Description

Volym X: En Tribut till Jerusalem is a multi-artist tribute album featuring covers of songs originally written and recorded by the Swedish hard rock band Jerusalem, released on Day-Glo Records in 1997.

Classic Christian power-metal band Jerusalem gets a tribute in this new disc released by Sweden’s Day-Glo Records. 14 other Swedish bands, including recent Tooth and Nail distributees Blindside and Royal, along with Momo and Dr. Lovetree, present generally respectable, if greatly changed, versions of such Jerusalem songs as «Read Between the Lines», «Dancing On the Head of the Serpent», «In His Majesty’s Service», and «Sodom».

While the novelty (for American listeners at least) of hearing Blindside in their native tongue may wear off quickly, the Blindside track, «Blomma», remains one of my favorite cuts on the disc. Maybe I can’t understand it, but it’s still a great song.

Other highlight tracks include the dance vibe on Dr. Lovetree’s «Dancing on the Head of the Serpent», the Dylanesque vocal and performance on Punches of Joy’s «Wake Up», and Momo’s take on «Read Between the Lines», which reminds one strongly of Rebecca St. James or perhaps Chasing Furies.

The bonus is interesting: someone reading quietly, while someone else (Jerusalem’s Ulf Christiansson, perhaps?) shouts the same words: “Come on! Come on! Let’s plunder hell and populate heaven!”

Overall, it’s an interesting and captivating album; different from most’s normal fare, but still worthy of a few spins. [Josh Marihugh, The Phantom Tollbooth, 11/7/99]

As you can guess by the title, this is not your average album. It is the Swedish release of a 13-band Jerusalem tribute album. Right off the bat I am blown away by Momo, a female-fronted band tackling «Read Between The Lines» from the Can’t Stop Us Now album. These modern translations really point out the strong songwriting Jerusalem has exhibited over the years. Even a Celtic-inspired artist in the vein of Rich Mullins (Vite Krist) shows off the sweet melody that Ulf Christiansson and co. created. Even though Jerusalem experimented with cheese metal in the late 80’s, a song like «Dancing on the Head of the Serpent» gets a facelift here that gives these powerful lyrics new life. Since 9 of these 13 tracks are sung in Swedish, it will be hard for the American audiences to fully appreciate this fine release. The crazy Monty Python type humor seems to translate okay in Tekla Knös’ version of «Ger Noa», complete with bleating sheep and rain. The intense Blindside is represented here as well, with the Swedish vocals of «Blomma». It allows an interesting look at the band’s instrumentation and great dirty tones. The song I wanted to hear the most on this record comes from another Swedish import we’re familiar with – Royal. The song is one that I would pick as perhaps the greatest Christian hard rock song ever – «Sodom». The band keeps the trancy keyboard intro before romping in guitar distortion/shoegazer land for a few bars, mixing it up emo style when the verses come. They should play this live! Another highlight I can’t help but mention is the industrial take on «In His Majesty’s Service» by NovCom (The November Commandment). As an extra special treat, highlighting the preaching lyrics of Ulf Christiansson, is a spoken word adaptation of «Plunder Hell & Populate Heaven». As a tribute album, this one ranks very high. [DV, HM Magazine, Issue 78]

CD tracklist:

01. Momo – Read Between The Lines
02. Hjord – Kom Till Mig
03. Dr. Lovetree – Dancing On The Head Of The Serpent
04. Punches Of Joy – Wake Up
05. Erik Johnér – Ständig Förändring
06. Jesus Blues Breakers – Jag Behöver Dig Jesus
07. Congå – Vi Kan Inte Stoppas
08. Vite Krist – Pappa Vem Har Gjort
09. Tekla Knös – Ger Noa – En Radioteater I Två Akter
10. Misprint – Jesus Är Det Underbaraste
11. Blindside – Blomma
12. Royal – Sodom
13. The November Commandment – In His Majesty’s Service
14. David Palm – Plunder Hell & Populate Heaven