Reviewed by Robin Thompson

Whilst there are many Christian rock bands around, very few play the archetypal rock sound that spawned the likes of Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, etc. So when a rock lover like me comes across a band like Connecticut-based Shekinah, with a sound they describe as "contemporary rock", I tend to sit up and take notice. An indication of their influences is given with their bold rendition of Zeppelin's "Rain Song", with subtle changes to the lyrics to make it overtly Christian. There is enormous potential for a song like that to be a complete disaster, but they succeed very well. This is largely due to guitarist Mike Blake's ability to emulate Page's rather "loose" guitar style and some good high vocal work from David Harris. However, my real favourite is the band's own "Man Of War" - a real out and out rocker with a great guitar riff. If I have one disappointment with the album it is that these are the only two really true rock songs on the album. The remainder are rather more laid back, demonstrating strong folk influences, with the exception of the rather catchy "Ya", a well crafted pop song with a heavy guitar interlude. That aside, Shekinah have captured a nice live feel to the whole affair.

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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