Holy Soldier and Steven Patrick
Holy Soldier were a great glam metal band who played a style similar to Stryper in a way, but probably a little more gritty and bluesy. They had the hair, the looks and the message! I loved them from day one.
Their self-titled debut would be one of the best debuts ever released by a Christian rock artist. It was heavy and polished. The drum sound was huge, the guitars shredded and the lead singer could wail with the best of them.
Holy Soldier weren't afraid of tough issues, as their power ballad "See No Evil" demonstrated with the lyrics reflecting an unborn babies plea to his mother not to abort him.
The follow up Last Train saw a change in direction, the songs were less heavy and a little more polished. Also included was a pretty good cover of the Rolling Stones song "Gimme Shelter". I also liked this album, but not quite as much as the debut.
Following this release, Steven Patrick left Holy Soldier to pursue a short-lived solo career. He released Red Reign which is one of the hardest records to find for the collector. It is an okay release that progresses the Last Train sound further towards pop.
Meanwhile, Holy Soldier continued and brought in a new lead singer called Eric Wayne. his voice was very different (more gruff and deeper). Subsequently, and moving with the times, Holy Soldier's sound also changed and they had a grungy feel to their next album Promise Man. It sounded like Alice In Chains' Jar of Flies EP, grungy and darker, though the lyrics were as uplifting as ever.
Holy Soldier were a great band. Unfortunately the Christian marketplace wasn't able to support them as they deserved. In the secular world their first album would have been a huge hit, right up there with their contemporaries Poison or Bon Jovi.
Again, all these albums are a long time out of print and fetch ridiculous prices on ebay for used copies. However, let me know if there have been re-releases that support the artists.
Essential Release: Holy Soldier - Holy Soldier (1990)
Please enjoy the sampler below for download (click on link) that has 12 songs from the releases discussed above.
MD5: 6BD37077E11FB1E46863FC74D727BE78
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