Band: Saving Grace
Title: Behind Enemy Lines
Label: Harvest Earth Records
Release Date: 4.22.08
Review By: Jeremie

Tracklisting:
01 - Behind Enemy Lines
02 - For So Long
03 - The Most Beautiful Promise
04 - A Poets’s Burial
05 - Just a Second
06 - The Eye Of The Storm
07 - Even As I Bleed
08 - In Your Own Hands
09 - U Becoming You
10 - Last Chance to Dance

Members/Duties:
xNikx (Vocals)
xPigx (Guitar)
George (Bass)
Papa Bear (Drums

Let there be mayhem! And welcome into Saving Grace’s world, packed into a fiery album that may very well breathe some life back into the spirit-filled hardcore genre. For those who thought that the All Blacks were New Zealand’s only smashing force … shut down the TV and put Behind Enemy Lines in the
stereo!

What you’ll get is a 10 tracks album that introduces you softly into what they’re all about: brutal metal riffs and huge breakdowns. But hey, while this sounds like yet another hardcore band that will sink into this over-crowded genre, Saving Grace will surprise you. They are not your typical hardcore band screaming unapologetic (and undistinguishable) rants over dubious riffs. They’re not your typical youngsters jumping on a fashion bandwagon hoping to steal success from the ones who fought for it. Instead, they’re the ones you should pick if you’re looking for blood-sweating and passion-driven traditional hardcore.

So, after welcoming the listener with a growing intro, we’re taken into serious action right off after “For So Long…” starts with a huge series of growls backed by a fury of drums and guitars. The actual singing starts some 35 seconds later, shoving any thoughts that this album wasn’t all about adrenaline. “The Most Beautiful Promise” kicks off where its predecessor left things. But what this 5 minutes track brings is even more passion and countless breakdowns that keeps wandering if we’re still listening to the same track. If originality had a name, it has now found a nickname. “A Poet’s Burial” is a nice one to continue with, and lets you appreciate the rawness of the sound.
All in all the production is outstanding with perfect mixes of all instruments, while the singer’s voice isn’t just a shady presence at the back of the sound. And right after “Just A Second” brought things up to a climax, “The Eye Of The Storm” comes in as a beautiful 3 minutes interlude, letting our heart and ears enjoy this violon-laden anthem that is, after all, as powerful as its peers, but just in a different way. “… Even As I Bleed” follows and adds to the drama with some rifle shots that can be heard in the background … setting the stage for a war song that is one of the most intense of the whole record. The last three tracks are in the same vein, making it very easy to believe Saving Grace’s reputation as the most brutal Christian hardcore act in New Zealand to date.
Christian hardcore you said? Yes, the songs are filled with topics about God, faith, and everything a follower of Christ may go through in life. Let’s call that reality. And it’s refreshing to know that some actually talk about life’s struggles. Honesty someone?

Straying away from the current trend that molds the actual hardcore scene and make it go so mellow it becomes ugly at times, Behind Enemy Lines is a breath of fresh hair that should give every true hardcore fan enough material to headbang non-stop, and keep doing so even when the music stops.

This review was originally posted in French on behalf of beehave.fr.