Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Yep. This is the one. Relentlessly the albums of AA have got better as the years have rolled on and the band now arrive al that enviable position where American industry pundits are already bandying around phrases like "possible another Jesus Freak". "Some Kind Of Zombie1 genuinely is that good, a thrilling roller coaster of pyrotechnic passion. Those long lime A A buffs worried that the departure of talented axe hero Barry Blair has left the band devoid of post-grunge edge will soon be grinning as Tyler Burkum's guitar bites deep, while the eclectic concoction of drum loops and wistful cellos, delicious vocal hooks and growling, roaring, snarling guitars make it a celebratory delight. What is pivotal in any pop rock album, even one as artfully produced as this one. is the quality of the songwriting and here the guys excel themselves. From the impressionistic acoustic-flavoured ballad "Lighthouse" to the lilting melodic "Original Species" (where the Darwinian view of nature is turned on its head and love is pinpointed as nature's most highly evolved entity) there's wit, invention and luminous scriptural integrity. Probably the piece de resistance is the heart slopping title track where memorable lyrics of overcoming temptation ("Oh here they come/But I'm not afraid/There's no temptation I can't evade/Stand up straight/Look through the haze/I begin to walk through the maze/Here they come/They're all up on me/But I'm dead to sin like/Some kind of zombie/1 walked away from the grave/Some kind of zombie/I will never be afraid/Some kind of zombie") is drilled home over a riff which manages once more to tear through like a teacher's chalk on blackboard interspersed with passages of haunting cellos. If that description sounds unimaginable so be it. What I would urge Christian rock buffs to do is check out 'Some Kind Of Zombie".

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