Behind Enemy Lines

In the early-90’s US power and progressive metal were still holding regardless of the Holy Three of the progressive movement (Fates Warning, Crimson Glory, Queeensryche) shifting gears towards more melodic and consequently less exciting territories. At least the revitalized thundersteelers Riot were still around with the excellent “Privilege of Power” which wore the “power” tag proudly on its sleeves. These newcomers Mystic Force and Lethal showed some promise and willingness to persevere through these transformational times, and with the addition of several one-album-wonders from Brothers Grimm (“Helm’s Deep”), Axiom (“Vicious Circle”), and the album reviewed here, things didn’t look so shabby…

Recon belong to the Christian metal movement, and was essentially a side-project for the Deliverance guys among whom was the guitar player George Ochoa, a prominent figure on the Christian metal horizon who also played in Vengeance Rising and Mortification. However, if one was expecting highly-charged speed/thrash along the lines of the early Deliverance recordings, he/she must have been quite surprised to hear this venerable tribute to the good old power metal performed with all the vigour and youthful enthusiasm characteristic of early Queensryche the singer Rey Parra a dead ringer for Jeoff Tate, here hired for this session only as he was already a full-time member of the progressive metal powerhouse Sacred Warrior. The style on display also recalls the latter act although cuts like “Ancient of Days” and “Choose This Day” are vintage semi-galloping delights without any more complicated histrionics excluding the several more quiet passages.

The band mix hardness and melody, but the latter side seems to have been covered more widely with balladic pacifiers like “Dreams” and “Holy is the Lord” occupying the middle. “Alive!” definitely tries to sound more “alive” with more vivid rhythms which get more dynamic and sharper on “Eternal Destiny” that could even impress the Metal Church and Helstar guys. The title-track steals the show in this department being pure unadulterated speed metal threatening to enter the speed/thrashing world of Deliverance. The inertia is nicely preserved for “Light the Fire”, another impetuous speedster, before the aforementioned “Dreams” is given another treatment, equally as “dreamy” and calm.

In the end the band had added a fairly cool entry into the retro power metal cannon obviously having more to say outside the Deliverance more aggressive parametres, and at a time when many of the old school practitioners were meditating over the new groovy/grunge/post-thrash possibilities. In this case the guys had no second thoughts as to the chosen direction although under the Deliverance banner they did taste the new vogues to not very positive results. As Recon they gave themselves another chance at the beginning of the new millennium, but apart from a few live showings nothing else came out of their camp before they split up again. Ochoa is involved with the progressive metal formation Worldview alongside his Recon and Deliverance colleague John Christianson (drums) with one album released (“The Chosen Few”) of decent classic progressive without any more intense power metal pretensions. As it seems it won’t be quiet on the US power/progressive metal front any time soon…