Three years after the release of their popular 1986 studio album, Time's End, the Christian rock group Saint returned in 1989 with their strongest release to date, called Too Late For Living. Although their hearts were in the right place, Saint became one of several Christian bands of the 1980's that were discriminated for their choice to merge biblical Christian themes with hard rock music. Several Christian parents and churchgoers everywhere would be heard saying, "God has not blessed their music because rock n' roll is the Devil's music!" It wasn't until the successful Christian rock forefathers Stryper came onto the scene with a calling to lead people into a relationship with Jesus Christ that the church became more accepting of this growing genre.
Too Late For Living was Saint's first departure from their traditional songwriting, which was primarily based on prophecies from the book of Revelation, and focused more on living a life for Christ before your time on Earth is over, "How could I've known this would be my last day on Earth, All the things that I've acquired, Now it seems they have no worth, Too late for living, Suddenly my life is gone, I acted like I knew it all, And I wound up in a faster lane heading for my fall, Even though I've seen the Light it's too late for me, I'm gone." Josh Kramer's vocal delivery is very strong and stands out on this release. Richard Lynch and Dee Harrington's guitar work offer a good mix of hard rock similar to the secular rock group Judas Priest, which is what the band was going for anyway.
"Star Pilot," a very fast rock track will get the average Christian rock fan pumped up, is a call to arms for all Christians to rise up against the forces of evil, "Your mission: seek and defend, Send the enemy back to Hell, Don't you stop fighting star pilot, We will have this victory." The album keeps at a steady pace until "The Return," which is more of a fast instrumental speed metal track. Saint ends the album beautifully with the soft radio-friendly rock ballad "The War Is Over." The song celebrates the Lord's victory against the Evil One and can also be interpreted as the end of the war inside the human soul.
Overall, Too Late For Living is a huge leap forward for a band that came from out of nowhere during the 1980's. Saint has come a long way since their low-budget Warriors of The Son EP hit the shelves in 1984. The only complaint is that the album only has nine songs and a running time of less than 33 minutes, which is a bit short for a rock album. Perhaps if Saint had written a tenth song to add to this release, then there would not be anything to complain about. A very good rock album recommended for fans of Stryper, Judas Priest, Petra, and Whitecross.
- Review date: 5/30/09, written by Fred Keel of Jesusfreakhideout.comRecord Label: Pure Metal
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