By opening what purports to be a Christian-rock album with an aural snippet in which Jack Black's character in School of Rock invokes the "god of rock," Liberty N' Justice gives the impression that Christianity is just a gimmick. But then there's Justin Murr – the man behind what essentially is the solo project he calls Liberty N' Justice – speaking at the end of the CD, asking listeners to pray with him and encouraging them to attend church. And in between Jack Black and Jesus Christ, Soundtrack of A Soul gives us Stephen Pearcy, Sebastian Bach and Leif Garrett.
Yes, Soundtrack of A Soul is a guest-laden album, just as its 2004 predecessor, Welcome to the Revolution. Given the plethora of vocalists and their pedigree, it makes sense that this record plays like a commercial radio station from the late 80s or early 90s — big-hair anthems, darker metal with distorted vocals and guitars, and gentle ballads. Favorites will depend on your tastes. But I shout out my strongest "Amens" for musical diversity to Bach's "Another Nail," "State of Grace" with Prophet's Russell Acara, "If The World Could Be Mine" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Joe Cerisan, "Make Believe" by Barren Cross' Mike Lee and "Always Tomorrow" by Danger Danger's Ted Poley. The biggest surprise, though, comes from Garrett, who turns in arguably the album's best performance with "Sight Unseen," a stunning rocker that finds the former teen idol sounding like some dude plucked from today's alt-metal scene. God bless him.
Other tunes by the likes of Jet Circus' EZ Gomer, Guardian's Jamie Rowe, TNT's Tony Harnell and Mark Slaughter are so-so, while the only real duds are "Grenade" featuring members of Bride, Pearcy's "Killer Grin" and a piece called "Surreal," which is nothing more than uncomfortable studio banter between Murr and White Cross' Scott Wenzel. That track is just a mess, even if it was meant to be a joke – as some Internet posters believe. So what we're left with is an intriguing, hodge-podge of a hard-rock album produced Mike Layne, a guy best known for his work with Mudvayne. Murr's ambition is admirable, and his industry connections are impressive. It's just that Soundtrack of A Soul fails to sound like a complete album; instead it sounds like several different projects thrown on a compilation CD. Perhaps that problem would be solved if Murr writes more, or even all, of the material next time. That said, this is better than most "soundtracks" from actual movies.
Track Listing:
1) Intro
2) Kings of Hollywood (EZ Gomer of Jet Circus)
3) Another Nail (Sebastian Bach)
4) State of Grace (Russell Acara of Prophet)
5) Malice in Wonderland (Jamie Rowe of Guardian)
6) Grenade (Dale and Troy Thompson of Bride)
7) Show Me the Way (Oni Logan of Lynch Mob)
8) Sight Unseen (Leif Garrett)
9) Up That Hill (Josh Kramer of Saint)
10) Surreal (Scott Wenzel of White Cross)
11) Flinch (Tony Harnell of TNT)
12) Thy Will Be Done (Mark Slaughter and Trixter's Pete Loran)
13) Killer Grin (Stephen Pearcy of Ratt)
14) If the World Could Be Mine (Joe Cerisano of Trans-Siberian Orchestra)
15) Always Tomorrow (Ted Poley of Danger Danger)
16) Hope & Pray/Ballad of King David (Phil Naro of Talas)
17) Make Believe (Mike Lee of Barren Cross)
18) Outro
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