Reviewed by Peter John Willoughby

Five of Arizona's independent, underground Christian record labels joined together to bring us 40 bands on a double CD. The labels are Altared Records (no, it's not a spelling mistake), Caspian Hum, Consuming Fire Records, Soul Flava Music and Worthless Records. As you might expect, they each represent different genres which can make for an uneasy alliance. So we kick off with some rap metal, then indie rock and hip-hop on the first CD. The second CD is mainly mainstream rock and a bit of rap metal. I suspect that most of the bands are on here because they were newly formed and needed the exposure. Some of these bands have since sunk without a trace, deservedly so, as they were mediocre. But if you are a fanatical collector after recordings by Rib, American Made, Innergate, Forehead Flint, Anthem, The Dietrichs, Malarky or the Coalesce Worship Band you might want to investigate this compilation even if many of the acts are clearly copying well known artists (Rage Against The Machine, Led Zeppelin and The Bangles are the most obvious ones). Also some lyrics were truly cringe-worthy. The upside is that there are some jewels to be found alongside the dross.

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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