James Guest
Klenzd
Independent

Growing up, I was really into the hard rock and metal, particularly the band Queensryche. On the Christian side I was listening to Petra, Stryper, and Whitecross even before I knew what it meant to be a Christian. So, when I first listened to James Guest’s independent album Klenzd, I was charged up. James’ sound is very reminiscent of Geoff Tate (Queensryche) and James’ lyrics are fashioned in a very similar way to the early hard rock the aforementioned Christian artists. The combination is an exciting ride through time – back to when music was just “good” and not marketable.

Some of my favorite tracks include “Glory” which has a nice little touch of synth on top of solid Christ-centered lyrics. Next, it would have to be “Woman of the World,” mostly because of the earlier mentioned Tate references, and it also has a strikingly familiar female back ground vocal as does Tate’s “Suite Sister Mary.” Finally, there is “Walk In Faith,” the power ballad that makes every rock album complete.

Of course the depth of the CD is not limited to just these three songs. As much as I enjoy the nostalgic sound, it is the truthfulness of the lyrics that I like the most. As I alluded to earlier, Klenzd might not be the most marketable CD in light of today’s standards, but every now and then, if you look beyond the charts and top-ten shows, you might just find something more meaningful. Something like Klenzd.

This was not James’ first album, and according to his web site there is another album coming in 2006. For more information and music samples check out www.jamesguest.org.

- Ken W.