Often said to be one of the best albums from the original lineup, Whitecross delivers with their fourth studio album, entitled In The Kingdom. Whitecross took the Christian rock scene by storm with their 1987 self-titled debut and went on to record two more albums, Hammer And Nail and Triumphant Return. Although there is no way to re-create what was done with the first album, Whitecross has proven they can still put together several great rock anthems.

Some of the main highlights include "No Second Chances," a heavy song about how we are only given a short period of time on Earth to either live our life for the Lord or to reject Him completely and that once we die, there will be no going back to correct the mistakes we made: "Give me one more chance to do things right, just one more chance, I'll follow the Light, But there is no second chances, The Host of Heaven cried, No Second Chances, you listened to lies." I wouldn't say that the next song is about bragging about our faith, but "We Know What's Right" deals with informing the listener that we who are in Christ know that what we believe in is truth and to invite the listener to come see the victory that Jesus Christ won.

The title track, "In The Kingdom," is a ballad about our Christian beliefs of heaven versus what the world believes in, as well as informing the listener of how great Heaven will be: "Heard a newsman just the other day, said a war is comin' down, He said destruction is just a breathe away, One world, one war, one awesome tragedy, Yeah that's what the world believes, I heard a preacher just the other day, He said God's glory is coming down, just as the waters cover all the seas, One King, One Crown, one reign forevermore, Yeah that's what we have and more." Unlike most of Whitecross' ballads, this one fits perfectly on the album and stands out as perhaps one of their best performances yet.

On the other hand, there are other ballads on this release, such as "In His Hands," which feels out of place and should have probably been left out. Other great rock songs include "Love Is Our Weapon," Rex Carroll's incredible guitar solo on "The Eternal Fire," and "Holy War," featuring Alton Hood from the short-lived Christian rap group D.O.C. Despite a couple of poorly written Christian ballads, In The Kingdom is a great album that will not disappoint any diehard fan of Whitecross. This is highly recommended for fans of 1980's Christian metal such as Stryper, Petra, and Bloodgood.

- Review date: 7/2/08, written by Fred Keel of Jesusfreakhideout.com