Believer-Extraction from mortality

Metal Mind
1989/2008

I remember reading good reviews about Believer's debut back in 1989 and I remember reading a good interview with them around then as well. However I never pursued any of their CDs because I was ignorant in thinking that because they were a christian band they would not be very heavy. I guess that my train of thought was that all christian rock sounded like Stryper and Petra. Fortunately I have gotten to get ahold of this re-issue of this album so I can hear what I have been missing. Believer played thrash a little in the style of Exodus and Testament although with even grittier vocals. The sound leans a little more towards heaviness than speed which helps the music to have a very thick feel to it. They plow into almost every song with a lot of confidence and more fire than many acts who just went through the paces back then. It's not the most original thrash release ever done and it came when thrash was into it's peak which means it was a crowded field when this came out. Yet they approached their material with a head full of steam and the end product shows that for sure. They control the pace and really milk each moment as much as possible and that in itself sets them well above the bands who thought thrash was only about speed. This re-issue includes a thick booklet, a nice package and I am certainly glad to find out that these guys far exceeded my expectations.