Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

They love their rock music do the Germans! Festivals packed with one ponderous rock band after another are nothing unusual but it has to be said that over the last two decades the Christmas Rock Night has become one of the most successful festivals of Christian music in Europe. Always a strong bill and plenty of head-shaking opportunities! This compilation gathers together the line up from Christmas 1998 and it’s interesting that already two out of three of the American bands have called it quits. So here’s a chance to enjoy Grammatrain and Guardian as they were in full flight as well as a couple of contributions from Bride. Seven bands are featured with Split Level and The Electrics representing the Brits whilst German rockers Snubnose are joined by are joined by the slightly out of place reggae band Heaven Bound. The Electrics and Split Level tracks give a taster of what can be enjoyed on their live albums, also recorded at this event and recently released. As for this album, there’s a good clear sound and some atmosphere but somehow overall it fails to really impact. Sure, there are moments – you can feel the energy burn from the Split Level tracks – but overall it feels like you had to be there!

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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