Hi Tim! So, here is my story. I was at Immortalfest 2023 and saw Saint for the first time. I had never heard them before. I gotta be honest, I couldn't stand them. They literally had nothing to say, other than the lead singer talking about his hair. For me, it was like Brett Michaels had a collision with Judas Priest and Iron Maiden in a church parking lot. Probably my least favorite performance of the entire weekend. I was puzzled because they seemed to have tons of fans. Anyways, for whatever reason, and against my better judgment, three days ago I decided to give Immortalizer a shot. I was blown away!!! I freaking loved it! The lyrics, the guitars... Everything about it is absolutely top notch!!! It's a fantastic album. Perhaps now that I am acquainted with their music a little more, I would enjoy them live a bit better!!! Lol! Anyways... One of the best Christian metal albums I have ever heard!!!
GREAT story, Mark! Thanks for sharing. I love hearing stories like this. Of course, the reception to hearing any band live can depend upon so many factors, right? The venue, acoustics, the mix off the board, the band's energy level that night, or just how "on" they were in their performance, among so many other things. It's great that you gave them another shot and checked out this album. I loved the band back when I was in high school but they really took off for me when The Calf album came out. Now - with Immortalizer - I agree with you: one of the best Christian metal albums out there! Thanks for commenting and watching!
Great review! I may wait awhile before I order this where I'm wondering if the spelling error was caught by Richard Lynch and if it will be corrected. I rather have the corrected version. You mentioned the album being Hard Rock bordering on Metal. Is this album mellower than their previous albums? I would label Saint as Power Metal. You mentioned this being the 4th album with similar line up. Desperate Night (2012) had Josh doing most of the vocals with new singer Brian Miller singing on a song or 2. Brian did all the vocals on Broad is the Gate (2014). Were you referring to the last 4 albums starting with Broad is the Gate or the last 5 starting with Desperate Night as a string of albums as the same band members except for the singers? I find the Josh Kramer reminds me of Judas Priest. The Dave Nelson on vocals version reminds me of a mix Accept with Mark Tornillo on vocals and Judas Priest, depending on the song.
Make no doubt about it: this album ROCKS! And HARD! So, even though I said "bordering on metal" that's not to say it is mellower at all. It's more a reflection of my recent musical tastes. Lately I've been listening to a lot of even harder edged bands and music so my idea of what defines something as being true "Metal" has changed (slightly). This is still Metal for sure but some just sounds more like heavier Hard Rock to me. Which there's nothing wrong with that. It's just a label to describe the music. However, I think your assessment of it being "Power Metal" is spot on. None of it changes the fact that this is a GREAT album!
Yeah, I said the wrong album title. I was trying to remember (in the moment) the album right before "The Calf". So I was actually referring to the last 4 albums starting with "Broad is the Gate". Which actually I need to give that one a listen again. Been awhile since I've listened to it.
Kramer with Saint definitely gives Judas Priest vibes. That's one of the things I've always loved about his era with the band. But this current band lineup of Saint (like I said, can't call them "new" anymore) IS Saint for me now. No more living in the past for me. And, yes, you could compare them to some other bands a bit in their sound. But they really do have they own unique blend of a sound. Perhaps now more than ever before in their history, Saint just sounds like Saint. Which I love!
To be honest, I wouldn't worry about the spelling error. It's only misspelled on the front cover and the font is pretty small so it's really hard to tell. I'll bet most people haven't even noticed it. Certainly not worth the band spending money to re-print - until a second printing, of course. Besides, you never know...this 'misprinted' version might one day be a "collectible". 😄
Thank you Tim! I'm new here, must say I love what you're doing.
Thank you, Brad! Appreciate that. So glad to have you aboard :). Feel free to comment anytime.
This is a great album Tim!!! I believe Dave Nelson wrote most of the lyrics for the album!!! 👍🏼👍🏼
Excellent! He did a fabulous job. I need to get caught up on ya'll's interview with Saint. Think I'll watch that tonight... :)
Hi Tim!
So, here is my story. I was at Immortalfest 2023 and saw Saint for the first time. I had never heard them before. I gotta be honest, I couldn't stand them. They literally had nothing to say, other than the lead singer talking about his hair. For me, it was like Brett Michaels had a collision with Judas Priest and Iron Maiden in a church parking lot. Probably my least favorite performance of the entire weekend. I was puzzled because they seemed to have tons of fans. Anyways, for whatever reason, and against my better judgment, three days ago I decided to give Immortalizer a shot. I was blown away!!! I freaking loved it! The lyrics, the guitars... Everything about it is absolutely top notch!!! It's a fantastic album. Perhaps now that I am acquainted with their music a little more, I would enjoy them live a bit better!!! Lol! Anyways... One of the best Christian metal albums I have ever heard!!!
GREAT story, Mark! Thanks for sharing. I love hearing stories like this. Of course, the reception to hearing any band live can depend upon so many factors, right? The venue, acoustics, the mix off the board, the band's energy level that night, or just how "on" they were in their performance, among so many other things. It's great that you gave them another shot and checked out this album. I loved the band back when I was in high school but they really took off for me when The Calf album came out. Now - with Immortalizer - I agree with you: one of the best Christian metal albums out there! Thanks for commenting and watching!
Great review! I may wait awhile before I order this where I'm wondering if the spelling error was caught by Richard Lynch and if it will be corrected. I rather have the corrected version. You mentioned the album being Hard Rock bordering on Metal. Is this album mellower than their previous albums? I would label Saint as Power Metal. You mentioned this being the 4th album with similar line up. Desperate Night (2012) had Josh doing most of the vocals with new singer Brian Miller singing on a song or 2. Brian did all the vocals on Broad is the Gate (2014). Were you referring to the last 4 albums starting with Broad is the Gate or the last 5 starting with Desperate Night as a string of albums as the same band members except for the singers? I find the Josh Kramer reminds me of Judas Priest. The Dave Nelson on vocals version reminds me of a mix Accept with Mark Tornillo on vocals and Judas Priest, depending on the song.
Make no doubt about it: this album ROCKS! And HARD! So, even though I said "bordering on metal" that's not to say it is mellower at all. It's more a reflection of my recent musical tastes. Lately I've been listening to a lot of even harder edged bands and music so my idea of what defines something as being true "Metal" has changed (slightly). This is still Metal for sure but some just sounds more like heavier Hard Rock to me. Which there's nothing wrong with that. It's just a label to describe the music. However, I think your assessment of it being "Power Metal" is spot on. None of it changes the fact that this is a GREAT album!
Yeah, I said the wrong album title. I was trying to remember (in the moment) the album right before "The Calf". So I was actually referring to the last 4 albums starting with "Broad is the Gate". Which actually I need to give that one a listen again. Been awhile since I've listened to it.
Kramer with Saint definitely gives Judas Priest vibes. That's one of the things I've always loved about his era with the band. But this current band lineup of Saint (like I said, can't call them "new" anymore) IS Saint for me now. No more living in the past for me. And, yes, you could compare them to some other bands a bit in their sound. But they really do have they own unique blend of a sound. Perhaps now more than ever before in their history, Saint just sounds like Saint. Which I love!
To be honest, I wouldn't worry about the spelling error. It's only misspelled on the front cover and the font is pretty small so it's really hard to tell. I'll bet most people haven't even noticed it. Certainly not worth the band spending money to re-print - until a second printing, of course. Besides, you never know...this 'misprinted' version might one day be a "collectible". 😄