Holy Soldier
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Holy Soldier

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"The Encyclopedia of CCM Music"

Holy Soldier

Andy Robbins, bass (1985+) Michael Cutting, gtr. (1986-1990, 1993+); Jamie Cramer, gtr. (1985-1992); Steven Patrick, voc (1988-1990, 1991-1992); Terry Russell, drums (1985- 1995); II Scott Soderstrom , gtr. (1991- 1998); Eric Wayne, voc. (1990, 1993- 1998), Jason Martin, drums (1995- 1997).

1990- Holy Soldier (Myrrh/A&M); 1992- Last Train; 1995- Promise Man (ForeFront/EMI); 1997-Encore (Spaceport).
www.holysoldier.com

The hard rock Southern California band Holy Soldier has had two distinct incarnations, as the personnel changes listed above indicate. The most noticeable difference is the change in lead singers. The difference between the sound of the group with Steven Patrick and the sound with Eric Wayne is comparable to the difference between the Doobie Brothers with Tom Johnston versus Michael McDonald. Holy Soldier formed as a Stryper-like glam metal band in 1985 in the Los Angeles area and was part of The Hiding Place church headed by Henry Cutrona. They established a strong following in the general market, playing the prestigious Gazzari’s club where they held an attendance record second only to Van Halen.

The band was signed to Myrrh Records as that label’s first heavy metal act, and David Zaffiro was recruited to produce their albums. He would stick with the band through thick and thin in the years to follow. The self-titled debut includes the song “Stranger” which spent three months as the number one song on Christian music’s rock chart. Michael Cutting’s guitar is even more impressive on the ballad “Eyes of Innocence” and the rocking anthem “We Are Young, We Are Strong”. Last Train features a cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” (cf. Ashley Cleveland) and includes a couple of nonreligious romantic songs (“Crazy,” “Love Is on the Way”) alongside the evangelical title track and “Hallow’s Eve.” The song “Tuesday Mourning” is hauntingly beautiful and deals with sorrow over the death of a loved one. Although both of the Myrrh metal albums (with Patrick on lead vocals) met with significant acclaim, they did not generate the kind of sales that Myrrh was accustomed to receiving with artists like Amy Grant and Russ Taft.

Dropped by the label, the band took a three year recording hiatus and then returned (with a new singer) as a modern rock band with a sound suggestive of the Crash Test Dummies doing Soundgarden songs. The formula clicked and Promise Man broke the group to an entirely new audience, earning tem even more critical acclaim. Promise Man’s best track is an inspired remake of Larry Norman’s “Why Don’t You Look Into Jesus?” a great song that Holy Soldier manages to update musically from it’s original hippie folk setting to a dark grunge ballad. Sonically, the whole record digs into the blues tradition of classic rock acts like the Doors and the Rolling Stones. Zaffiro again at the helm and the songs are polished and melodic. The title track, “Rust,” “My World,” “Break it Down,” and “Cover Me” are all amazing. “Mumbo Jumbo” is a hypnotically infectious song about the sleazy power of TV. “Love Conquers All” is the album’s one true ballad, with overtones of Extreme. CCM called Promise Man “a brilliant record that ranks with the best of the year.” It is easily that. The Christian equivalent of Soundgarden’s Superunknown, it surpasses most of what was produced n the general market in 1995 and remains one of Christian music’s all-time best hard rock projects. Incredibly, Forefront dropped the band all the same and Holy Soldier released a live retrospective/reunion own label headed by Andy Robbins. Steven Patrick returned for this live “greatest hits” package, such that songs from both phases of the group’s career could be included, with Patrick or Wayne singing as appropriate. After holy soldier, Jason martin (a different person than the Starflyer 59 guitarist) would play drums for Redline.
For trivia buffs: Andy Robbins was baptized by Pat Boone in the latter’s swimming pool.

Dove Awards: 1991 Hard Music Album (Holy Soldier); 1991 Hard Music Song (“Stranger”); 1996 Hard Music Album (Promise Man); 1996 Hard Music Song (“Promise Man”).
- Zondervan


"In the beginning, there was Holy Soldier…And it was good"

by Jeff Kitts

New bands often fall into the very sad category of claiming to be a much-needed alternative to a sorry rock world, in reality they're offering nothing more than play-it-safe drivel. Taking risks is not usually part of a young outfit's curriculum when trying to establish a reputable name for themselves, but some bands possess enough confidence so that not meshing with the rest of the rock community doesn't frighten them a bit. Few bands that have presented an image of strong religious devotion have truly succeeded in the mainstream rock/metal kingdom, but Holy Soldier aren't letting this deter them from making their statement.

