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New Jersey's Holy Mother first formed in 1993 with former "Jack Starr" vocalist, Mike Tirelli, bassist Randy Coven, and former Dirty Looks/Burning Starr drummer Jim Harris. Holy Mother play straight forward power metal but also released a cd under the name 'N.O.W.' (Not Out World) that is suppose to be industrial metal.

Holy Mother-Toxic Rain (A*B*S) 1998

DISC ONE Toxic Rain
1. "Wars" (3:16)
2. "Electric" (3:14)
3. "Toxic Rain" (3:55)
4. "The Rats Keep Runnin'" (4:00)
5. "My Destination" (3:31)
6. "Live To Die" (3:52)
7. "The River" (4:02)
8. "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" (5:04)
9. "Symptom Of Withdrawal" (3:02)
10. "Melting Pot" (3:27)
11. "Losing My Bet" (3:35)

DISC TWO Best of A*B*S
1. What If Tomorrow Never Comes: Holy Mother
2. Back To Prison: Enola Gay
3. Condemned To Extention: Fierce Conviction
4. One Day: Tales Of Mystery
5. Rippin' It Off: Bullhorn
6. Blaze Of Glory: Titan Force
7. The Ballad Of Tuniviel Fierce Conviction
8. Beautiful Lies And The Ugly Truth: Syris
9. Rage: Holy Mother
10. Power In My Blood: Holy Mother
11. New York Women: Burning Starr
12. Running Out Of Time: Cerebus
13. Face To Face: Titan Force
14. Lord Of The Rings: Timo Tolkki
15. Mary's Boy Child: X-Mas Project
16. Biermacht: Wehrmacht

Well, I had heard of this band, but the only song I had ever heard from them was their contribution to the "Holy Dio" tribute. Holy Mother play straight forward power metal with a big commercial hook, yet they could not even remotley be labeled pop metal. "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" is a Judas Priest cover, a band that obviously had a big impact on this band's sound. "Melting Pot" starts of with a big Iron Maiden feel to it, before kicking into a heavy riff that will have you jumping into spontaneous fits of headbanging. This particular version of 'Toxic Rain' is the reissued version with much improved cover art, a sticker of the cover, and an additional disc titled, "Best Of A*B*S Records". The A*B*S cd includes the song, "Power In My Blood", which was written and recorded during the "Toxic Rain" sessions, but was not included on the album. This bonus cd also includes the song "Rage", which was from the band's debut album and as song titled "What If Tomorrow Never Comes" that showed up on the band's next cd, "Criminal Afterlife".

My World War Holy Mother-My World War (Shark) 2000

1." Livin' On Luck" (3:17)
2. "Freakshow" (3:56)
3. "The Itch" (3:19)
4. "My World War" (4:21)
5. "Where Their Children Play" (5:02)
6. "Yesterday" (3:54)
7. "Rebel Yell" (4:48)
8. "High" (3:34)
9. "Hunting" (2:57)
10. "Save Me" (4:26)
11. "Mr. Right" (3:54)

How did I ever miss these guys? Man, they have to be one of the best pure power metal bands in the U.S. right now. Funny thing is they are even from my home state, where most of my family lives. (New Jersey) I suppose, as with most good American true metal and thrash bands, the problem is lack of label support. Anyhow, this album smokes from beginning to end. Their is some variation in style from song to song , such as 'Livin' on Luck,' which has a classic metal sound or 'My World War' which is probably one of the heaviest songs on the disc with a slow plodding, tribal sound. There is even a Billy Idol cover ("Rebel Yell") Still, there is no doubt about the fact that these guys are on a quest to bring real metal back.

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