Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

This is the Californian band's fourth album released in 1987. Although they were sometimes labelled as Christian punks the Altar Boys, despite their ripped jeans and Doc Martens, did not really belong in that pigeonhole. Lead vocalist Mike Stand could sound raucous at times but this was more a rough and ready passion than a studied attitude. If you insist on a musical comparison I would bracket them with The Alarm as purveyors or anthemic, full-blown rock and roll but with a much more up-front message. Indeed lyrically the Altar Boys are not far removed from the Jesus Music of the previous decade. You can read them for yourself at www.altarboys.com. Mike Stand's voice and guitar cut through with the powerhouse rhythm section of Ric Alba on bass and Jeff Crandall on drums was pretty tight. All three sang as well and with CCM pioneer Terry Scott Taylor producing they cooked up something special. Of the 10 tracks three made it onto their 1991 'Collection' on Alarma, namely "Heart Lost In Nowhere", "Against The Grain" and "Broken". This reviewer would not argue with that selection and he would like to state his opinion that "Broken" is one of the all-time CCM rock classics.

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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