"The thing with our beliefs is that we do incorporate it into our music, but we all want people to pay attention to the fact that we're all real people," says Andy Robbins, bassist for the west coast outfit. "We're not coming out and saying 'turn or burn' or 'if you don't believe in what we believe you're gonna burn in hell'--we’re not into that at all. We’re not into being overly preachy or what you would call a cliché Christian band. We don't want to wave banners saying 'you have to realize this about us,' etc. We're just saying that we're real people and that we have wants and desires and needs just as much as the next person. We have our problems that we deal with day to day and the only thing that makes us different is the way we go about handling things. Each member of the band has a personal relationship with Jesus, but we don't want to be labeled as a church-band--we're not a church band. We're just a band that all have a common belief."

Holy Soldier (Jamie Carter--guitar/Michael Cutting--guitar/Terry "The Animal" Russell--drums/Steven Patrick--vocals/Andy Robbins--bass) feel that one of the reasons Christian rock hasn't made a more defined impact in the secular owlrd is the element of apprehension the majority has toward the whole idea.

"I think the biggest misconception as far as Christian music goes is that I think a lot of people are afraid to give it a chance because of the way it's being presented," Andy continues. "A lot of people think 'well, I could never be like that--I could never be as perfect as that guy up on the stage.' That's why we are coming out and saying that we are real people--we feel strongly about what we believe, but we hope to be one of those bands that makes it easier to crossover to the mainstream crowd. We want to get in there and meet our audience and other bands and be able to tell them where we're coming from. And it's no different from where they're coming as far as the music goes--the only difference is that none of us have abusive personalities. Our lifestyles are a little bit different. The last thing we want to do is to freak people out because we're a Christian band, and so far we've had no problem with it on a small level." Holy Soldier is bound to face what no band enjoys--constantly being linked to another, more successful act. With their playing Christian rock, presenting a similar message and being managed by DHM, forever being compared to Stryper seems inevitable. But according to Andy, Holy Soldier is ready to defend themselves.

"Since it's Stryper's former management company, that'll make things a lot easier. We're expecting the comparisons. The Stryper guys are good friends of ours--they've always been there for us. But we basically feel that here is a major difference between us and Stryper--especially musically. We don't plan on starting where they started--as far as being in a band playing churches and stuff. Not that we're not into it, it's just that we feel we're not going to be that successful playing churches for the next ten years. The church is great, the people are great, and they've been very supportive, but we feel that it wouldn't serve a purpose for what we're trying to accomplish. Stryper's image is also changing, they're becoming a little more street, and we feel our images are very different. We also feel that we're different because we don’t' have just one or two main writers in the band." Holy Soldier have channeled their ideas and feelings into their self-titled debut album, originally released through Myrrh Records, but now being issued via A&M Records.

"Myrrh signed us to finance the record, and A&M to distribute it. We only signed with A&M about two months ago. When we signed with Myrrh, there was a possibility of also signing with A&M because they have the right to distribute anything on Myrrh, or to pass on it, or sit on it or to really get behind it. So they really loved the record and the overall package of the band, and they decided to give it a try.

"The record's still basically kind of new to us," Andy says. "We wrote it right before we went into the studio. The songs that we had already were really good, but we wanted it to be fresh and exciting with a little more edge. We also wanted to direct it a little more toward radio. We went up to the studio in Fresno and wro - Rip Magazine


"Promise Man Review"

By Bruce A. Brown

Back from semi-obscurity, just minutes ahead of the "Where Are They Now?" editor, Holy Soldier has reappeared with a bone-crushing hard rock disc that thumps you in the skull without apology. After an extended vacation, the band checked in earlier this year with a version of Larry Norman's "Why Don’t You Look Into Jesus?" (heard on the One Way compilation). Its interpretation of the Norman classic was both shocking and revelatory. Graduates of the Los Angeles club scene, few suspected the band could delve that deeply into a bluesy sound while retaining its appeal to a metal-oriented crowd.

