Before becoming a Christian I listened to Heavy Metal. I grew up on a steady diet of Iron Maiden, Dokken, Slayer, and so on. As a Christian I still listen to Heavy Metal, although the Metal I now listen to has a distinct faith flavor. In short I love my music heavy, and this is one HEAVY CD!

I have been a fan of Mr. Rock since his days with the pro-faith, neo-classical Metal band, Impellitterri. In fact one of my favourite CD’s of all time is the Impellitterri classic, “Eye of the Hurricane,” which saw Rock reaching new heights both with his vocals and lyrics.

Rock is well respected in Hard Rock and Metal circles as he has worked with some of the best, including Axle Rudy Pell, Tony MacAlpine, Rudy Sarzo, Yngwie Malmsteen, and of course Chris Impellitterri. He recorded eight album’s with Impellitterri before going it alone and at first I was unsure if Rock could stand on his own two feet. However, after three great CD’s and now this brilliant slice of 80’s inspired Metal, I would have to say he made the right choice; he’s standing tall amidst the Metal giants!

Rock’s previous solo entries Rage of Creation, Eyes of Eterntity, and Holy Hell, were brilliant, but Garden of Chaos is buy far his best work to date. Every track hits the mark and any guitar loving Metal-head would do well to check this CD out; to coin a phrase, this CD is all killer no filler!

Most of the lyrics have a Christian apocalyptic theme and lyrically there’s no doubt where Rock’s faith sensibilities lie; “Life will bring you to your knees, You will search but you won’t see, You’ll never find what you’re looking for, Until you hear the Savior’s Call” Savior’s Call – Garden of Chaos

Standout tracks are Garden of Chaos, Satan’s Playground, Savior’s Call, and Spirit In the Sky, and no, the latter is not another retake of the 60’s hippy classic of the same name. The only track some Christian’s may have trouble with is Metal Breed, a fun metal track with absolutely no faith value whatsoever. But it is one heavy song, and so it gets thumbs up from me.

If you can’t tell, I love this CD. After all the Nu Metal we’ve been seeing released lately, Garden of Chaos is a welcome blast back to 80’s laced Metal.

Christian St John

Images from Amazon.com

Buy Garden of Chaos by Rob Rock

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