Reviewed by Matt Anderson

Very few Christian Metal bands come even close to comparison with the legendary Bloodgood. One of the original hard rock/metal bands, they emerged about the same time as Stryper and Barren Cross, and quickly moulded an authentic, in-your-face, style of music of their own. This Classic Archives release has incorporated two of the six Bloodgood albums and displays all the qualities that made them pioneers of the genre. The two albums ("Bloodgood",1986 and "Detonation", 1987) represent the earliest, and arguably the greatest, work of the quartet. There's something stirring and glorious in the anthems like "Black Snake" and "Accept the Lamb" which always makes the hair on my neck rise. The hard-hitting, Gospel-centred lyrics, as a youngster, certainly fuelled my early Christian life and provided with some of my earliest scriptural memories. No wonder God used Bloodgood in the mid/late 80s - the uncompromising, glorification of Christ's love and power is, to be frank, unrivalled in modern Christian rock ( a fact much mourned by myself). Not much can really be said about this release, other than it has EVERYTHING; it contains all the  'recognised' Bloodgood greats - "What's following The Grave?"," Alone In Suicide"," Anguish And Pain"," Soldier Of Peace"," Stand In The Light| and the harrowing epic "Crucify/Messiah". Even if someone has no other metal/rock album than this, it is an essential purchase.

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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