Published on Jan 3, 2001
I don’t much care for Christian music. I’ve always found it to
be far too “Jesus-Freak” preachy for my tastes, and I don’t like
being hit over the head with such messages constantly while
listening to an album.
That said, I like Atomic Opera… to a point. I like the fact
that they’re not afraid to sing a song that doesn’t mention God
every fifth word or so, and that they’re able to see through the
commercialistic side that some people have put on religion these
days. I especially like the backhand they take at the overpriced
“WWJD” (What Would Jesus Do) hats in the liner notes of their album
Gospel Cola.
That’s the kind of refreshing thinking that happens in the world
of Atomic Opera. Yes, they occasionally lean too much for my tastes
into the religious sphere (“Jesus Junk” – which could also be seen
as a backhand against religious commercialism), and occasionally
their music seems like it needs a little more of a rhythmic spine
(“Maledicition,” “WinterLand”). But for the most part, this is an
album that almost anyone can pick up and find something to like
about it.
Vocalist/guitarist Frank Hart and crew are not truly a metal
band in the purest sense of the word, even though they’re on one of
America’s best-known metal labels and they surely know how to crank
up the distortion from time to time. Instead,
Gospel Cola seems to try to draw in people from all
different musical genres to get their messages across without
sounding as dry as a typical Sunday sermon.
And more often than not, it works. Tracks lie “The Circle Is
Closed,” “Muse,” “Stop My Heart” and “Doxology” all have different
meanings that listeners can take away from them – and I think, in
the end, that was the goal of Atomic Opera. You don’t have to walk
away from these songs with a religious message or a different view
of God… though it’s okay if that happens as well.
The only drawback I saw in
Gospel Cola was that it took me about a third of the way
through the disc to start to get into it. Maybe that was because I
approached it with a bias against Christian rock… or maybe it
took the band that much time to musically build up a head of steam.
Whatever the case, once things got going, Atomic Opera was on a
roll.
Like I said before, I don’t much like Christian rock. Atomic
Opera and
Gospel Cola could well change that for me… and for you as
well.