But Promise Man is neither a blues album or a heavy metal album (and thank goodness for both of those fact!) No, Holy Soldier and long-time friend and producer David Zaffiro have pulled off a thoroughly modern return. If anything, the album owes more to the think, sludgy sound of Seattle grunge than any other current hard rock form. But the band steers clear of the temptation to cop Soundgarden and Pearl Jam riffs. There's an intensity to its performance and complexity to its song structure that recalls King's X at its best. Eric Wayne has a think, syrupy voice that possesses a degree of soul not usually associated with hard rock musi . When he throws his tremendous lings behind the chorus of "Rust," the hair on your neck will stand up! Band mates Michael Cutting, Andy Robbins and Scott Sodersrom layer acoustic, electric and bass guitars as well as mandolin in a fashion which also displays the band's growth and sets it apart from most rock outfits. Couple that with songwriting which also sidesteps 99 percent of rock lyrical cliches, and you've got a brilliant record which ranks with the best of the year.



- CCM Magazine


"ONWARD, HOLY SOLDIERS"

By Marykay Selby

Holy Soldier uses the language of modern rock to take its message of hope into a graphic world...


Losing the master tapes of a recording poses a major problem. It doesn't happen too often, as most artists and producers would rather be handcuffed to the masters than lose sight of them. But hey, when it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight, definitely call FedEx.

Such should have been the case not too long ago for Holy Soldier, a Christian band making a comeback of sorts this year. The master tapes for the band's new project, Promise Man , had been sent overnight delivery from producer David Zaffiro in Nashville to the band in Los Angeles--only FedEx wasn't the vehicle of choice for this important bit of transportation. Knowing the value of what was jetting cross country, band members Michael Cutting (guitar), Andy Robbins (bass), Eric Wayne (lead vocals), Scott Soderstorm (guitar) and Jason Martin (drums) waited anxiously. Soon anxiety turned to terror as the guys waited. And waited. And waited.

For 12 days no one knew where the tapes were or if they would be found. Twelve days can be a very long time, especially if you just spent the last three months of your life working on songs that represent the last three years of your lives while on hiatus.

But finally a dozen days later the masters showed up on a train headed for points unknown. Fortunately, the overnight delivery service had only temporarily misplaced the tapes. Promise Man was found and soon it was on its way to a record store near you. And if Holy Soldier's previous sales, top 10 singles and awards for their first two records--1990's Holy Soldier and 1992's Last Train--are any indication of its potential, the new record should be worth the wait and the anxiety for all concerned.

Holy Soldier began in 1985 and played for five years before signing with Myrrh and releasing its self-titled debut. The release of that first record happened to coincide with the gap left by Christian heavy metal's favorite sons, Stryper. Myrrh signed Holy Soldier as its first heavy metal band. While the band members never felt that they were trying to be something they were not, musically there was pressure to live up to a head-banging image. Robbins, a founding member of Holy Soldier, explains, "Myrrh had us marketed as a metal band, very strategically. In that era of music that's the way things were done. The nice thing was we got a lot of attention and support. We got a lot of marketing, and we got a lot of things that most musicians would be grateful to get."

Promise Man is a departure from the previous albums as band members have taken time to explore their musical tastes and write in a more modern guitar-based rock vein. "The past few years for us have been a refining period," says Robbins. "It was just a natural progression for us. We weren't in the public eye, we weren't releasing records, but we were always writing."

Cutting agrees with the progression. "There is no way that Promise Man could have sounded like the first record, or even Last Train , without working really hard to make it sound that way. Promise Man wasn't a conscious decision of 'Oh, we've got to sound more this way because this is the way music is going.' We just wanted to write good music that we enjoyed."

"We try not to forget where we were at and how we felt. That's how we write. People like that can relate to it. We live in a very troubled and disturbed time. We'd be lying to say everyday is just a walk through the park."
--Michael Cutting of Holy Soldier

Having refined their sound musically, the next step was to find a record label that shared the vision of what Holy Soldier had become. After the 1992 release of Last Train , Holy Soldier and Myrrh parted ways due to restructuring within the company. While the group's past success meant that other labels were immediately interested in signing Holy Soldier, the band held back. Robbins explains why. "We weren't just going to dive into the next offer to be out there and have a record out the next year. You cash out real early when that happens. I feel longevity comes from correct decisions and working with people who have the same vision that you have." The band's patience seems to have paid off as the guys signed with ForeFront--home to DC Talk, Audio Adrenaline, and Geoff Moore & The Distance among others--after much deliberation and prayer.

