Zion "Thunder From the Mountain"

Zion

Thunder From the Mountain

1989 Image Records

Produced By: David Zaffiro

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Track Listings

Who Pulls the Strings (4:29)

Kick in the Gates (3:19)

Is it a Crime (5:31)

Help Me (3:12)

Thrillseeker (3:20)

Sold You a Lie (4:27)

Roll the Rock (3:49)

Less of Me (4:35)

He Loves You (3:54)

Band Members

David Moore: Lead Guitar, Background Vocals

Rex Scott: Lead Vocals, Guitar

Tommy Bozung: Drums

Marlin Saner: Bass, Background Vocals

My earliest memories of this band, or the CD I hold in my hands more specifically is a now defunct retailer. Rad Rockers. Anyone familiar with the Christian music scene in the 80's and 90's is probably very familiar with this retailer. I can't remember if I purchased this album at a local event at Carowind's in my hometown of Charlotte, NC or if it was at one of the many AtlantaFest shows I attended in the early 90's. Doesn't matter as I'm so glad I have this album in my music library.

Perhaps I was drawn to the album because of (what I thought at the time) cool cover art. Or maybe it was because David Zaffiro of Bloodgood fame produced the album. I'm not even sure at the time if I knew that lead singer, Rex Scott, went onto to become the lead singer for X-Sinner.

Zion is one of those 80's metal bands that seems like they weren't ashamed to be labeled a Christian band. The lyrics are very blatantly Christian and tackle a myriad of subjects - from peer pressure to stories of Jesus and his love.

Musically the band has a great sound. It seems as if the glam metal and hair bands were starting to become the norm, but at least for me it seems as is Zion retains that old school metal sound. Rex's vocals are fantastic. At times he sounds a little raw, but he always has the power to effectively deliver a killer vocal. There were times listening to the album where I felt like I was listening to AC/DC. David Moore's guitars sound great throughout the whole album, but especially on Kick in the Gates. While the band did have two previous cassette demos, this would be their only CD release until 2006's Thrillseeker was released by Retroactive Records.

Thunder From the Mountain can be somewhat difficult and expensive to track down on the secondary market these days, but unless you just want the original I'd recommend checking out their Thrillseeker album as it retains more of their raw sound, where this album has a bit more of a polished sound - thanks in particular to David Zaffiro. Great album overall, its a shame they never made it back to the studio for their sophomore effort.