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No Innocent Victim
To Burn Again
2005, Facedown Records
The legends are back amongst us mere mortals.
With the rise of ‘90s hardcore, NIV were among the originators, putting out two full-lengths on the long-defunct Rescue Records before signing a deal with the scene‘s biggest label, Victory Records, in 1999. That spawned two more albums, ‘99‘s Flesh and Blood and 2001‘s Tipping the Scales, before band pressures, business ventures and family lives ended the band‘s run - or not. A surprise Cornerstone Fest set in 2004 tipped off their comeback, and in November 2005 To Burn Again was unleashed on drummer Jason Dunn‘s own label, Facedown.
It‘s been worth the wait, kids, with fourteen tracks presented here, including several re-worked versions of old chestnuts from 1997‘s No Compromise like ‘Stand‘, ‘Paid In Full‘ and ‘Open‘ (I‘m still waiting for a new, beefed-up rendition of ‘Struggle‘), and from the artwork to the production values, everything is pointing to NIV‘s re-taking of their place in the genre. The liner folds out into a comic-style poster of a shadowy figure striding through a metropolis, spreading flames and passion as he goes, with the songs and a ton of live pictures arranged in old-school fashion on the flipside. Lyricist/vocalist Jason Moody‘s guttural roar is as awesome as ever, spitting no-nonsense righteousness. ‘Cut It Off‘ talks about addiction: "you stumbled and fell the same place last week/can‘t free yourself from this vice that you repeat/cut, go/another direction, leave it behind". Closer ‘Highly Flammable‘ asks God to kick-start our spiritual lives: "Make me ignite/so dark, so empty, desolation/so cold, so stale, isolation". The breakdowns are intense(check the crushing finale to ‘Your Freedom‘), and the sense the listener gets that, "Hey, I could have written these words!" is what always made NIV so accessible. There‘s a new, searing vitality to the guitars, explained by incoming second axeman Dave Quiggle, formerly of xDisciplex A.D. New bassist Neil Hartman is also a refugee from the xDx camp, and with the new personnel, no one else punches out a quick verse before rearing into a breakdown like this.
"Ready to fight at a moment‘s notice - ready to fight against the darkness" is typical Moody; gruff and sick of the compromise that‘s infested the ‘Christian rock‘ arena - that same contagion being the biggest factor in No Innocent Victim‘s decision to return. To Burn Again is a direct challenge to the countless bands plying their music under the banner of Christ, and a welcome return to form.
- Mike Postma
Copyright ©2006