The vision band members have of Holy Soldier's place in the body of Christ is with one foot firmly in both the mainstream and Christian cultures. While they still play Christian concert tours and festivals, about 85 percent of their shows are played in nightclubs which is where the band was birthed back in 1985. "Most of us came out of the California rock scene and were saved," explains Cutting. "We played clubs for years before our first deal, and that's just what we've always done." But, Cutting adds, "First, you have to have the c - CCM Magazine


"Heaven's Metal Exclusive: Holy Soldier"



As you may have seen from the excellent interview by Chris Beck in the new issue of Heaven's Metal Fanzine, the interview with Andy Robbins offered so much great material. Here is the unused/cut material that was too good to throw away or let rot into some un-intelligible digit between zero and one (that's what happens to unused digital information, it turns into fractional digital info). So, here you go...


1. You have a new DVD coming out called Live, Rare, Raw. What can fans expect to see on the DVD and where did you pull all of the old footage from?

I feel that the DVD came our brilliant, produced as a true collectors piece.. Bill Bafford, (Roxx Productions) had produced a project like this with Once Dead upon their reunion a while back. We (H5) had always wanted something to have that would have great out takes of tour footage, interviews, our music videos, and the out takes of us just being geeks whenever a camera was around. I think the viewers will especially like the preproduction footage that was shot in Fresno, CA when we were writing the first album for 6 weeks on Michael Cutting’s family ranch. You can actually see those classic songs take form before your eyes. There is some footage of us with Robbie Brauns, Steven Patrick, Eric Wayne and new footage of us with our new vocalist Don Russell.


2. So what was it like to get all the guys together to play a concert after so many years? Had you played any concerts together since the recording of Encore, which was in 1997?

The reunion show was pretty surreal. We all seemed to of had mixed emotions about it. It was exciting on hand to have the line up the “put us on the map” (debut album line up) together again playing only our classics. I guess I really thought that would not ever have happened so when we performed and I saw the guys around me all playing really and having a good time, I was kind of not sure if it was all a weird dream…


3. Why, after so many years, would you play a concert together? What exactly about the experience made you desire to do it?

Terry, Jamie and Michael are like brothers to me. We have been together since we were teenagers (21 years). We grew mature together attended each others weddings and have seen each others successes and failures. We truly love each other unconditionally. There is a feeling in this core that is indescribable. We read each others minds and follow each others leads, so it is always a great experience when we play together. We all had grown into different lives for the most part. Jamie is married with two kids and has a great career; Terry is married with 3 kids (another on the way!) he really stayed the most musically active in the past years. Michael had been living in Boston for like 5 or 6 years and I never thought he would be able to come out for a ‘one off’ show. I am not sure what Steven had been doing. Myself, I had been on a musical hiatus for about 6 years before we all met back in October 04’ in LA at a surprise birthday for Michael. It did not take long for us to start talking about music and playing before we all agreed to at least get together in a rehearsal situation and blow the dust off our songs.

4. Going all the way back to the days before when your self-titled album was released, Holy Soldier has been in existence for almost 20 years now. Did you think you would be playing Holy Soldier music for that long?

I really felt a strong calling when I was 16 years old about being in this band. Jamie, Robbie Brauns, Larry Farkas and Pete Kearney started the band in January 1985. Robbie basically introduced us all. (Sometimes that is not made clear). E ach guy individually had a strong calling and vision that we would go pretty far. It is hard to say that without coming across as arrogant or egotistical, because I am not saying that. God did not need us. God obviously can use whoever he needs to fulfill His will here on earth. We were just willing. We really asked God to purge us a lot in the beginning. We had little or no experience, little or no gear and NO money. But, that all gave God a chance to be God. By the time the first record came out and we were traveling the world with #1 singles and a best selling album, playing on state of the art gear and staging, we could only give the glory back to Him and say we were happy to be along for the ride. Our longevity was just a continual commitment from each individual. If anyone wanted off, they were let off; if anyone wanted to stay they stayed. When we eventually called it quits, it was because the doors just were not opening like they had been in the previous years.


