Album Review 2006

Soundtrack Of A Soul - Liberty N' Justice

Genre: Christian/Inspirational/Rock

Review By: Tony

Album Specs:

1. Intro                                 8. Sight Unseen                15. Always Tomorrow
2. Kings of Hollywood             9. Up That Hill   16. Hope & Pray / Ballad of King David
3. Another Nail                     10. Surreal                        17. Make Believe
4. State of Grace                  11. Flinch                          18. Outro
5. Malice in Wonderland        12. Thy Will Be Done
6. Grenade                           13. Killer Grin
7. Show Me the Way              14. If The World Could Be Mine

 

 

Liberty N' Justice Guests: Track 2: Ez Gomer Of Jet Circus, Track 3: Sebastian Back Of Sid Row, Track 4: Russell Arcara Of Surgin/Prophet/Arcara, Track 5: Jamie Rowe Of Guardian, Track 6: Dale & Troy Thompson Of Bride, Track 7: Oni Logan Of Lynch Mob, Track 8: Leif Garrett, Track 9: Josh Kramer Of Saint, Track 10: Scott Wenzel Of White Cross, Track 11: Tony Harnell Of TNT/Starbreaker, Track 12: Mark Slaughter & Pete Loran Of Trixter, Track 13: Stephen Pearcy Of Ratt, Track 14: Joe Cerisane Of Silver Condor/Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Track 15: Ted Poley Of Danger Danger, Track 16: Phil Baro Of Talas/Peter Criss Band, Track 17: Mike Lee Of Barren Cross.

Track By Track Breakdown:

2. Kings Of Hollywood - Leading off the latest Liberty n' Justice album, Ez Gomer of Jet Circus. Straight forward rocker, Ez's vocals have that hint of Billy Idol which makes his performance on this track brilliant. The guitars are put together nicely but what really shines here is the drum-line. In your face drums that push the song to the limit for an explosive sound. Drums done by Mikkey Dee of Motorhead.

 

3. Another Nail - Fans of rock will know this singer right off the bat, Sebastian Bach. For those who don't know his style, he's a harder edged then CJ Snare and just as nasty (in a good way) as Ozzy Osborne. There's 2 parts to this song, the hard edge and the soft edge. The hard edge would be the raw feel of the recording, the soft edge is the middle sections that slow down a bit. Definitely a song for all those rockers out there.

 

4. State Of Grace  - Russell Arcara of Surgin/Prophet/Arcara leads the pack on this beauty. What an amazing song! Not having heard Russell before I was shocked at his vocal range, he's just as soothing as Kevin Chalfant. The song just flows beautifully around Russell's vocals not to mention the amazing backing guitar licks on this track. Do not pass this song up, it's simply magical.


5. Malice In Wonderland - Guardian's Jamie Rowe front's this classic ballad, backed by acoustic guitars. Similar in style to the Stripped Metal Mania discs that were released last years this track just draws you in by just showcasing the vocal abilities of the lead singer. No fancy guitar riffs or overpowering drums, this one is for all those who just want to sit back and enjoy beautiful music with a deep meaning.

 

6. Grenade - Dale & Troy Thompson of Bride blow down the walls with "Grenade", a hard rocker. The vocals aren't singing simply put they are telling a story. This is definitely for fans are extremely hard edged rock. The guitar solo effects were intriguing and unexpected.

 

7. Show Me The Way - Oni Logan of Lynch Mob, if there's one track on this album that had that Mr. Big feel this is the one. Oni has his moments as he does sound a bit like Eric Martin/Rick Springfield at times. This track slows down the album nicely as it's not as heavy as the previous track and in my opinion sounds like a great track for TV Promotion for entertainment shows like WWE Raw & TNA.

 

8. Sight Unseen - Leif Garrett still has it, there's no doubt that his vocals are crisp and better then most vocalists out there today. A fun rock track that starts off acoustic and basically ends acoustic, but in the middle there's that classic rock feel. The backing vocal's are amazing and really add to the overall feel.

 

9. Up That Hill - Josh Kramer of Saint on lead vocals here. Not having heard Josh before I didn't know what to expect. He does a nice job of moving the song along but the real treat here is the guitar line. Almost Eddie Van Halen in style, very fun to sit back and listen to a couple times through.

 

10. Surreal - How did Liberty n' Justice score all these big names on this album? The answer lies here, not a music track at all but this is where the fun factor goes way up. Just a great break and shows the fun side of music.

