Scott Wenzel is known for his work as the lead vocalist for Whitecross who has now produced a staggering 10 full-length studio albums. Whitecross was formed by Scott Wenzel & guitarist-Rex Carroll back in 1985. With Scott's vocal delivery being similar to that of Stephen Pearcy(Ratt), Whitecross quickly garnered the attention of the Christian Metal community. Their high-octane Heavy Metal style with commercial appeal sounded just as good, if not better than, a lot of the secular Metal bands of that day. It's worth noting that Whitecross went on to receive 3 well deserved Dove Awards during the 90's.
While still singing as lead vocalist for Whitecross, Scott Wenzel decided to stretch his wings and stepped out on a limb in order to produce his very own solo project.
While still singing as lead vocalist for Whitecross, Scott Wenzel decided to stretch his wings and stepped out on a limb in order to produce his very own solo project.
1993
In 1993 Scott Wenzel released his debut solo album titled 'Heart Like Thunder' on Word Records. The album was produced by Caesar & was recorded at The Sonic Temple. The recording was then mixed at Catamount Studios by Tom Tatman and mastered at Future Disc by Eddie Schryer. With his solo project, Scott strips away the Heavy Metal musical arrangements of his band Whitecross and replaces them with a hook filled Arena Rock sound similar to that of Def Leppard. Scott Wenzel mixes things up with his vocals singing with both clean and raspy vocal deliveries. What it all boils down to is a merging of Metal vocals together with 80's era Arena Rock style musical arrangements. I have always loved both Metal and Arena Rock and here we get both on what I see as a very successful solo project by Scott Wenzel. On 'Heart Like Thunder', a number of the clean-vocal tracks can be compared to some of the lighter songs from Scott's work with Whitecross like "In His Hands", "In The Kingdom", and "If He Goes Before Me".
Guitarist-Billy Heller(Fighter) is quite proficient behind the six-strings and delivers up plenty of energetic 80's style solos to sink your teeth into.
Lyrics are from the heart and full-on for Christ as one can see in the following excerpts:
"Heart Like Thunder"
So many people live and die everyday
Without hope, in despair
When the answer is close to us all
Will we love them and show we care?
Ya know you need to grow
You say it's under control, but who's got the control?
Ya know that the problem's inside
Will you go with the flow, or master the tide?
Well, I'm feelin' so much stronger and it's starting to grow
I can't wait any longer
I want His love to show
My heart is like thunder
And my tears fall down like rain
"Give Up Your Heart"
If I sat down beside you and showed you my heart
And told you everything I've been through
And if I opened these pages that hide all these scars
Would you see what I wanted you to?
That inside every chapter of this wounded life
Is a truth I can never erase
Can you see there's forgiveness between every line
In this story of mercy and grace
Just give up your heart, and the pain that you hide
Don't stop His love form reaching inside
Leave all the sorrow that tears you apart, take it from me...
just give up your heart.
"Sarah"
Are ya lonely, oh you look so sad,
It makes my heart ache 'cause I understand,
I wanna show you, Sarah, time hides the truth
I will wait 'cause I've chosen to love you...
Sarah, I'll never leave you alone,
You will never face a day on your own
Sarah, I'll never leave you alone,
so open up, open up
your heart to love again
"Are You Faithful"
I've never played the wounded soldier
I've never been the one to cry
But I have never known forgiveness
From the hands of the one who died, one who died!
Are you faithful to every promise you made?
Will you be there to carry me in my pain?
I don't wanna say I don't believe you
I'm afraid to say, that I need you
I don't wanna let ya, don't wanna let ya see me cry...
"One God, One Love"
You gotta love
Gotta love somebody
One God, One Love
You want it all but it's never enough
One God, One Love
It's only real when it comes from above
"His Eyes"
You try to run and hide
cause you don't wanta feel
The guilt you have inside
It's like lookin' through a mirror
A mirror of time
You see honey I was just like you
And I remember then, I still remember when
I believed all the names and the lies
and they haunted me deep inside
So many people live and die everyday
Without hope, in despair
When the answer is close to us all
Will we love them and show we care?
