Bombs over Broadway
Three years ago, the Georgia boys of Squad Five-O were making their Bulletproof Records' debut as a three-piece, ska-punk outfit when they struck a chord with Christian music distributors because of one song-"Our State Flag." Never mind the controversial political statement, Squad Five-O watched its album get pulled from some stores' shelves because of "questionable language." WithBombs Over Broadway,Squad Five-O completes its musical transformation into glam rockers-thanks to producer Duane Baron (Ozzy Osborne, Alice Cooper, Motley Crüe). The group also continues its tradition of lyrical controversy with songs ripe with rebellion and war imagery. No doubt some Christian bookstores (and involved parents) will question straight-up rock anthems like "Rock & Roll Bandit" and "Tramps on the Run." But songs like "Restless Youth" and "They'll Never Take Me Alive" strike closer to the heart of Squad Five-O's passion for radical faith in a dark world. Unfortunately, Squad Five-O spends more time having fun with its new hard rock style and not enough time making fun of the genre and its excesses. The power chords, cowbells and rock 'n' roll rhetoric ultimately drown out whatever positive messages the group might have to offer. It's really a shame, too, because Squad Five-O's nod to '80s heavy metal is a sonic guilty pleasure. --Steve Knight(c) 2000 CCM Communications, Inc. --From CCM Magazine -- Subscribe Now!