Bride – “Are You Awake?”

 Posted by on August 12, 2023 at 16:59  No Responses »
Aug 122023
 

Could this be the last Bride album? It seems like this line has been tossed around for decades since “Tsar Bomba” if not earlier. There is a greater chance now than ever, but why should we worry? Much like the apocalypse, we know not the hour when Bride will stop rocking, but for now let’s turn our attention to the newest offering of the Early Fathers of Christian Metal.

For those that are new to Bride, they have been making music in one form or another since 1983. The constant nucleus of the band are brothers Dale and Troy Thompson who handle vocals and guitars respectively. They have adapted to the musical trends while keeping their own approach to evangelical hard rock and metal. With many long-running bands, there are questions around what to expect; what have they played now that they haven’t played yet? Is it better than their hallmark record (which would be “Snakes on the Playground” for Bride)?

“Are You Awake?” is an incredibly catchy, true-to-form Bride record from top to bottom. Twelve tracks of metal-infused hard rock that connect together to form a cohesive work that would play well next to “Snakes” but show a musical maturity from a four decade career. They thrive at the higher tempos with in-your-face lyrics, but take breaks to show their musical sensitivity with slower heavier tunes like “12 O’Clock Apocalypse” and the ballad “All I Wanted.” Although this isn’t my go-to style, the record has grown on me with each play.

Continue reading »

Aug 112022
 

Not Of This World to release debut album featuring members of Bride and guests from Dream Theater

Roxx Records is ready to unveil the next Dale Thompson fronted rock n roll project with the world, Not Of This World, and it’s a killer new project with some very well known guest appearances.

Not Of This World is a project featuring music written and performed by Clay Ashbrook, vocals and lyrics by Dale Thompson of Bride with a guest appearance on several tracks by Derek Sherinian of Dream Theater and Sons of Apollo on keyboards and organs.

This project’s genesis is in Clay Ashbrook’s living room, where he composed and recorded all the music. Dale Thompson would then take the music and craft lyrics and melodies that fit perfectly within each song. This process started with 2 or 3 songs which expanded to a full albums worth over the last year and a half. This album cannot be defined by any one genre. You will find metal, rock, alternative, acoustic songs and ballads on this album. We are releasing this project in the hopes that people will enjoy the music and find something in the Christ-centered message of the lyrics that speaks to them in some way.

Continue reading »

Dec 192021
 

‘America The Beautiful’ performed by brothers Dale and Troy Thompson (Bride). The song was written by Katharine Lee Bates and its music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward in the late 19th century. 

Legendary hard rock band Bride just released their first ever Christmas album with 14 well-known and lesser-known Christmas songs. Our review can be found here.

 

Continue reading »

Bride – “Christmas”

 Posted by on December 18, 2021 at 15:51  No Responses »
Dec 182021
 

Legendary rockers Bride have made their contribution to the ever expanding collection of rock and metal bands performing Christmas songs.

For those who have never heard of Bride, the Christian rock band was formed back in the 1980’s by brothers Troy and Dale Thompson, getting their first break opening up for the Daniel Band in Pennsylvania in 1986. For those not familiar with Christian rock that may not mean anything, but Daniel Band was big at the time. As one might imagine in the near 40yrs of existence, the band underwent many lineup and label changes, but now without success as to their credit the band has 8 major releases, 12 songs that hit #1 in various charts and 4 Dove awards to their credit.

Christmas albums can be hit or miss and many times it really depends on how much you like a particular band as to whether or not you think their renditions of classic songs are just a novelty or something really good. Personally, the Rottweiler Records Fleas Naughty Dog, volume 1 is one of my all-time favorite collection of Christmas songs, but much of that is due to variety of approaches taken as everything from punk to goth to black metal is contained in that release. Fro single artists releases, the August Burns Red Sleddin’ Hill is another that is really well done. As you might imagine, since it is taking me so long to actually get to talking about this release, it is not one of my favorites, but in all fairness, I’m not a Bride fan either, so that makes this more of a challenge.

Continue reading »

Oct 072021
 

The band who rocked your world with albums like Live To Die,” “Silence Is Madness,” and “Snakes in the Playground” now brings Yuletide favorites directly to your personal music player with CHRISTMAS! They crank the speakers to 11 (ya’ know they only go to 10!) and make the birth of the baby Jesus that much more special!  Anticipate, celebrate, and drink that (slightly spiked?) egg nog, while jamming to Christmas.  Then you can send cousin Eddie (and his rubber sheets) back to the road in his fancy RV,  One word:  Must-have! 🙂 

Continue reading »