RECON

Recon-Behind Enemy Lines (Intense) 1990

1. "In the Beginning" (1:33)
2. "Lost Soldier" (4:53)
3. "Ancient of Days" (5:36)
4. "Choose this Day" (5:42)
5. "Dreams" (5:12)
6. "Take Us Away" (3:44)
7. "Holy is the Lord" (6:03)
8. "Alive!" (4:09)
9. "Eternal Destiny" (5:43)
10."Behind Enemy Lines" (4:17)

I bought this as a new release. I had waited a long time for a full length disc from this band after being blown away by their two tunes on California Metal II. "Behind Enemy Lines" did not disappoint. Recon play a brand of heavy metal that is very melodic yet retains it's heavy feel. Lots of galloping, tons of crunch, and a hook in every song. Vocalist Vett Roberts seems to have studied at the Geoff Tate/Queensryche school of metal singing. Unfortunately, this would be the only disc by this band as guitarist/founder George Ochoa would leave to join Deliverance. A few years later bassist Mike Grato and drummer John Christianson would also join Deliverance. Actually, Deliverance main man, Jimmy Brown co-wrote the heaviest song on the album, "Behind Enemy Lines," and also sang background vocals as well as played a guitar lead in "Alive." Vengeance Rising growler, Roger Martinez, also makes a guest appearance. Vett Roberts resurfaced many years later and sang as a guest performer on one song off Mortification's "Primitive Rhythm Machine." My disc is autographed by Mike Grato.

This album was re-release in 2001 by M8 Records with several bonus demo tracks and the two tracks from the Cali Metal compilation. The artwork however, is inferior to the original.

Recon-Live at Cornerstone 2001 (M8) 2001

1. "Take Us Away" (3:59)
2. "Eternal Destiny" (4:39)
3. "Choose This Day" (4:30)
4. "Lost Soldier" (4:22)
5. "Preaching" (2:20)
6. "The Chosen Few" (5:31)
7. "Alive" (4:27)
8. "Dreams" (5:23)
BONUS TRACKS
9. "Light the Fire" (3:31)
10. "Dreams" (5:01)
11. "Alive" (4:18)
12. "Eternal Destiny" (5:38)

Hmmm, this cd is for die-hard fans and collector's only. The band's performance is good overall, but Vett's vocals sound very
strained and his voice cracks quite often. It's actually quite disappointing. I'm not sure if Vett is just out of practice or not feeling well, but he almost never hits the high notes and is quite often flat. I guess something could be said of the fact that this disc is recorded live without any overdubs, but sometimes I think I'd rather have the overdubs than hear all the mistakes. Certainly this is one instance where I would have prefered for a band to go in and correct a poor live recording in the studio. As with most M8 releases, the packaging is rather cheap, but at least unlike the Deliverance Cornerstone insert, there are a few black and white live photos from the show. The bonus tracks are from the band's 1989 demo, which are a nice bonus.

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