Reviewed by Chris Tozer

Forget the cold shower and the bicarbonate of soda flavoured toothpaste. Here's an album that will really wake you up on a Monday morning and send you jogging to the bus stop with a happy smile. You probably won't find Phil Czinder in the queue as he's likely to be in the cellar of his prairie home cooking up the next album. If you are into heavy metal of the megatonne variety, then mail Phil a bundle of dollar bills, and you will soon be the proud owner of an amazing selection of hard-hitting songs that don't beat about the bush when it comes to communicating the Gospel. He'll encourage you with "I'll Take Up My Cross", and remind you of the Lord's sovereignty in "It Takes A God", before driving the point home with "He Never Left Me". It's hard to believe that he's yet to perform any of these songs in public. He's definitely the finest guitar player to come out of Oklahoma since Phil Keaggy. His voice is less impressive and once or twice a flat note can be heard over all the frantic axe pyrotechnics. But as the man says, "this disc starts ya rockin' and leaves ya rockin' with a ballad in the middle - what more could ya want?"

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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