There’s no reason Christian music can’t be heavy and powerful. Some might consider Heavy Metal in itself “evil”, but the passion that can be show in Christian Metal is very powerful. For those of us who know Jesus to be a mighty redeemer and powerful savior, the stuff you hear at you local church on Sunday simply doesn’t touch my heart.
That’s why I am so thrilled to hear this new album from Sweden’s ALL FOR THE KING. They take their influences from bands like Black Sabbath and King’s X, but I hear other bands like Chicago’s Trouble and even some traces of Stryper (specifically on the tracks “You Are My King” and “Surrender”).
Ricard Hulteke has a great melodic voice, but he has strength and emotion behind it and isn’t afraid to go outside the box from time to time. Erik Tilling is a killer guitarist too who has really heavy tones, but stays melodic as well. The backbone of the band is Andreas Alov on bass and Anders Kollerfors on drums. They really keep the songs moving forward and provide a wall of low end that really puts the band into that “Doom” category.
“The Seventh Seal” and “Light In The Dark” start the album off and give you an early impression of the band, besides some of the influences I mentioned earlier, I can’t help but be reminded at times of the legendary Swedish Doom Metal band Candlemass.
The album as a whole is heavy, but there are just some amazing hooks and choruses on the album. “Stay Awake” is a just a great rock song no matter what the genre. “Blind Leading The Blind” has a Metal edge on top of Hulteke’s smooth delivery and very interesting verses. Kollerfors keeps this one so tight in the pocket too, it’s got an amazing slow grinding groove.
“Fearless” is perhaps the most gothic and “dark” song as far as the sound goes, even though lyrically it’s extremely positive. On the flip side of that “You Are My King” is more of a strait up Classic Metal song that was summon the Holy Spirit to anyone who cares to listen.
No matter how you categorize “Darkest Before Dawn”, it’s a masterpiece. The overall sound and production are exceptional, the writing is amazing and the songs are very memorable. These guys have a massive amount of talent.
It’s really the kind of record I personally needed, and in my opinion so does the world. Let’s face it, there’s turmoil everywhere you look. We need the strength of our savior more than ever. We need to come together and the message these guys are giving us is one of hope.
https://roxxrecords.com/
