Description
Hammer & Nail is the sophomore full-length album by the American metal band Whitecross, released on Pure Metal Records in 1988, a division of Refuge Music Group, distributed by Spectra Distribution. The album was recorded by Doug Oberkircher at Grand Slam Studio in Newark, New Jersey; July-September 1988; with additional recording at Opus Recording Studio in Gurnee, Illinois. Produced by band member Rex Carroll and Joey Powers. Whitecross features Scott Wenzel on lead vocals, Rex Carroll on guitars, and a rhythm section consisting of Jon Sproule on bass and Mark Hedl on drums.
‘Hammer and Nail’ is an appropriate title for this sizzling hot album. Anyone who appreciated the Whitecross debut album last year will love this one. The production is huge and Rex Carroll’s guitar licks are more intense and energetic than ever.
Bands like Whitecross are helping the fledgling Christian heavy metal movement come of age. Fans of this genre have been demanding this kind of music for a long time, snatching up every new metal release and often settling for mediocre performances just because it was Christian.
Whitecross wages war against mediocrity with their superb songwriting, brilliant performances and state-of-the-art production. Rex Carroll and company have high standards of quality and it shows.
«Livin’ on the Edge» starts the album off rockin’, showing Carroll’s roots in the blues. It fits right in with the current trend of resurrecting the Led Zeppelin sound with crunchy guitars.
The title track is a neo-classic guitar solo coupled with a subtle keyboard backdrop. It goes right into «Take it to the Limit», a hard-driving rocker with Whitecross at full tilt. It’s got it all: loud shaking drums, a tight bass line, fast and difficult guitar leads filling every available nook and cranny, and vocals that soar with clarity and precision. Wenzel surpasses his secular counterpart (Ratt’s Stephen Pearcy) in this song, showing a maturity and seasoning since last year’s debut album.
«Walk With Me», a gentle ballad with a forgiving message, is the only song here that doesn’t scream for your attention. Wenzel’s voice sounds as though a chorus box multiplied his vocals tenfold. The message is as beautiful as last year’s «You’re Mine», but the sound just doesn’t live up to the Whitecross standard,
«Top of the World» is a good anthem, which starts off with an explosive guitar riff and strides along while Wenzel dances on top of the world with his “tailor-made-for-metal” vocals. It sounds like he really had fun singing it: “Since I’ve found Your love/ I’m on the top of the World.” Once you hear this album, you’ll be up there too… playing air guitar, of course. [Doug Van Pelt, CCM, November 1988]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/hammer-and-nail/724673247)
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “Living On The Edge” – 5:11
A2. “When The Walls Tumble Down” – 3:32
A3. “The Hammer And The Nail” – 1:35
A4. “Take It To The Limit” – 4:09
A5. “Walk With Me” – 4:44
Side Two
B1. “Because Of Jesus” – 3:40
B2. “When The Clock Strikes” – 4:34
B3. “Resist Him” – 4:20
B4. “Living In A Lost World” – 3:51
B5. “Top Of The World” – 3:33
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette, 12-inch vinyl LP, and CD by Pure Metal Records. Re-issued on CD by StarSong Records in 1991.
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