Band: Disciple
Title: Horseshoes & Handgrenades
Label: INO Records
Release Date: September 14, 2010
Review By: Steve
Track Listing:
1. Dear X, You Don’t Own Me
2. Watch It Burn
3. Invisible
4. The Ballad of St. Augustine
5. Shot Hear ‘Round the World
6. Collision
7. Battle Lines
8. Remedy
9. Eternity
10. Revolution: Now
11. Deafening
12. Worth the Pain
It has been a long time since Disciple released their first album What Was I Thinking back in 1995. Many have thought their best days were behind them. Since 1992, they have released eight studio albums and one EP, including their current effort Horseshoes & Handgrenades. Only one original member survives, vocalist Kevin Young.
I am not familiar with Disciple’s early work. I started listening to them in 2006 with Scars Remain and Southern Hospitality in 2008. To me Horseshoes & Handgrenades is by far the best album I have heard from Disciple. Their first single and first track off the album “Dear X, You Don’t Own Me” is one of the best songs of any genre that I have heard in a long time. When I first heard it, I didn’t really pay attention to the lyrics and just enjoyed the music and chorus. After a while, I started paying attention to the lyrics and it was like they were writing about the past two years of my life. With my lay off from work and the lost pregnancy we just suffered as a family, life has definitely been hard, and I have experienced hate, anger, shame and other emotions that this song touches on. The only bad thing about having that type of connection with one song off the album and that song being the first song on the album is that the rest of the album rather paled in comparison. However, the rest of the songs were definitely quality songs. I just didn’t have the same connection with them.
I was glad that Disciple went much heavier on this album than their past two efforts. They didn’t ditch the southern rock thing because there is definitely some southern rock tendencies throughout the whole album. Horseshoes & Handgrenades is full of huge guitars and big drums. Being the metal head that I am, I can definitely appreciate the hard and heavy sound that Disciple sends to your speakers.
My favorite songs off this album were “Dear X, You Don’t Own Me,” “Watch It Burn,” “Shot Heard ‘Round The World,” “Revolution: Now,” and “ Deafening.” Besides my love for “Dear X,” which I mentioned above, the other songs I loved because of the heavy guitar and drum influence in the music. Disciple may have played this heavy in previous albums but my experience with Disciple only goes as far back as 2006.
Overall: This is an excellent album. Just when you thought Disciple was on the decline, they come out and send a “Shot Heard ‘Round The World” (Sorry for that cheesy joke, but it was begging to be used!). Disciple floods the listener with big guitars and heavy drums that fit in nicely with their “arena” rock anthems and power ballads. All Christian hard rock fans should definitely pick this album up.