Barren Cross - Atomic Arena (1989)
When Christian Metal started off, many bands had to show their worth to the scene of many rebels and talented musicians that took metal to new levels. One of the bands that did show their worth was Barren Cross. Atomic Arena was their 2nd album and showcased some of the best song writing that was produced in the classic heavy metal vein! Listening to this album today still shows it worthiness. This 4 piece band from the Los Angeles area reminisced a lot of bands. Most notably, in the vocals. Mike Lee (vocalist) had much of the same sound as Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden. Although not fully, but most of the time it was almost a spitting image in the voice. The music stood on it's own! Many catchy riffs, solid drums, and thumping bass that not only was tight as a nail in a board, but it had the feelings to make you play this album as loud as your stereo could handle! The songs that really stuck out for me were Imaginary Music, Deadlock, Heaven or Nothing, and Killers of the Unborn. If you are looking for classic heavy metal that had that 80's feel in the sounds of Iron Maiden, Ozzy, and early Queensryche (in the misic).. this is the album for you and is a must have. This still ranks to me as one of the most classic albums ever made in either the Christian and non-Christian Metal scene! -- Review by Shannon