MP3 Bride - Skin For Skin

Perhaps the most anticipated heavy metal release of 2006, Bride builds on their iconic past while breaking new ground with their heaviest release to date. SKIN FOR SKIN actually exceedes all expectations.

14 MP3 Songs
METAL: Heavy Metal, METAL: 80's Metal



Details:
BRIDE
SKIN FOR SKIN

Label: Retroactive Records www.retroactiverecords.net
Release Date: November 2006
Catalog Number: RAR7813
Style: Heavy Metal
Tracks: 14
Lyrics: No
Insert: six page color


Dale and Troy Thompson, original founders of Bride, have once again composed and recorded 12 songs that are sure to re-awaken the Bride fans. Not since the release of the legendary Snakes in the Playground has any of their CDâs been so highly anticipated. Skin for Skin is a very powerful piece of work. Daleâs vocals continue to induce and incite cold chills up the spine. Troy invents some of the most memorable and groove oriented metal licks in his career. Lawrence Bishop on bass drives the bottom end like a M1 Tank. And, unlike past releases, Skin for Skin is riddled with double bass thunder. Together all of these elements produce possibly the best work that Bride has ever recorded!

Lyrically Dale deals with tough subjects like racism, war, evil in the world, sacrifice and the love of one for all others. He delves headlong and addresses addiction, redemption, restoration, deliverance, and love. Daleâs son Alex, who is currently serving in the United States Air Force, even has songwriting credit as he shares his song about suicide on this CD. Alex could not perform the song himself but Bride did their best to interpret his thoughts and feelings.

Bride also invited a special guest to appear on the CD. Not since their second release Live to Die has guitar virtuoso Steve Osborne appeared on a Bride CD. But on Skin for Skin you will hear his phenomenal soloâs throughout.

Bride is universally recognized as one of the greatest live bands to date and they now have captured the live energy on a studio CD.

Skin for Skin is the essential Bride CD to obtain. Twenty years has past, a Dove Award, more than a dozen CDâs, thousands of miles of touring throughout the world playing to hundreds of thousands of fans on the globe and Bride is back full throttle, all metal! Skin for Skin is a CD to be celebrated. But most of all fans should not loose sight of the true theme of all Bride CDâs. That is âChrist and Him crucifiedâ.
(most of this taken from www.angelicwarlord.com)

KEY SELLING POINTS
**Classic Bride lineup re-united
**High production values
**Full embrace of classic metal style, made popular by Bride
**Ultra-loyal fan base world-wide
**Appears on Lightning Strikes Twice â¦Again label promotional sampler
**Will appear on early â07 HM/Heavenâs Metal subscribers CD sampler
**Full radio/advertising promotional campaign
**Full HM/Heavenâs Metal Magazine promotional campaign
** Still touring internationally


REVIEWS: WWW.ANGELICWARLORD
Bride has been around the block musically throughout its three decades of existence. The band got its start with the goth-like heavy metal of its 1986 debut Show No Mercy before releasing the power metal and thrash influenced sounds of its follow up efforts Live To Die (1988) and Silence Is Madness (1989). The early nineties, however, saw Bride move in a bluesy hard rock direction with Kinetic Faith (1991), Snakes In The Playground (1992) and Scarecrow Messiah (1994), an era in which fans and critics alike agree that the band reached its creative and artistic pinnacle. The underrated acoustic laced Drop followed in 1995 before Bride recorded the more modern flavorings of The Jesus Experience (1997) and Oddities (1998). Bride even went so far as to experiment with rap core on Fist Full Of Bees (2001) only to return to its straightforward hard rock roots with the gritty This Is It (2003).

Skin For Skin, the latest endeavor from Bride, finds the band moving in the same hard rocking direction of This Is It but heavier and with more attitude and all out raw energy. What we end up with is Brideâs most guitar driven effort in literally years, a work in which the band successfully captures much of the power and pure dynamism it exhibited on Snakes In The Playground. The album, for example, is built upon a foundation of catchy and groove laden hard rockers such as âHard To Kickâ, âFuel & Fireâ, âBang Goodbyeâ, âRise Aboveâ and âSuper Ego Starâ that would not sound out of place on any of the bands early nineties releases. But when you go beneath the surface, however, you will find Bride drawing upon its sound from the eighties as well, reflected in the power metal lacings of âSkin For Skinâ and âInside Ourselvesâ, the only tracks here to feature double bass, in addition to the thrash feel that âTake The Medicationâ brings to the table. In the end, Skin For Skin can best be described as an effort which is directly influenced by just about every era in the bands career.

Founding Bride members vocalist Dale Thompson and guitarist Troy Thompson continue to be a force to be reckoned with. Dale highlights the project with his trademark impassioned and raspy vocal style, adding an element of grit and gravel to his delivery on several tracks, most notably âEnd Of Daysâ, âInside Ourselvesâ and âThe Governmentâ. Troy contributes the needed crunch on rhythm guitar in addition to showcasing his bluesy and at times soulful work on lead guitar. A special guest appearance is made by Steve Osborne on lead guitar â the bands former guitarist that contributed the monster lead work to its earlier efforts Show No Mercy and Live To Die â who does not disappoint, adorning âTake The Medicationâ and âInside Ourselvesâ with his technical style of playing. Long term Bride bassist Lawrence Bishop anchors the albums low end with drummers Jason Lewis and Mark Gray.

As for the albums production values? Well, all the necessary ingredients are here: The drums are pulsating, the rhythm guitar crashing and the lead guitar work fluid and clean.

âThe Calmâ is a brief (:55) instrumental carried by a swirling blend of guitar and drums that fades in and out of the mix.

