Living Sacrifice - The Hammering Process (2000)
If there are any "rock stars" to be found within the realm of Christian hard music, then these guys would unquestionably be first on the list. No other band is as widely known, respected, liked, or
had more influence on the state of Christian hard music than these boys from the hills of Arkansas. Though it's been nearly four years since the last record, Living Sacrifice has certainly not been on hiatus. In fact, they've
ridden the success of Reborn all this time by continually playing shows and tweaking out their line-up once more. With the departure of the Truby brothers, a new guitarist and bass player have joined their ranks along with an
auxiliary percussionist--interesting to say the least. As we are all well aware, Lance "The Machine" Garvin certainly needs no assistance from anyone in laying down some killer beats, but the added toms and other various
percussion create a unique dimension that adds to the overall heaviness of the record. Additionally, the vocals contain much more variety this time around, though I am yet to be fully convinced that they work on this album. The
familiar screams of Bruce Fitzhugh still dominate, with a few more effects sprinkled here and there, but the duties are spread around a bit with a number of clean vocals that range from the trendy Deftones melodic singing (does
everybody have to sound like them now?!) to somewhere in between that and spoken words. The heavy, but crisp guitar tones are absolutely great, and the addition of Rocky on guitar has provided some killer solos. I especially like
the acoustic guitar work on Burn the End--not really like anything heard on the last three albums but still fitting the context of the song perfectly. Production is flawless, and the closing track, Conditional, is by far my
favorite. My biggest disappointment comes in the lyric department. No, they're not bad by any means, but they're just not Living Sacrifice. Though it's clear from a believer's perspective to understand what's being said, the lyrics
are not nearly as bold or confrontational as on past albums. I especially miss the emphasis on worship that was a staple of previous records. But, they're still good, nonetheless. Overall, I think the best way to describe this era
of Living Sacrifice is experimental. Of course, it's nothing like the transition
between Inhabit and Reborn, but the songwriting retains some massive grooves that are clearly more technical without the need of fast blast-beats.
If you're hoping for some old-school death from way back in the R.E.X. days, then you will need to change your expectations. However, if you liked Reborn, then you will like The Hammering Process. This is still Living Sacrifice,
and this is yet another great album. -- Review by Jason