Volume 1: The Hymns
Pakaderm Records
1990
So, in the early 90s, there seemed to be an influx of bands, artists and labels that were putting out their own interpretations of classic hymns and gospel songs. Petra would be the first one to come to mind, with their Petra Praise releases; there was also the Metal Hymns project put out by Myrrh in 1992, the Sanctuary Praise releases through Sanctuary Church, and my favorite of the bunch, the one P.K. Mitchell did for his label Patriot Records in 1993 (later renamed Rugged Records, but that’s a story for another time). They were sufficient alternatives to those lame Maranatha! Praise albums that were choking up the Christian Bookstore shelves at the time.
Anyhoo, in 1990, Pakaderm Records launched the Rock Power Praise project, producing three albums between 1990 through 1992. The first of which was Volume 1: The Hymns; this was rather ambitious, featuring the likes of Jamie Rowe, John and Dino Elefante (who produced the thing on their own label, natch), and Mike “the last name is Drive now” Lee on vocals, along with other praise and worship singers.
This is the first time I’m giving this a listen. Back when I saw this on the shelves of the aforementioned Christian bookstore, the cassette had a bit of dust on the top of it, and the cover didn’t grab me as a serious thing. Let’s see if I may have missed out on something, shall we?
- “The Old Rugged Cross” Good solid riff, keyboards, driving, has more of a commercial AOR hard rock style; decent solo…
- “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands” Good groove on the hook; more of a slower, smokier take on the Vacation Bible School classic; Jamie Rowe’s vocals makes this fun, while John Elefante’s has more of the Bryan Adams flavor…
- A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” A driving riff, Sara Tennison’s vocals have some bite to them, Lita Ford style; heavy hard rockin’ metal cut; dig the solo…
- We Need Jesus” !POWER BALLAD ALERT! I prefer the Petra version on their Petra Praise 2 release; eh, this one isn’t too bad…
- Holy Holy Holy” Jamie Rowe really makes this into a driving Bon Jovi style hard rock tune; great guitar solos and riff…
- Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus” Rather upbeat and driving fun banger of a hard rocking metal cut; Mike Lee’s vocals really lends a gritty yet melodic sheen; great solo…
- Amazing Grace” And what hymns collection would be complete without this classic? Pretty good riff hook, with the vocalist (Mike Hadley) really going for the rafters on this; hey, a sax solo…
- Go, Tell It On A Mountain” Good solid rhythm groove, driving with some great guitar work; the vocalist for this (Russell Painter) seems to have been part of the two Sanctuary Praise album, plus the All Hail The Power project by P.K. Mitchell…
- When We All Get To Heaven” This one has more of an upbeat Dio feel, if collaborated with Billy Idol’s guitarist; it’s driving and catchy with a good hook…
- I Have Decided To Follow Jesus” Good catchy riff, keyboards are big, more on the poppy side of the hard rock, like Idle Cure or DeGarmo & Key…
Overall: Had I come across Volume 1: The Hymns back in 1990 when this was released, my 16-year-old self probably would have worn out the tape. It’s slickly produced, yeah–what Elefante produced album isn’t? But it does rock pretty sufficiently. Fans of rock ranging from Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi, Lita Ford and Iron Maiden should check this out.
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