âSkin For Skinâ immediately kicks in to a double bass driven riff, storming ahead with an abundance of fury and fire before culminating for a catchy chorus delivered in perfect sublime fashion. A furious blend of rhythm and lead guitar reinforces an extended instrumental section. The albums title track can best be described as one of its more raucous and up-tempo numbers.

A more modern feel is showcased on âEnd Of Daysâ, a heavy duty composition that moves forward to a bouncing guitar riff that almost brings to mind Marilyn Manson. A nice contrast is put in place, nevertheless, as a driving chorus in which Dale cuts loose with some coarse growling is followed by a slowly moving passage highlighted by light and airy backing vocals. A mind number assault of piercing riffs and cascading drums holds sway over a frenetic instrumental section.

The thrash influenced âTake The Medicationâ invites a comparison to âOut For Bloodâ and âFire And Brimstoneâ, two of the heavier tracks from Live To Die. The song begins ominously to an instrumental section shouldered by a driving and near doom-like guitar riff. Picking up in pace prior to reaching its first verse, âTake The Medicationâ gradually chops its way forward only to decelerate for a passage giving rise to a softer and gentler touch. This represents a literal calm before the storm, however, as the song regains its initiative for the hard hitting and forceful sounding chorus that follows. Osborne shows off his abilities with a radiant display of lead guitar work.

âInside Ourselvesâ represents one of the albums finest moments. Introduced to a riff that comes across as tight as stink, the song moves through its first verse to an upfront mix of bass guitar before the rhythm guitar returns with an abundance of angst laden impetus. âInside Ourselvesâ proceeds to forge ahead at an anthem-like mid-tempo pace, not coming to a head until reaching an energy-laden chorus with a huge, catchy hook. And in case you missed it, Osborne makes his presence felt with another stretch of skillfully done lead guitar work.

A churning blend of rhythm guitar and drums drives âHard To Kickâ forward from the start. Tapering off to a pronounced bass line upon reaching its first verse, momentum is gained as a muscular rhythm guitar kicks in and drives the song to a deep and resounding groove flavored chorus. I like how this one combines a near foreboding feel with a good, catchy hook.

After âFuel And Fireâ jumps out of the gate at a romping upbeat tempo, a bristling wall of rhythm guitar that bounces in and out of the mix compels the song through its verse portions strong and steady. Picking up further in pace, an electrified setting is put in place as âFuel And Fireâ transitions to a vibrant chorus delivered with an abundance of hook-laden ambition. The tempo slowly decelerates throughout an instrumental section carried by a bluesy guitar solo.

The catchy âBreathlessâ moves the album in a commercial hard rock direction. The song opens slowly to a few seconds of open air rhythm guitar, evening out to a smooth sounding mid-tempo pace for its first verse prior to gaining force for a chorus with one of those infectious hooks that will refuse to leave your head. The melody here is quite pronounced and has that âplay me on the radio and Iâm guaranteed to dominateâ feel.

âProdigious Savantâ is a short (:33) piano based instrumental.

A crunchy rhythm guitar highlighted by a throaty growl from Dale gets the driving hard rocker âBang Goodbyeâ underway. Moving through its verse portions with just the right amount of choppy impetus, the song escalates in intensity until breaking out in a spirited manner for a catchy chorus carried at an enticing upbeat tempo. Tapering off, âBang Goodbyeâ reaches a slowly moving passage fortified by a trace of keyboards before regaining its momentum for a brief instrumental section buttressed by a rumbling rhythm guitar.

The open air rhythm guitar at the start of âRise Aboveâ is soon joined by a blend of hammering drums and pulsating bass lines. Slowly driven through its verse portions by a grinding guitar riff, impetus is gained as the song moves ahead to a hard hitting chorus accentuated by a trace of swirling vocal harmonies. A very well done blues based guitar solo helps put the song over the top.

âThe Governmentâ is jump started to a snappy guitar riff before Dale takes over on lead vocals. Buzzing ahead at a chugging mid-tempo pace, a time change is made as the song acquires a slowly moving and almost laid back chorus in which spoken word delivery bounces between the left and right channel. After âThe Governmentâ briefly breaks out in heavy duty, thrash flavored fashion, it moves on to an instrumental section sustained by a plodding rhythm guitar.

The album moves back to a more up-tempo direction with âSuper Ego Starâ. Embarking to a quick drum solo, a crisp rhythm guitar carries the song forward in an energetic manner until it secures a non-stop and hook driven chorus with an overriding groove-laden feel. Troy adorns the scene with his blues laced work on lead guitar. Give Bride a great deal of credit for the abundance of sass and gritty attitude delivered here.

âHang Onâ is a soulful, blues heavy rocker that brings to mind âSweet Louiseâ (off Kinetic Faith) and âI Miss The Rainâ (from Snakes In The Playground). Advancing from the start to a graceful blend of acoustic guitar and piano, the song makes an even transition to an emotionally charged chorus shored up by just the right amount of lush backing vocals.

Review by: Andrew Rockwell

Track Listing: âThe Calmâ (:55) âSkin For Skinâ (3:35), âEnd Of Daysâ (4:07), âTake The Medicationâ (5:23), âInside Ourselvesâ (4:19), âHard To Kickâ (3:34), âFuel And Fireâ (4:48), âBreathlessâ (4:08), âProdigious Savantâ (:33), âBang Goodbyeâ (5:32), âRise Aboveâ (5:34), âThe Governmentâ (3:49), âSuper Ego Starâ (3:41), âHang Onâ (4:13)

Musicians
Dale Thompson â Lead Vocals
Troy Thompson â Guitars
Lawrence Bishop â Bass

Guest Musicians
Steve Osborne â Lead Guitar
Jason Lewis & Mark Gray - Drums