Deliver Us from Evil

This has got to be one of the most obscure metal recordings of the 1980’s, the mystique factor being right up there with the Mezmerist’s debut EP or any of the Jack Starr/Joe Hasslevander “phony” band albums. A Christian/Sci-Fi themed, comic book style metal band featuring members of the Misfits and a guy who sang for Yngwie Malmsteen and Journey? You can’t make this stuff up! Even being a psychotic Misfits fan myself and having been aware of of this EP for many years, I only recently tracked down a copy for myself, the temptation to own this strange disc finally becoming too much to bare. Even with all the strange circumstances surrounding the creation of this release, the most surprising thing about it is that it's actually pretty awesome!

How Jerry Only (now going as Mo The Great) and his brother Doyle (still just Doyle) managed to concoct this crazy band concept, or that they managed to recruit veteran vocalist Jeff Scott Soto is indeed perplexing. Strange as their motives may have been, the end result far exceeded my original expectations. The sound is an updated take on the classic NWOBHM formula, surprisingly unpretentious in execution and with a very aggressive edge. It doesn’t quite approach the thrash of its time period nor does it succumb to the bombast of most power metal. What you get is more like traditional metal but played with the attacking playing style these Jersey punk legends were known for.

“Thunder Thruster” gets things off to a nice start with some decent Priest style riffing, before eventually segueing into a Maiden-esque style speed frenzy. Indeed the Maiden/Priest influences run rampant throughout the proceedings, but there is an underlying grit and attitude all its own. “In God We Trust” is my personal favorite, with an epic intro leading into a hardcore chug-fest with soaring vocals. The structure of this song is just fun as hell, every riff is leading you in the right direction towards this monstrous chorus! Good soloing as well, and topped off with some crazy lyrics about Christians being marooned on some deserted planet before they decide to fight back against their imprisoners. “Trial of the Soul” again finds a good balance between pounding metal riffage and the melodic hardcore stamping you'd expect from Jerry and Doyle. This song even features Skid Row’s Dave “the Snake” Sabo on special guest guitar! Big choruses tend to abound throughout the mini-album’s runtime, but what can you expect when you consider the hook-heavy nature of their previous band.

The weirdly titled “March of the Mega-Mites” boasts what is probably the most intricate structure found on the disc, with a dextrous vocal pattern that glues itself to the oddly timed riffing before the song the breaks into more traditional gallop, but the riff changes just keep coming! The opening section of album closer “Spellbound” is probably the closest the band gets to straight thrash, but the rest of the song is reminiscent of the type of metal one might hear in some 80’s horror movie or on one of the Return of the Living Dead soundtracks. On a side this song has the first appearance of the guitar solo which would be slowed down and re-used on the forthcoming Misfits track, “Descending Angel”.

The individual performances are pretty solid all around, but the band seems to gel surprisingly well for such a studio oriented project. There is a tightness and intensity in the playing that usually comes from years of a band rehearsing together. Jerry, excuse me, Mo and Doyle are brothers though, and with drums being handled by local scene veteran The Murp, it’s possible these guys had been at it for some time, especially considering the amount of years between the Earth A.D. sessions and Deliver Us From Evil. The playing of the brotherly fiends is indeed impressive considering the simplicity of their earlier exploits, but their trademark aggression and thickly distorted tones are well intact. The Murp’s drumming is able and sturdy, very suited to the material, but you do wish he would break out of his cage just a little bit more here and there as when he does the effect is tremendous. This release could definitely be seen as a bridge between the Danzig and Graves eras of the Misfits, as the band’s 90’s albums had a certain metallic style more in line with what's going on here, although much simpler. The Fits would even cover Kryst’s unreleased “Dr. Phibes Rises Again” on the Mars Attacks demo before cutting it down, re-titling it, and using it to open up the American Psycho album.

The contributions of session vocalist Jeff Scott Soto cannot be ignored, as he manfully fills the role of the groups titular Kryst character (seriously, you can’t make this stuff up!) with no falsetto necessary. His tone is rich and full while the delivery is powerful but not cheesy, which is probably hard when singing lyrics of biblical/barbarian nature. The vocal patterns are especially noteworthy, being very clever and again seeming like they had been thought out for years. As far fetched as the lyrics get, you can’t help but think they are cool after a while because they are sung with so much conviction, and they do remind of certain themes present on the Jerry-led Fits releases.

Even though several sessions throughout 89’ would yield enough material for a full length, this limited, self released EP, appearing in January of 1990, was all that ever surfaced from Kryst the Conqueror. Soto was uninterested in fronting the band full time and would go on to a myriad of projects, including providing the singing voice for Marky Mark in Rock Star! Jerry and Doyle would eventually resurrect the Misfits and Kryst was swept under the rug. Given the EP’s dated sensibilities and a cover that looks like something from an NES game, Deliver Us From Evil holds up surprisingly well and is also full of nostalgic value. The production is similar to early Metal Blade releases, clear but raw and full of DIY spirit. At a little under 25 minutes it also has a pretty satisfying run time for an extended play release. If you can find one of these for a decent price, it's more than worth it. Even with such a strange name and brief history, Kryst the Conqueror clearly had more to offer than what met the eye.