Cuttin' Thru' II: The Remix

When Anthem's album was first released by Tunesmith (TS 6011) in 1982, they were known for Christian rock music featuring powerful vocals by Mary Pinkley backed up by bandmates Doug Cordell, Mike Manthei, Gene Grammatico, Freddie Andrade and Kent Vander Weide. Today, they are remembered in a sub-genre of Christian music that includes Rez Band, Stryper and more.
What force draws three forty-something friends back together after a fifteen year absence to work on a musical project nearly twenty years old? Senility? Too much time on our hands? The truth is, it's the feeling we'd left something undone when our first project was released and we never had the ability to do anything about it. Until 1999.
In 1981 an independent American rock band took their evangelistic classic rock songs into the studio and recorded their debut album. It was a local success but the band always felt they failed to capture the passion and intensity of their live set on vinyl and when the band ran out of steam without ever following it up, the master tapes sat on the shelf alongside the unreleased second album. In 1999 band guitarist Mike Manthei cleaned up the masters and the band got back together for further sessions to capture again the essence of Anthem to remix and re-record and make the fabulous rock album they'd originally conceived. This is brilliant American rock with twin guitars shining, bordering between solid '70s riffs and the emerging flashy '80s sound. On top of the general melodic heaviness, there are the stunning powerful vocals of Mary Pinkley delivering uncompromising lyrics. Check out something like "Doctor" for her versatility. Highlights include the powerful opening instrumental "Spiritual Warfare" and the brilliant "On Your Knees" which immediately follows it. Then there's the upbeat confident riff rock of "Winners" which chugs along on a funky bass line and the brisk "Cheap Thrill". Anthem were never really heard in the UK, I wish I'd discovered them back then because with quality like this, they would have fitted neatly between Petra and Resurrection Band.

Lineup

Mary Pinkly - Vocals
Doug Cordell - Guitars/Background Vocals
Mike Manthei - Guitars
Kent Vander Weide - Bass
Gene Grammatico - Drums/Percussion
Freddie Andrade - Keyboards/Background Vocals