It has been almost three years since the band members of Living Sacrifice broke up to pursue other responsibilities outside of the band. Bruce Fitzhugh went on to be a music producer for the band The Showdown, Lance became the drummer for the Christian hardcore band Soul Embraced, while Rocky Gray became the drummer for the gothic rock band Evanescence and later joined Lance in Soul Embraced. Three years later, the current members briefly reunited to create three brand new songs that would appear on a Living Sacrifice greatest hits album called In Memoriam.

I honestly do not believe it makes a difference if you have all six of their albums, you need to get your hands on a copy of this release if you are a longtime fan of Living Sacrifice. These three new songs make the album a definate must-have for any Christian that loves hardcore metal. The lyrics to "In Christ" are very straight forward, "I live in Christ, The Son of God, I live in Christ, I'll never back down, I live in Christ, Resurrected." While "The Power of God" runs less than three minutes long, it's very intense and Bruce can scream out some of the most amazing lyrics, "The joy of this day, a decision is made, to know and proclaim, the Power of God. The Power of God is alive."

Along with these three new songs, the listener gets to hear two if not three of the best songs from each of the six albums Living Sacrifice recorded from 1991 through 2002. "Symbiotic," "Bloodwork," and "Reject" are hardcore classics. In the CD insert are some amazingly rare black and white promotional photos of the original 1991 lineup, including guitarist Jason Truby and vocalist DJ, as well as some un-used photos from the current lineup featuring Rocky Gray, Athur Green, and Matt Puttman.

Out of all the great music Living Sacrifice has done, I only have two minor complaints about this release. I was never a fan of the songs from the albums Nonexistent or Inhabit and I feel that those songs had no business on this greatest hits release. I know many die-hard fans love both of those albums, but I feel that "Haven of Blasphemy," "Distorted," "In The Shadow," and "Breathing Murder" should have never been considered for this album. Also, the lyrics to the three new songs as well as maybe a brief letter explaining the history of Living Sacrifice should have been included in the CD insert.

Despite a few minor flaws, In Memoriam is a metal masterpiece that will be admired by old fans of Living Sacrifice and hopefully will open the door for new ones.

- Review date: 6/15/08, written by Fred Keel of Jesusfreakhideout.com