Messenger – You choose

Messenger are a four piece Christian metal band who formed in 2009 in Virginia, USA.  They released their first album (I’m talking to you) in 2010, and have also released a live album.  Now they’re back with their second studio album, “You choose”.

A quick glance at the track listing tells you this is a Christian rock/metal band, at which point my heart sank – not because I have anything against Christian rock or metal bands, but simply because bands of this type have a pretty poor track record.  Christian bands who sing about their faith and are actually any good are very few and far between – in fact Stryper are the only one I can think of who have achieved widespread success.  Against this background then any band that sings about it’s religious beliefs doesnt inspire confidence.  Having said that, each band has to stand or fall on their own merits, so let’s hear what Messenger are like.

The lyrics are quite “preachy” so are going to put a lot of people off straight away – lyrics like this effectively limit the band’s appeal outside the Christian rock/metal community.  Moving on to the music and vocals, it’s actually quite good, but there isn’t anything special to make the band stand out, and as a result they just fail to impress.
Without the preaching lyrics then that would be a big improvement that would certainly make the band more appealing to rock and metal fans, but with these lyrics the band are limiting themselves to a very small market.

Overall then this is an album that is unlikely to win many fans outside the Christian Metal community.

Rating: 6/10

Messenger are:

Frank Clifton Herring – Vocals
Vlad Gurin – Guitar
Roy Richardson – Bass
Tim ‘TNT’ Tieff – Drums

Track listing:

1. The sacrifice
2. The end of time
3. Paradise
4. Christian rocker
5. The back of my mind
6. Come home
7. Power
8. Rulemaker
9. The Cave (Intro to The Risen Christ)
10. The risen Christ