Search - Bloodgood :: Bloodgood/Detonation

Christian rock is often a oxymoron but not with Bloodgood!

Shan Ziel | Fort Collins, CO United States | 09/19/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have searched long and hard for some real Christian rock.Often it is like searching for the Holy Grail.Yes, I took a chance on a Christian album (largely due to the price)and for the first time was not disappointed in a supposed Christian band. Isn't it sad when Christians lie saying they are rock when they are not?I'm sure many of you have been lead to the pathetic Petra in your search for Christian rock. I have only heard 1 of the 2 recordings on this double recording. I even attempted to special order the first album at one time, but was told after many trips to pick it up that it was out of print. For the 2 for 1 price this is a definite bargain. Some of their later recordings wimped out. Later recordings still better than anyting Petra has ever recorded. Petra does not mean rock. Early Bloodgood means rock. A must for any Christian hard rocker who's taste runs a little harder than pop rock."

Fabulous in the 80s...some of it doesn't hold up now

Greg Brady | Capital City | 04/21/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"It's been quite a few years since I bought my Bloodgood albums and I've been going back and listening to some of my music from the "old days". Bloodgood were one of the heavier metal bands on the Christian scene in the 80s...harder than the pop-metal sounds of Stryper but not quite as abrasive as Judas Priest-ish Saint. Former "Hair!" cast member Les Carlsen supplied the wailing banshee screams, David Zaffiro the riffs, and Michael Bloodgood supplied the bottom with Mark Welling on sticks. At the time this stuff was new, I thought it was about the best music ever. With the passage of time, I can see that some of this holds up...and some doesn't.



HIGHLIGHTS:

The opening acappella chorus of "Accept the Lamb" introduced the world to Bloodgood and it was a good choice. The chorus is catchy. After that, outstanding tracks on the debut are fire and brimstone rocker "Anguish and Pain", "You Lose" aims its arrows at hypocritical Christians, and the album closes with the near speed metal fury of "Black Snake", a riposte against Satan. The 2nd album was leaps and bounds ahead of the debut in terms of a good batch of high-quality songs. "Battle of the Flesh" leads it off with a look at the struggle for believers who are caught between selfish desires and more pure ones aimed at pleasing God. Mark Welling assaults his kit on "Self Destruction" (which is why it's particularly bad here that the 'thump' is anemic on the production. This could have really ROCKED..) "Heartbeat (Of the City)" is very much a mood piece. The guitars here are really restrained and Carlsen doesn't really let loose with any operatic shrieks. The focus is on the lyric here and it serves the song well. "Crucify" and "The Messiah" are audio encapsulations of Jesus' death and resurrection (they used to be performed as a mini-passion play at Bloodgood concerts). Carlsen looks out through Pilate's eyes in "Crucify" and places the 'blame' for Jesus' death squarely where it belongs: the Devil himself..the 'principalities' working through the rulers of that day to convict and kill an innocent man. "Messiah" is still touching today and probably their single finest effort. Despite using the ill-advised lyric "Like a burning flame that availeth much" (King James references sound REALLY archaic up against metal riffs, guys...) "Live Wire" is another blazing tune built on breakneck riffs.



LOWS:

"Stand in the Light" from the debut is pretty mediocre. "Eat the Flesh" is pretty over the top, even by metal standards (It's a studs 'n' leather take on communion). They manage to mix the communion metaphor with one for spiritual warfare and Jesus' death all in one shot. The lyric is just not well written.



BOTTOM LINE:

Christian metal fans will probably love this and these are their best 2 albums as far as I'm concerned. Other metal fans will be iffier on it because of use of 'insider' lingo that only Christians understand ("Christianese" as it's been dubbed..phrases like "Lamb of God","intercession","Living Water" only really have meaning to the churched) despite their supposed aim of an audience of non-Christians/church attenders.



You'll definitely want to EQ the snot out of it if you want a decent bass/drum sound...the heartbeat of any hard rock band. The production just sounds really thin on the drums (they don't "thunder" out of the speakers like they should) and the bass guitar, while a bit louder in the mix, should really feel "thicker", too. (I'm not blaming this on the KMG reissue..they sound thin on the original Frontline/Alarma releases,too)



4 stars musically but docked 1/2 for production= 3 1/2 stars"

OUTSTANDING!

Roger Cleven | Snoqualmie, WA United States | 03/22/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Two of the best Christian rock albums ever made. It would be great to see this band stage a reunion with the original band."