Christian metal history is being made this weekend. One of the longest-running, still active bands in the Christian metal scene–Bride–is playing their final shows this weekend. Under their current moniker, the band has been making music for four decades. If we include their beginnings as Matrix, we can add a few more years on top of that.
I first got into Bride in the late 80s in their traditional heavy metal era, which includes the band’s first three albums: Show No Mercy (1986), Live to Die (1988, my entry point), and Silence is Madness (1989). While each album progressed their distinctive sound, it began to change more drastically with 1991’s Kinetic Faith which included a grittier sound that was more commercial and had a mild influence from alternative rock.
The band continued to experiment with various takes on heavy metal including grunge, rap-metal, speed metal (not quite thrash but getting close), and other adjacent subgenres. Bride continued to release albums up through last year, releasing an astonishing 30 full-length albums (if we include live albums, but not counting singles or compilations). Additionally, Dale Thompson has released a few solo albums, and has contributed guest vocals or collaborated with other artists in nearly 20 different projects.
Lead vocalist Dale Thompson has been a colorful and entertaining character, and at times has been controversial. His theological views (which we won’t go into here) have landed him in the hot seat at times, as have his online antics and debate tactics. Nonetheless, it must be said, that Bride’s contributions to the Christian metal scene are nearly unmatched. Yes, they dabbled in different styles, but they have always had a unique contribution to the metal community.
While many different eras and albums from the band are noteworthy, I’m always drawn back to the late 80s era. The blend of traditional heavy metal, high-pitched vocals, dark and ominous chord progressions combined with bluesy licks–it always hits in a special way. Our featured song today is “Fool Me Once,” the opening track from their third album, Silence is Madness.
For more information about their final show*, check out the Facebook notice here.
*The concert on Saturday is being billed as their final show. Whether the band members can stay away from writing and recording music remains to be seen.
