Day 488 - Holy Soldier - The Pain Inside of Me

488. Holy Soldier - The Pain Inside of Me
From the album Holy Soldier
(Myrrh, 1990)

"Holy Soldier proceeded to record a five song demo with the goal of obtaining a secular recording contract but ended up signing with Myrrh Records- becoming the first “white metal” band to join the label (and ending Myrrh’s year long search for the right metal band to sign). Originally released in 1990, Holy Soldier’s self-titled debut was re-issued in 2005 by Spaceport Records and again in 2008 by the Brazilian label Silent Music Records (with live versions of Virtue And Vice and When The Reign Comes Down as bonus tracks along with a video of See No Evil).


The best way to describe Holy Soldier would be commercial melodic metal heavily influenced by the eighties. The album stands out with its consistency in that each of its tracks brings the needed inspiration to hold up under repeated play. Things get underway with Stranger and See No Evil, two energetic hard rockers, before the spine tingling ballad The Pain Inside Of Me is obtained.
...
Vocalist Steven Patrick, when at the top of his game, proves one of the better frontmen of his era. Doug Van Pelt had the following to say about Steven in his review of Holy Soldier from Heaven’s Metal 23 (1990): 'Lead vocalist Steven Patrick gives the band the distinction that they need to compete in this market. Try blending Axl Rose, Don Dokken and Joe Elliott together, and you’ll get a good idea of his raspy, yet melodic style'
...
The haunting ballad The Pain Inside Of Me highlights a near perfect mix of rhythm and acoustic guitar and sturdy bass lines. Following an acoustic laced opening, the song edges forward as vocal harmonies back a weighty rhythm guitar. The rhythm guitar moves to the more pronounced place in the mix as a poignant chorus bordering on the mesmerizing is achieved. A broken relationship is the subject matter here:

(Where are you?)
When my tears are falling down
(Where are you?)
You're not around
The days are long
The night's eternity
I think of how it is
And how it used to be
When you were here with me

- in addition to the healing that God can bring:

It's such a great divide
But God can fill the sea

It has always been this reviewer’s opinion that Holy Soldier’s self-titled debut was nothing less than a groundbreaking release for the Christian metal scene. From the songwriting, to the bands performance, to the production and packaging, no detail was overlooked- everything was done to the highest level of professionalism. If you missed the long out of print original Myrrh release then by all means pick up the Silent Music re-issue." (source: AngelicWarlord.com)

Here is the original alum version of the song: