Final Axe-Axe of the apostles

Retroactive
2008

Final Axe were a southern California based based christian metal band. They released one album in 1989 and broke up 1991. However in 1990 they recorded guitars and vocals for what was to be their second album yet they didn't complete it and it wasn't released. However a few years ago vocalist Keith Miles and guitarist Ben Menchen got together and brought in Stryper drummer Robert Sweet to lay down the drum tracks. Menchen also played bass and keyboards and they completed this album. Quite honestly I was surprised by the heaviness of this album. Musically the style is reminiscent of Judas Priest and maybe even early Grave Digger with walls of heavy guitar ripping out shortly after each track begins. The vocals are deep and solid, but not a huge amount of range overall. I always considered Robert Sweet to be the most talented member of Stryper and it's interesting to hear what he can do on some real metal tracks. He attacks his parts vigorously and it's obvious that the two founding members of Final Axe sure made the right decision in bringing Sweet to lay down the drums. If this album had been like this in 1990 then a lot of people really would have taken notice. It's still very good today, but most of us have heard a lot of bands like this although these guys might play with a bit more conviction. My only major gripe was that the majority of the songs are the same pace and causes the tracks to feel like they are blending together at times. Still fans of classic late 80's early 90's metal will probably welcome this album. This album was actually originally released in 2006, but is being released again by Retroactive this month.

http://www.myspace.com/finalaxe