5. Let’s talk about the band’s past some. Your self-titled album was distributed by A&M Records, you shot a video for the song "See No Evil"–simply put, many people consider this to still be a great album. Looking back, how did you think things would turn out for the band when the album was released?

Thanks for the compliment! We knew we - hm magazine


"Fresh Blood"

FRESH BLOOD

By Robert Silva

When Holy Soldier's debut album recently landed on my desk, I though, Oh no, not a Christian metal band. Let's face the bold facts: There has basically been only one Christian metal band that has proven they have more to offer to music than just inspirational lyrics that being everyone's favorite metal angels Stryper. Needless to say, most ands that have tried to combine religion with music--be it Christian or satanic--never seem to take it to more than cult status. Even though the odds are against Holy Soldier, I was wrong in my premature assumption; and after giving their disc many good loud listens, I cam to this conclusion: Holy Soldier is plainly and simply, a damn good band.

Formed in Los Angeles in 1986 by bassist Andy Robbins and guitarist Jamie Cramer--the other memebers being guitarist Michael Cutting, vocalist Steven Patrick and drummer Terry "The Animal" Russell--Holy Soldier set out to be an alternative to the glam-rock explosion that had taken over the Sunset Strip. Combining strong songs with a powerful stage show it wasn't long before the band attracted the attention of A&M Records. Holy Soldier also boasted some top-notch musicians who knew it was the songs that mattered most , got the amount of hairspray you use . Songs like "See No Evil" and "When the Reign Comes Down" tear at you with an impressive double guitar attack, and the ballad "The Pain Inside of Me" is better than most of the songs currently filling out Billboard's Top Ten list. Holy Soldier also make it perfectly clear that they are not out to be preachy or pretentious.

"All the bandmembers are Christians and that does reflect how we write our lyrics," says bassist Andy Robbins. "But we consider ourselves more of a mainstream band than a Christian band, as far as performance goes. And because we don't believe in things like drug use or violence, why should we write about it? We write or songs like they were stories and they're just about things that people go through every day. We're not out to save the world or preach, 'Repent or die'. All we're doing is offering an alternative type of music to people who may want something different."


- Metal Edge Magazine


"Holy Soldier Merits & Achievements"

Holy Soldier
Merits and Achievements

Debut release: HOLY SOLDIER / 1990
Label: Myrrh/A&M

-Received Dove Award Metal/Hard Rock Album of the Year; Holy Soldier / 1991
?]Received Dove-Award Metal/Hard Rock Recorded Song of the Year; Stranger / 1991
?]Dove-Award nomination for Metal/Hard Rock Recorded Song of the Year; See No Evil / 1991
?]Charted #7 on Billboard Magazine's CCM sales charts
?]The radio single Stranger, charted #1 for 12 consecutive weeks (CCM Update & PRR)
-Released in 1990, Holy Soldier at that time, was the highest selling debut release on Word Records in 7 years.


Release: LAST TRAIN / 1992
Label: Myrrh/Word records

?]Dove-Award nomination for Metal/Hard Rock Recorded Song of the Year; Last Train / 1993
?]Dove-Award nomination for Metal Recorded Song of the Year; Dead End Drive / 1994
?]Charted #10 on Billboard Magazine's CCM sales charts
?]Received Superior Creativity Award from The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) for the song Last Train / 1991
?]The radio single Virtue & Vice, charted #1 on the rock radio charts (CCM Update & PRR)
?]The radio single Last Train, charted #12 on the rock radio charts (CCM Update & PRR)
?]This release took the group on tour in six countries including over 50 dates in the U.S.


Release: PROMISE MAN / 1995
Label: ForeFront/EMI


?]Dove-Awarded Metal/Hard Rock Album of the Year; Promise Man / 1996
?]Dove-Awarded Metal/Hard Rock Recorded Song of the Year; Promise Man / 1996
?]The singles Promise Man, My World and Rust all charted #1 on the rock radio charts
?]My World was featured on the Seltzer release (ForeFront/EMI) / 1996
?]The radio single Why Don?ft You Look Into Jesus? was featured on the "One Way-The Songs of Larry Norman" release (ForeFront/EMI) / 1995

