BRIDE: Are You Awake

Are You Awake?

Apparently, I am not … but neither am I dead. When I realized this past week that we had not covered the 2023 Bride release I had a moment of panic, but mostly surprise. We are all volunteers here and sometimes just don’t have the time. For me, at least, 2023 has been a blur of a year where I have felt asleep (to the musical goings-on around the world) but very much awake and engaged in everything else – much of it complicated and/or stress-invoking.

Excuses aside, when Are You Awake was released so many months ago now, I had every intention of doing one of those comprehensive reviews, including commentary on all the variant forms of media (silver/gold CDs, blue cassette, black vinyl, trading cards, etc.) released by Retroactive Records of Are You Awake. However, at this point I suspect most of the dedicated Bride fans already know about or already possess most of that sweet media swag.

Consequently, I suppose at this late juncture, I should just spend the words expressing my thoughts about the quality and content of the musical compositions (“They’re just songs, Doc!”) Twelve new ones, they are! Ahh, but just a brief step back in time for context…

Bride reached a high point with 2021’s Here Is Your God, did they not? That collection of songs was a mature – as in later in career/life – collaboration of the brothers Thompson. In some ways, they put all their collective experiences and styles together in one contemporary milieu of well-produced rock. And then there is this – for 20 or more years we have lived with the tired sales pitch of, “this is Bride’s best release since … and maybe their last.” Sigh…

Let Bride Be Bride

The rhetorically titled Are You Awake, to my ears, represents a continuation of the kind of heavy rock and sometimes metal which comprised Here Is Your God. I would say the songs here represent the culmination of the work and familiarity this current line-up of musicians/producer have strived to attain. 2013’s Incorruptible was not my thing, but with Nenel Lucena and Aposan Alexandre on board ever since 2018’s Snake Eyes – one of my favorites in the post 2000 era of Bride – these guys just sound rejuvenated, creatively fresh and energetically hungry.

But with Bride, things never stay the “same” for very long. Welcome Greg Campbell on bass as Nenel Lucena is now taking over all production/recording/mixing. I don’t think since Rik Foley has the band had such a killer, and prominently placed, bass guitar presence in the mix.

Bride Music

First things first. The sound quality on Are You Awake is excellent. Second things second. Troy Thompson writes the best guitar grooves, is constantly expanding his musical expressions (violin, cello, piano) … oh yeah, and his guitar solos are sweet too. Third things third. Dale Thompson – despite all the years – still sounds vital. His side projects aside, I still think he sounds the best when he sings right here at home with his Bride. Fourth things fourth. Alexandre adds the right touch of “metal aggression” and creativity on drums to keep Bride vital in 2023 and beyond. Fifth things fifth. Nenel Lucena makes Bride sound like a band with plenty of gas left in the tank.

“Ain’t No Loser” is, without a doubt, an old-school, throwback Bride rocker. Right from this rippin’ lead-off track you get in-your-face Troy leads, and that bass guitar makes its presence known in glorious groove fashion. The cowbell, piano and “live rock” ending firmly plant this song in the dirt of Bride soil.

Bigger grooves prevail as we travel through Bride time, “Make Me Wanna Live Again” would feel right at home on Snakes or Scarecrow. The tight snare sound comes to the forefront of the mix in Chad Smith/Red Hot Chili Peppers style. As with most of the songs on Are You Awake, Bride color their music with the sounds of the past 3 decades.

The creative lyrical “rap” of Bride expresses itself quite nicely on “We’re All Going to Die.”

“Experience, delirious, mysterious, it’s serious/Talking to the Syrians, Albanians and Lutherans”

Similarly, the grooves and drumming on “Hammer Down” echo similar kinds of simple-life lessons.

“Welcome to my nightmare/I wanted the fame and fortune/Nobody said it came with all of this pain/Hammer Down”

This song features some great tom-work from Alexandre, which flows over nicely into similar pounding in the dynamic “12 O’ Clock Apocalypse.” This is yet another song which echoes back to the glory days of Bride.

Skin for skin, “Under My Skin” is a heavy rocker which features Troy Thompson’s incredibly gifted “string” work on both violin and guitar. Like Charlie Daniels meets Bride!

“On With The Show” is one of the most creative songs musically as it moves from mellow to frenzied through the course of its duration. The ebb and flow of tension creates a nice dynamic – which syncs with the lyrical theme – and the gentle outro echoes back to the intro with acoustic guitar.

The up-beat title track “Are You Awake” asks the proverbial question,

“Are you wide awake/These are the prophetic signs of the times? /Are you wide awake/Demonized, ostracized, penalized, vilified? /Are you wide awake/Judge you with wanton eyes and never realize?”

Troy’s guitar leads shred-up the intro followed by Alexandre’s tom-pounding rhythms, this kind of dynamic on drums omnipresent on Are You Awake. Once again, the bass guitar support bleeds through during Troy’s guitar solo – primo!

“Trippin’” is a trip down memory lane (lyrically) as Bride celebrates some of the heritage they have in their immediate predecessors – guys like Larry Norman, Glen Kaiser, and even a shout-out to contemporaries Stryper. (Note: the lyrics in the booklet don’t exactly match the lyrics as sung by Dale on this song). Again, that bass guitar punch outro reigns.

The ballad track “All I Wanted” bleeds with the emotion of “I Miss the Rain,” Troy’s mandolin singing in harmony with Dale’s emotive vocals. But then cello and even another passionate guitar lilt brings home the bitter-sweet joy of being Bride. I love the humble admission in the lyrics:

“All I wanted was a love to share/All I wanted was for you to care”

One of the deep tracks on Are You Awake, for me, would be “Human State,” which perfectly describes the struggle to stay focused, stay connected, stay faithful. Bride is always about the work of challenging the “worldly wisdom” of the secular existence and the “status quo” in religion, but I love when they encourage those struggling to survive in all this mess of humanity,

“Prayer and faith, when it all seems wasted/Now is the time, moment of grace/The world will try to drag you down/Frighten you with frightening sounds/Never forget you belong to God”

Musically, the song perfectly balances the heaviness with the balladic, but yet this song is incredibly melodic and accessible. The cello outro is the icing on the cake.

The thrash/punk closer “Pull the Trigger” pushes the tempo to the max and the intensity of the challenge to “11.” Bride has never been afraid to pen a lyric to shock the flock.

“Middle finger to religion/Do you think Jesus was a saint? /He’s the Lord of Lords/Mopping the threshing floor/With His blood to save”

Noteworthy, once again, is the killer drum performance on this song by Aposan Alexandre – punishing thrash/punk beats with super-fast drum fills! Such a perfect way to close out the setlist.

The Setlist

1. Ain’t No Loser (3:51)

2. I Want to Live Again (4:26)

3. We’re All Going to Die (4:05)

4. Hammer Down (3:52)

5. 12 O’clock Apocalypse (4:18)

6. Under My Skin (3:56)

7. On with the Show (4:20)

8. Are You Awake (4:07)

9. Trippin’ (4:27)

10. All I Wanted (4:19)

11. Human State (4:02)

12. Pull the Trigger (4:10)

Are You Awake Yet?

While we can all debate the state or our consciousness at this point (in life and in the review!), there is no denying that Bride is (in the immortal words of Mortal) “alive and awake,” firing on all four cylinders at this “40 years or so” point in their career. Their music is still engaging, encouraging and excellently executed. While you won’t hear a “best ever” debate come from my lips, I just appreciate that Dale and Troy Thompson, along with their new friends, continue to share their musical gifts with the world.

“Pull the trigger, plot gets thicker/Renew your mind”

Retroactive Records

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