The pace then picks up with the bouncing "The Glory's Coming" and we're into the main body of the music. The flow throughout is dramatic, with considerable dynamic variation in many of the songs as we move through representation of the riders of Heaven heralding Jesus' return on "You Are So Beautiful", a reflection on the Church as the Bride of Christ, with its rock reel portraying the wedding party, and then through to the final declaration of "You Are Alpha And Omega". Stylistically there is a somewhat retro feel to the CD and much of the music brings to mind a montage of Keith Green, John Michael Talbot, John Miles, Elton John and Len Magee. With a nine-piece musical line-up and a seven-piece choir, there's a lot going on! Their performance is mostly solid but there are a few rough and ready moments; I really would have re-recorded the sections in "You Are Alpha And Omega" where the band are out of time with each other as that stands out. Rob's vocal intonation could do with attention, and the overall sound of the mix is a bit woolly at times. Worthy of particular mention are the two violinists, whether playing a furious reel as on "Warcry" or a more classic style as on the closing instrumental "Omega", the performance and tone is admirable. In summary, a creative concept CD which could have reached excellence with more sessions and work on vocal consistency.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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