11. Flinch - Unbelievable is the word I'd use to describe this track. Tony Harnell of TNT/Starbreaker takes over vocal duties and doesn't disappoint. A hard edged track but the main hooks are dead on amazing. From the guitar licks to the killer vocal mix this song is not to be missed.

 

12. Thy Will Be Done - Mark Slaughter of Slaughter & Pete Loran of Trixter, who doesn't know these guys. Mark & Pete together wow has 90's rock returned? I'd say so, this track is a dream come true. Putting Mark and Pete together was a great idea and this track shows exactly what happens when 2 powerhouse vocalists get together, Brilliance! I'll be listening track for a long time, I found the overall feel to be that of Hardline. I still can't get over this track even after listening to it 5 times straight. If I had to pick 1 song and say this is what Liberty n' Justice is, then this is the song I'd put out there.

 

13. Killer Grin - Stephen Pearcy of Ratt, another powerhouse vocalist here. As soon as you hear Stephen you'll be taken back to classic Ratt! Extremely catchy, down and dirty rocker that fits hand in hand with Pearcy's vocals. The guitar's have that classic rock feel, the guitar solo is short and sweet but fits nicely.

 

14. If The World Could Be Mine - Joe Cerisano of Silver Condor/Trans-Siberian Orchestra, now I'm familiar with some of Joe's material but I was completely blown away on this track. I always though that Joe's vocals sounded similar to David Coverdale. I couldn't help but think that this song was made for a movie soundtrack, Days Of Thunder came to mind right away. Unbelievable transitions here, from slow to mid-tempo and then basically almost a dead air area where Joe just tells you a story with a great backing vocal mix.

 

15. Always Tomorrow - Ted Poley of Danger Danger, you'll hear a lot from Ted this year as he's got many projects coming. Ted vocals have always been amazing, but wow does he sound insanely brilliant on this track. The soft guitar line with the classic drums makes this a classic rockers dream track in a time where modern rock is all about flashy this and that. This track is simple and that's what makes it so well done, I can't say enough about this track. It's a song that should be on everyone's must listen to list of 2006!

 

16. Hope & Pray - Phil Naro of Talas / Peter Criss Band, there's some great parts to this song. This song has 2 great elements, one being the catchy lyrics, the other being the guitars that are in your face and fit the overall swagger of the track.

 

17. Make Believe - Mike Lee of Barren Cross, not familiar with Mike but again here's another track that had me going wow I need to look into these singers. Mike delivers a memorizing performance, everything fits. The vocals with the backing guitars as well as the effects that come in here and there. A great track to end the album on.

The Rundown:

Liberty n' Justice release Soundtrack Of A Soul, a blend of Faith & Rock. Will fans find it fun to listen to or will it be too preachy?

 

+'s (Positives):

+ Lead Vocalist Heaven: Are you kidding me, check out the names on this disc. It's power packed, major vocalists!

 

+ Lyrics: I found the writing to be amazing, there's great messages in the songs and you aren't overpowered by anything, you take from the songs what you want to take away there's no judgment here.

 

-'s (Negatives):

- None:

Overall:

First of all, Liberty n' Justice is one of the best projects out there today. These guys sit back and not only write some amazing material but get the vocalists to help back it all up. Now we've said this before about Christian/Faith/Inspirational material, it gets a bad wrap from some because they feel someone is preaching to them. Because of that they choose to slander it and choose not to even give it a chance. There's none of that here, what you get are songs written with meanings but you take away what you want to take away, the artists/band aren't judging you. They are simply showing you what a higher power has done for them and what to share their talents and messages with you. If your not into Christian music you'll probably pass on this album even with all the amazing musicians on it. But for those on the bubble, I say snag it! You can't go wrong here, the music is dead on brilliant and leaves you with a "I gotta hear that again" feel. Honestly if you are into Rock music this is a must buy, every track is classic rock / heavy rock in sound and you'll really enjoy how the whole album flows. There's tons of repeater tracks here.

Final Rating For "Liberty n' Justice - Soundtrack Of A Soul":

    1 Point = Transitions / Order
    1 Point
= Fun Factor
    1 Point
= Instruments / Vocal Sound
    1 Point
= Writing / Lyrics
    1 Point
= Overall Design / Feel


    Overall Total: 5/5

  

 

Favorite Songs: Kings Of Hollywood, State Of Grace, Malice In Wonderland, Show Me The Way, Flinch, Thy Will Be Done, Killer Grin, If The World Could Be Mine, Always Tomorrow, Hope & Pray, Make Believe
 

For more on Liberty N' Justice visit the following websites: www.libertynjustice.net - www.myspace.com/libertynjustice2