Band:	Believer
Album:	Gabriel
Style:	Technical thrash metal
Release date:	March 17, 2009
Guest review by:	Dane Train

01. Medwton
02. A Moment In Prime
03. Stoned
04. Redshift
05. History Of Decline
06. The Need For Conflict
07. Focused Lethality
08. Shut Out The Sun
09. The Brave
10. Nonsense Mediated Decay

Holy ticker tape parade, Batman! Look at all these zombie Metal bands!!!

What is going on with all of these older bands making a comeback these days? It seems they came out, recorded some albums, got married, had babies, quit making music to do the family thing and then a decade or more later return? Maybe it is some sort of midlife crisis or they just got bored being over the hill. Nonetheless, Believer is back with a new album 16 years after their rather...um...shall we say "interesting" release, Dimensions.

Hailing from the tiny township of Colebrook, PA in the United States, Believer were a rather innovative Thrash Metal band who used not only many technical elements but symphonic notions in their music. Mixing in some intriguing Progressive musical parts with deep philosophical and spiritual lyrics, Believer were pioneers in their own time. So here we are with a brand new release which holds up well after such a long hiatus.

Gabriel is one of the few albums these days that is very progressive and very raw at the same time; reminiscent of Death in some aspects. The guitars, for the most part, have a "punch you in the face" attitude going for them. Seriously, I felt like an Emo kid in a Slayer pit when listening to this record! The vocals are just as harsh and unpolished without crossing into Death or Black Metal. A stripped down "do more with less" mentality is applied to the drumming here while the bass sounds rather simplistic (or at least what I can hear from the almost inaudible mix). Layered within the prime core of the music are some interesting symphonic elements as well as some surprising guest musicians.

Probably the biggest guest name on here for younger metalheads is Howard Jones of Killswitch Engage fame. The older crowd will be happy to hear that Rocky Gray from Living Sacrifice lends his skill to the album as well. The other guests on this album help to add a little more dimension to the overall sound and feel of Gabriel without distracting listeners form the main band.

Hopefully James Hetfield will hear this album and understand what "going back to your roots" actually means. After a sixteen year break Believer is back and just as strong as they ever were. The air of the old band is still here without recycling the old albums and mixing in just enough modernity to understand that this is a new era for these guys. With overall solid and fascinating playing, challenging lyrics about Christian faith and a handful of cool guests, Gabriel will delight old fans of Believer and optimistically create some new ones as well.

Performance: 9
Songwriting: 8
Originality: 8
Production: 7
Spiritual Relevancy: 6