'Four Star Revival' hails from Dayton, Ohio with the band playing Hard Rock/Metal lightly seasoned with Thrash Metal influences. It seems like today there are more and more bands incorporating the traditional 80's Thrash Metal riff in their bag of tricks which helps to balance the music out and give more variance to the overall sound. Being a huge Thrash fan, I must admit that this was the element that first captured my attention about the band.
In 2014 Four Star Revival released their full-length debut album titled 'Knights of the Revival'. First off, I would like to give the band props for their album's artwork which really screams Metal. Released on Aztek Records, 'Knights of the Revival' delivers up some bone crushing Hard Rock/Metal that is well produced for a debut release. One element that contributes to this is that all four members are veterans in the music scene having cut their teeth with previous bands. We find that vocalist-Jack Emrick has his roots with the band 'Life After Death'. Then there's the lead guitarist-Benny Bodine who sharpened his axe with the group 'WarMinister'. Bassist-Ed Girard honed his skills with the band 'House of Jason' and drummer-Eddie Ling previously played for 'Time Wasted Sleeping'.
Vocalist-Jack Emrick does a good job behind the mic for the band and I appreciate that his delivery is easy to understand along with the message that he is trying to convey. Listening to this album, I couldn't help but notice his versatility in that he can lay down some gritty vocal lines that work nicely in the Metal and Thrash realm. However, there are moments of cleaner higher pitched power deliveries that make me think that his vocals would work well within the Power Metal genre as well.
Guitarist-Benny Bodine is our six string electric axe bearer who deliveres up a Metal feast on this debut release. Bodine moves from 90's guitar play to Groove-Thrash to full on Thrash riffs and then there's the tune "Broken Man" where Bodine even touches on some lightening fast Speed Metal. We even find Benny laying down some Power Metal riffs within track-8 "Save Me". These variations of guitar play show that our axeman is more than capable of managing the guitar section for the band.
Percussionist-Eddie Ling delivers up a solid performance while keeping time for the group and bassist-Ed Girard does a great job of keeping the bands arrangements heavy with some rumbling bass lines.
Vocalist-Jack Emrick does a good job behind the mic for the band and I appreciate that his delivery is easy to understand along with the message that he is trying to convey. Listening to this album, I couldn't help but notice his versatility in that he can lay down some gritty vocal lines that work nicely in the Metal and Thrash realm. However, there are moments of cleaner higher pitched power deliveries that make me think that his vocals would work well within the Power Metal genre as well.
Guitarist-Benny Bodine is our six string electric axe bearer who deliveres up a Metal feast on this debut release. Bodine moves from 90's guitar play to Groove-Thrash to full on Thrash riffs and then there's the tune "Broken Man" where Bodine even touches on some lightening fast Speed Metal. We even find Benny laying down some Power Metal riffs within track-8 "Save Me". These variations of guitar play show that our axeman is more than capable of managing the guitar section for the band.
Percussionist-Eddie Ling delivers up a solid performance while keeping time for the group and bassist-Ed Girard does a great job of keeping the bands arrangements heavy with some rumbling bass lines.
Lyrics are solid and point us toward our Lord and Savior
as one can see in the following lyric excerpts:
as one can see in the following lyric excerpts:
"Faith"
Now we hold on to faith
And we hold on to love
Yea we hold on to You and Your love
"Save Me"
You are the Light in a dark world
Your what is right in a wrong world
Come on and save me
Lord can You save me?
Oh just save me
Oh can You save me from myself?
"Home"
We fight the fight that never ends
The grace of God
Is what we depend
We fight for good
And what is right
We stand for love
Till the end of time
Now we hold on to faith
And we hold on to love
Yea we hold on to You and Your love
"Save Me"
You are the Light in a dark world
Your what is right in a wrong world
Come on and save me
Lord can You save me?
Oh just save me
Oh can You save me from myself?
"Home"
We fight the fight that never ends
The grace of God
Is what we depend
We fight for good
And what is right
We stand for love
Till the end of time
Four Star Revival has a bright future ahead of them and the only counsel I would give for future releases is to include more hooks in the arrangements that grab the listeners attention so that they keep coming back to listen time after time.
Four Star Revival comes highly recommended for fans of Stricken, Fivestar Prophet, Doubledge, and From This Fire so pick up a copy of 'Knights of the Revival' and let's support christian Metal.
Four Star Revival comes highly recommended for fans of Stricken, Fivestar Prophet, Doubledge, and From This Fire so pick up a copy of 'Knights of the Revival' and let's support christian Metal.
Musicians:
Jack Emrick - Vocals (Life After Death)
Benny Bodine - Guitars (WarMinister)
Ed Girard - Bass (House of Jason)
Eddie Ling - Drums (Time Wasted Sleeping)
Jack Emrick - Vocals (Life After Death)
Benny Bodine - Guitars (WarMinister)
Ed Girard - Bass (House of Jason)
Eddie Ling - Drums (Time Wasted Sleeping)