Worldview was formed by the alliance of vocalist Rey Parra (Sacred Warrior) and guitarist George Ochoa (Deliverance) after the passing of former Sacred Warrior band member Rick Macias in 2009. It took a little while to get going, but they produced a formidable progressive metal release in “The Chosen Few” back in 2015, which was recently cited as one of the top 25 Christian metal albums since 2010 by Heaven’s Metal Magazine. Since their debut, there was a bit of a lull until Human Code, a band with all Worldview instrumentalists and Barren Cross frontman Michael Drive, came onto the scene with their Dino Elefante-produced debut. I initially thought that the musicians changed directions and Worldview was history, but not so. A little over a year later, Worldview came back with their sophomore record with a new member in vocalist/keyboardist Crystal Mancaruso.
I was expecting a little more metallic muscle and something distinct from Human Code. I suspect the change in producer to Dino Elefante have altered their sound to emotion-driven melodic AOR that struggles to keep away from ballads with a few flashes of fight. The commercial sheen to the music is so clean one could eat week-old nachos off of it, but with sterility comes infectious melodies developed for optimal virulence. Although they wandered musically from their debut, they stand strong lyrically presenting positive and empowering messages to be steadfast against the forces of darkness.
The lyrics have clear Christian imagery, but stays away from being preachy. “Invincible” is a great example with its declaration that we are more than conquerors through Christ who strengthens us making us invincible, but also showing that it isn’t always roses in “Hauntingly Beautiful” that speaks to how the sinful past can still allure. It shows honesty. Even the Ronnie James Dio cover “Don’t Talk to Strangers” shows a level of spiritual truth. Besides spiritual anecdotes, relationship woes feature prominently on the slower songs and the closing track is a call to action against the culture of AI.
The musical focus is on the vocalists as they deliver melody by the bucketfuls. I like the theatrical approach to Rey’s vocals where he isn’t just belting out notes, but matching the mood, adding drama to the words. “Mystery Babylon” starts off with a crazed circus caller style which is in contrast to his dead on performance on “Don’t Talk To Strangers” that swings from soft high vocals to aggressive melodic metal. Crystal holds her own, most notably in “Invincible,” however her voice is mixed in a similar musical space as Rey making it a little harder to differentiate between the two at times. Nonetheless, she is a great addition to the band providing vocal contrast to Rey on ballads.
The instruments are performed well, but the mix has layers of effects that create an almost indistinguishable texture. The most enjoyable parts are in the development sections where we get guitar and keyboard solos that land like jazz that noodle out cool tunes showing technical flights. The bass and drums are rock solid backbones to these songs that create the needed kinetic energy to move forward. I particularly liked the pace in “Until We Meet Again” that created a sense of urgency that was present in the lyrics.
The songwriting for me was the disappointment. I was expecting some heavy and hard hitting metal on this album, but I was met with an album with 40% ballads. They aren’t bad and some are good, but I really wanted some drive as it oscillated between slower songs and energetic songs, not really getting moving. I did particularly like the energy of “Beware of Wolves” dovetailing into “Invincible,” and the atmosphere of the spacious “Visions In My Mind” as a poignant musical illustration of grappling with God’s existence. Progressive elements were confined to song’s development section within familiar, if not formulaic, song structures, which lacked adventure that the gladiator in the cover loves.
I feel like this review is all about expectation and realization. I expected progressive metal and that isn’t what came out to play. If I factor out expectation, I land on a slick production that has AOR sentiments, lyrics to speak to the heart and soul from some excellent vocalists with a few cool instrumental breaks throughout. It’s not bad. It’s just not clicking with me. I think that it would have benefited from taking chances musically. That said, if you liked Human Code, this will likely click with you.
Rating: 8.0/10
Written by Sean Bailey
Tracklist
1 – Beware The Wolves
2 – Invincible
3 – Blindsided
4 – Mystery Babylon
5 – Who’s To Say
6 – Don’t Talk To Strangers
7 – Visions In My Mind
8 – Until We Meet Again
9 – Hauntingly Beautiful
10 – A.I. Revolution
Worldview is:
Rey Parra – vocals, guitars
George Rene Ochoa – guitars
Terry “The Animal” Russell – drums
Todd Libby – bass
Crystal Mancaruso – keyboards and backing vocals
Release Date: October 17, 2025
Record Label: Girder Music
Discography:
2015: The Chosen Few [review]
2025: Invincible
Social Media: Website | Facebook | YouTube | Spotify
Video for Invincible
Lyric video for Don’t Talk To Strangers