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LEGACY – Legacy
Legacy (2010, Eonian Records)
1. “Salvation is Law” … 4:47
2. “It’s Real” … 3:42
3. “Cross the Line” … 3:30
4. “Forever In Your Arms” … 4:55
5. “Don’t Run Away” … 3:16
6. “Red, White, and Blue” … 6:00
7. “Change of a Broken Heart” … 2:56
8. “Comin’ Along” … 4:28
9. “Soldiers Unite” … 3:47
10. “One Way or the Other” … 3:26
11. “Live It” … 4:06
12. “What a World” … 2:51
13. “Model Citizen” … 4:39
14. “Vision Of Perfection” … 4:01
Band:
Doug Meacham – Lead Vocals
Fred Blanchard – Guitar
Matt Rice – Guitar
John Rice – Bass
John Jenkins – Drums
Producer: Legacy
Legacy was a Christian hard rock/metal band that formed in 1987 and was based in Ohio. In 1992, the band fall apart but this Eonian release is now here as an official documentation of Legacy’s legacy (sorry, I had to say it). As is the case with many Eonian releases, I don’t think the band ever had an official album release. These songs were recorded between 1988 and 1990 and the liner notes mention the band had released singles within the Christian metal scene but there’s no mention of EPs or full-fledged albums. Either these songs were distributed by the band itself or perhaps many of these songs were recorded so that they could shop themselves around to record labels. As a result of these random recording sessions, the sound quality wavers but not by a whole lot.
Their influences are pretty obvious — Stryper and Dokken (they also cite Scorpions but I don’t hear them as much). The album is okay but I really feel that the first four songs are the best. After only hearing them a few times, they stayed in my head. Other favorites are the enegetic “Soldiers Unite” and “What A World” (which is the hardest rocking song on the album). Most of the rest comes across as bland to me. These songs were produced by the band so maybe that’s the problem. If the band had a legit producer in the studio with them to point them in the right direction for these sessions they probably could have turned out higher number of quality songs.
Fans of Christian hair metal will probably find this an interesting release because of their similar sound to Stryper (Dough Meachum does NOT sound like Michael Sweet though) and the fact that they don’t try to hide their faith in an effort to make themselves more accessible to the secular crowd.
Highlights: “Salvation is Law”, “It’s Real”, “Cross The Line”, “Forever In Your Arms”, “Soldiers Unite”, “What A World”
STRYPER – Murder By Pride
Stryper – Murder By Pride (2009, Big3 Records)
1. “Eclipse For The Son” … 4:04
2. “4 Leaf Clover” … 3:42
3. “Peace of Mind” … 3:58
4. “Alive” … 3:36
5. “The Plan” … 3:10
6. “Murder by Pride” … 3:18
7. “I Believe” … 3:43
8. “Run In You” … 4:15
9. “Love Is Why” … 4:07
10. “Mercy Over Blame” … 4:07
11. “Everything” … 4:26
12. “My Live (I’ll Always Show)” … 3:14
Band:
Michael Sweet – Lead Vocals, Guitar
Oz Fox – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Tracy Ferrie – Bass, Backing Vocals
Robert Sweet – Drums
Additional Musicians:
Tom Scholz – Guitar (“Peace of Mind”)
Kenny Aronoff – Drums
Paul McNamara – Piano, Keyboards
Danny Bernini – Percussion
Produced by: Michael Sweet and Danny Bernini
Murder By Pride is my very first Stryper album. I don’t know how it compares to the “classics”, but I’m enjoying it. There are a few spots where it borders on getting very cheesy (“Alive”, “I Believe”), but the songs are good enough to be guilty pleasures for me. The guitars on “I Believe” sound very much like Creed, but I still enjoy the song.
“4 Leaf Clover” and “Murder By Pride” are my favorite tracks and they do a great job of blending 80s hard rock with a modern sound. The rest of the album is full solid hard rockers, which is more than I was expecting. I had it in my head that the chance of some lame pop rock/”Honestly” songs were going to be pretty high, but it just wasn’t the case.
Like I said, I don’t know if this holds a candle to old school Stryper, but it’s got me interested in taking a listen to find out.
The band does a faithful cover of Boston’s “Peace of Mind”. It had better be faithful since Tom Scholz plays on it! Of course, Michael handles co-vocals & guitar for that band following the passing of Brad Delp.
I could not find any info on why, but for whatever reason, founding member and drummer Robert Sweet (Michael’s brother) did not play on this album and a session player filled in. At least that’s what I’ve read online (even though the album credits list both Sweet and Aronoff on drums). He is scheduled to tour with the band though.
Highlights: “Eclipse For The Son”, “4 Leaf Clover”, “Alive”, “The Plan”, “Murder By Pride”, “Mercy Over Blame”, “I Believe”, “My Love (I’ll Always Show)”
