Promise Man

After heavy touring, the band lost two members; lead vocalist Steven Patrick, and guitarist Michael Cutting.
The band experienced personnel changes when Steven Patrick again departed. The band again replaced Patrick with Seattle, WA vocalist Eric Wayne, who helped move the band into the current grunge sound seen in the marketplace. Wayne's lower vocal register caused Holy Soldier to be compared in the Alternative Hard Rock and Grunge market with the likes of Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Temple of the Dog, and Soundgarden. After Holy Soldier's reinvention and extensive touring, the band was signed to ForeFront Records in 1994. Once again recruiting the production skills of producer David Zaffiro, Holy Soldier released Promise Man in 1995. Promise Man returned the band to critical acclaim within Christian music circuit, again winning the band Dove Awards for in the hard rock song (for title track Promise Man) and album of the year categories. Despite the success of Promise Man, Holy Soldier was unhappy with the lack of support they received from their record label ForeFront Records and the band requested to be let out of their contract with their label.
"During the writing and recording of our third album, we took a turn musically, as well as the addition of vocalist Eric Wayne. Many think that we "went Grunge." I don't see it that way. The record company told us to "make the record that you want to make" We had some creative freedom (to a certain extent) and we used it. Some of the stand out tracks (for me) is title track Promise Man, Rust, Mumbo Jumbo, Sand and WDYLIJ, where I returned to my heavy blues influences as a guitarist and songwriter. Some of the other songs were due to record company pressure and their desire to pander to target markets/demographics. The end result was a mixed bag; some great songs and some, well... record company induced sap... I was able to contribute again as an assistant engineer, which was great to be involved in the technical side of recording process. Overall a very sold album, excellently produced and sonically massive." ~ Michael Cutting

Lineup

Eric Wayne - Lead Vocals
Michael Cutting - Guitars/Vocals
Scott Soderstrom - Guitars
Andy Robbins - Bass/Vocals

Guests

Chris Kent - Bass
Ken Lewis - Drums
Dennis Holt - Drums