It has been some years since I've been as excited about a new release as I have about The Showdown's sophmore release "Temptation Come My Way". Stylistically the album is a bit of a turn from their first album, "A Chorus of Obliteration". This album focuses more on the melodic elements that they did so well. A hint of the death-metal influences still remain, but only a sprinkling here and there. This release seems to be an amalgam of the band's favorite styles and although things like this are traditionally risky, it really works here. I've heard the core style called "Southern Metal" and I suppose that's as good a label as any. A mix of modern and contemporary metal, "Temptation Come My Way" is all over the map drawing deserved comparisons with Pantera and Metallica's Black album. In terms of refinement and maturity I'd say it's at least on par with Tourniquet's "Vanishing Lessons" - IMO the best album of its time. And unless I miss my guess I even heard an Oz Fox (Stryper) riff in there. As I listen, I'm constantly reminded of classics from Sacred Warrior to early Guardian while being pounded in the ears with Disciple and As I Lay Dying.
Lyrically they are as practical and in-your-face as ever. I don't think I'd call them a ministry band, but their Christian beliefs, patriotism, and strong sense of family are unabashedly on the front line.
Evidently the first track "Fanatics and Whores" which promises to bring the hypocracy of certain televangelists "down around that self-serving smile", was controversial enough that the record label altruistically decided to omit the track from copies to be sold in certain Christian Book store chains. Under the guise of protecting theological integrity they have commited the sin of greed. The bottom line is that any faith so fragile that it could not stand up to such honest criticism, or hearing the word "Whores" does not deserve preserving and if the music is contrary to solid Christian principle, the label should have declined to publish it altogether. But arbitrarily omitting a song on the basis of the word "Whores" or the subject matter of false prophets, is the worst kind of evil. This isn't about theology, it's about money, and I cannot stress enough how important it is to avoid such hacked-up politically corrected material. Don't buy this from a Christian Book store if the first track is not "Fanatics and Whores". Best Buy sells the whole version and it's a lot cheaper. I encourage you to read the lyrics to the song (you can find them on Google with a minimum of effort). I challenge anyone to tell me how this is less acceptible than the Bible itself in terms of language and message. Plenty of music has addressed the touchy issue of an internal audit of the Church - Steve Taylor for example addressed these matters several times with songs like "Am I in Sync", "I Want To Be a Clone", and "Guilty by Association".
The bottom line is that this is one of the best collections of music I have heard in a long time. "Temptation Come My Way" was two years in the making and has the genius and polish to make it a reference by which all metal to come after it should be measured.
