Reviewed by David Cranson

There are too many pigeon holes and sub-pigeon holes out there these days when it comes to music. This CD (and accompanying DVD) runs a gamut of mini-styles, most if not all of which come under the heading of extreme metal, extreme rock or perhaps metalcore(!) (RealOne Player calls it hardcore metal.) For the purposes of this esteemed mag we'll call it hard music. So what do you get for your hard-earned cash? Lotsa noise and not much melody. Shouted vocals most of which are indecipherable from white noise. Whether you like this depends on your age, how angry you are and whether or not your musical taste is to the left of Marilyn Manson, Sepultura, King Diamond or perhaps Napalm Death (and it's not often that lot get a mention in CR!). Solid State have been doing a very good job over the years of producing good solid bands with a better message than kids get shoved down their throats normally. All power to them! You get tracks from among others Stretch Arm Strong, Demon Hunter (scary front man!), Zao, Living Sacrifice and Norma Jean (no, not that one). Loud, unrelenting, noisy, brutal. Christian music? Well, you'll get heated arguments from all sides one way or another. For me, if they are in God's camp and living it like it says in the Word, then God will bless the music and the people who listen to it. Otherwise it'll fail. This is Volume 4, so make up your own mind! The DVD has videos from some of the same bands plus Blindside and Training For Utopia, etc. Having grown up listening to a lot of the NWOBHM it's kinda weird to see short haired people bawling and shouting where long-flowing locks were once the norm. You also get bonus live footage of six bands at Furnace Fest 2002. They include Underoath, Eso-Charis and Living Sacrifice. Good compilation of hardcore-punk-indie-extreme-metal-rock-roll (or something like that!).

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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