- Spaceport Records


Discography

Holy Soldier (A&M Records / Word Records - 1990)
Last Train (Word Records - 1992)
Promise Man (Forefront / EMI - 1995)
Encore (Spaceport Records - 1997)

Photos

Bio

Holy Soldier is a band that has secured their position as one of the most important and identifiable bands Christian rock & roll history. The group, which formed in Los Angeles in 1985, distilled so much of the music that had come before them and has exerted a decisive influence on so much that has come after. Very few artist and musicians in their genre have achieved that stature, and stand proudly among them. Every album the group released through the early Nineties - from Holy Soldier in 1990 to Promise Man in 1995 -- is essential not only to gain an understanding of the music of that era, but to an understanding of the era itself. Through their intense interest in hard rock, classic rock, and the blues, Holy Soldier connected a young audience to music that was neither anticipated nor acceptable with the narrow-minded - “middle America” -church going families this young audience came from. What is remarkable is that Holy Soldier’s sound has never been classified as overtly Contemporary Christian, but they would still become legendary in that marketplace. Soon, of course, Holy Soldier had become somewhat controversial for their lyrics, their image and even for the secular venues in which they chose to perform, as they became synonymous with scrutiny from certain religious leaders and religious groups of that era.

For this reason, as the eighties drained into the Nineties, Holy Soldier went on a creative run that rivals any in Hard Rock music. Holy Soldier routinely turns up on lists of the greatest Christian Hard and Metal albums of all time, and deservedly so. In support of the release, band launched a tour that reached over 60 cities across the US, Japan and Canada. The album went on to sweep the Hard Rock award categories at the 1991 Dove Awards taking home Hard Rock Album and Hard Rock Recorded Song of the year. Before the band went to work on Last Train, guitarist Michael Cutting departed for a short period and was replaced by Scott Soderstrom- a guitarist, whose melodic flair counterbalanced guitarist Jamie Cramer’s insistent, irreducible rhythmic drive, adding a different element to the band's sound, and opened new musical directions.

In January of 1992, "Last Train" was released. The album immediately went up Billboards CCM sales chart to #10. The title track "Last Train," went up the CCM rock charts to #2 and received an award from the Nashville Songwriters Association International for "Superior Creativity in Words and Music." Once again, Holy Soldier hit the road embarking on a 50 city nationwide tour and tours in Europe, Canada, Central America and Mexico.

By 1993, Holy Soldier was now an indomitable force on the music scene, and they have continued to be to this day. At this period Jamie Cramer departed and guitarist Michael Cutting re-entered, adding another key element to the musical evolution of Holy Soldier.

In 1995, the band's album, Promise Man, had to rise to the challenge of the dominating the alternative scene. The title track Promise Man unveiled energy and attitude the band had defined a decade earlier. Holy Soldier even swung with the sinuous grooves of the delta blues on the track Mumbo Jumbo. The album was also reviewed as one of the best of that decade- proven in the fact that it too swept the Dove Awards in 1996 taking home Hard Rock Album and Hard Rock Recorded Song of the year. More significantly, though, Holy Soldier has set a standard for live performance during their time. That is an achievement completely in accord with the band's history.

Holy Soldier used their release Encore (1997) to celebrate their classic repertoire, by releasing live versions of their greatest hits. As the final album of their career, Encore finds the band at its rawest and most rhythmically charged, a reflection of elements that attracted their audience and their industry in the first place- that being their live show. The flame was lit again with a full reunion nine years later, and it's burning still.

Since 2005, the band has been performing live again to ecstatic response. Vocalist Don Russell, brother to Holy Soldier’s drummer Terry “the Animal” Russell, joined Holy Soldier in August of 2005, replacing Steven Patrick and Holy Soldier turned what could have been a setback in their reunion plans into a rejuvenating rush of new energy. Holy Soldier’s live success during this new period is not a matter world tours and box-office breakthroughs, though the band has enjoyed plenty of both. It's about demonstrating a vital, ongoing commitment to the idea that performing and promoting their spiritual message is what keeps a band truly alive. But, for all that, Holy Soldier is best understood as musicians, and their own acceptance of that fact is what has enabled them to carry on so well for so long. Don Russell’s incredible vocal abilities tied into his enthusiastic performances drive home the band’s lyrics and turn them into messages. Michael Cutting and Jamie Cramer’s guitar