Ya know you need to grow
You say it's under control, but who's got the control?
Ya know that the problem's inside
Will you go with the flow, or master the tide?
Well, I'm feelin' so much stronger and it's starting to grow
I can't wait any longer
I want His love to show
My heart is like thunder
And my tears fall down like rain
"Give Up Your Heart"
If I sat down beside you and showed you my heart
And told you everything I've been through
And if I opened these pages that hide all these scars
Would you see what I wanted you to?
That inside every chapter of this wounded life
Is a truth I can never erase
Can you see there's forgiveness between every line
In this story of mercy and grace
Just give up your heart, and the pain that you hide
Don't stop His love form reaching inside
Leave all the sorrow that tears you apart, take it from me...
just give up your heart.
"Sarah"
Are ya lonely, oh you look so sad,
It makes my heart ache 'cause I understand,
I wanna show you, Sarah, time hides the truth
I will wait 'cause I've chosen to love you...
Sarah, I'll never leave you alone,
You will never face a day on your own
Sarah, I'll never leave you alone,
so open up, open up
your heart to love again
"Are You Faithful"
I've never played the wounded soldier
I've never been the one to cry
But I have never known forgiveness
From the hands of the one who died, one who died!
Are you faithful to every promise you made?
Will you be there to carry me in my pain?
I don't wanna say I don't believe you
I'm afraid to say, that I need you
I don't wanna let ya, don't wanna let ya see me cry...
"One God, One Love"
You gotta love
Gotta love somebody
One God, One Love
You want it all but it's never enough
One God, One Love
It's only real when it comes from above
"His Eyes"
You try to run and hide
cause you don't wanta feel
The guilt you have inside
It's like lookin' through a mirror
A mirror of time
You see honey I was just like you
And I remember then, I still remember when
I believed all the names and the lies
and they haunted me deep inside
(See Site Info for Sword Scale meaning)
In 1995, with the Grunge scene in full-swing, Scott Wenzel followed-up with his sophomore album titled 'Film At Eleven' (not to be confused with The 77's "Film at 11"). With 'Film At Eleven', Scott Wenzel shows a softer vocal side combined with acoustic guitars, Bluesy guitars, and even some Jazz within his arrangements. With his vocal delivery, Scott even takes on a slight alternative delivery on a few different tracks. For this follow-up release, Scott Wenzel brought on a couple of special guests on track-4 "He Is Amazing". This song features world-renowned vocalist-Jamie Rowe(Guardian) and guitarist-Tony Palacios(Guardian). There are some solid tracks on this sophomore offering so don't forget to check out 'Film At Eleven' and give it a spin.
Bye the way, the idiom "Film at 11" originated from television news broadcasting. Traditionally, it follows a promotion aired earlier in the evening for a particular story to be detailed on a later local news broadcast at 11 p.m. Thus, this helps explain more about the short intro on the first track of this album.
Bye the way, the idiom "Film at 11" originated from television news broadcasting. Traditionally, it follows a promotion aired earlier in the evening for a particular story to be detailed on a later local news broadcast at 11 p.m. Thus, this helps explain more about the short intro on the first track of this album.
If you are into bands like Def Leppard, Ratt, Cinderella, and Skid Row then you are going to love what Scott Wenzel has offered up with his 'Heart Like Thunder' release. This album will have 80's Arena Rock fans ready to spin some wheels cruising with the wind in their hair and the volume cranked to max!
Musicians:
Scott Wenzel - Lead Vocals
Billy Heller(Fighter) - Guitars
Mark Robertson - Bass
Mark Pence - Keyboards
Doug Day - Drums
Guest Musicians:
Rey Parra(Sacred Warrior), Keoni, Leia Thomas, Ron Turner - Backing Vocals
Scott Wenzel - Lead Vocals
Billy Heller(Fighter) - Guitars
Mark Robertson - Bass
Mark Pence - Keyboards
Doug Day - Drums
Guest Musicians:
Rey Parra(Sacred Warrior), Keoni, Leia Thomas, Ron Turner - Backing Vocals
