SILOAM – Sweet Destiny [Gold Disc Remastered] (2020) *0dayrox Exclusive*

Retroactive Records has remastered for the first time “Sweet Destiny“, the long out of print album from American / Canadian melodic hard rockers SILOAM, pressed on high quality gold disc and limited to 500 pieces. This is a much sought after little gem from the genre with killer songs driven by melodic guitar riffs, hooks galore, stellar lead vocals and sing-along choruses.
Few bands captured the late Eighties to early Nineties commercial metal / hard rock / AOR sound like multi-national act SILOAM.
Perhaps due to SILOAM coming from the Christian Rock scene “Sweet Destiny” didn’t became more popular at the time, but believe us, it truly deserves to be compared with early SKID ROW, STRYPER, GUARDIAN, HOLY SOLDIER, etc…

A close listen to SILOAM’s 1991 debut ‘Sweet Destiny’ reveal all the era requirements to become huge: the notable melodies to garner MTV and FM radio play, a soaring vocalist capable of a high-end falsetto but also reaching down for some lower register grit, and shredding guitarist with a penchant for blistering leads in addition to the occasional leaning towards the bluesy.
SILOAM fits the bill as well in that the band delivers the needed ingredient in terms of hair, hair and more hair but go beneath the surface and you will find a bit more than meets the eye all the same.

Polished opener “Here I Am Again” is a good indicator of the Siloam sound. In traversing commercial hard rock to AOR territory, it fades in to keyboards and acoustic guitar ahead of slowly building and peaking until rhythm guitar kicks in to back the momentous refrain. Lead guitar and keyboards trade off instrumentally.
“Miss Lizzy” takes the heavier stances with its bluesy hard rock vibe. Guitars play a more consistently forward role, aligning with Hammond B3 to take a rollicking stance reveling in the bustling up-tempo with tight backing vocals and fiery guitar leads to make periodic appearance.

First of two (and quite good) ballads ensues in “Child Of Mine”. Yes, the song features its share of heartfelt acoustic guitar and keyboards (particularly for the first minute and closing seconds) but also ample doses of ardent rhythm guitar in aligning with the impassioned scene. Of note is Guthrie’s first-rate vocal performance, as his delivery ranges from the smoothly even to the focused and searing.
Back to hard rock territory with “Chemical King (Big Fight)”, an amped up and groove driven piece to highlight a pronounced bass line and all the keyed up “Big Fight!” backing vocals you could ask. An anthem-like feel resonates from the agile keyboards. Tim Laroche cuts loose with an awesome display of shredding lead guitar.

The six and a half minute “Eastern Skies” ranks among our choice cuts. First two minutes transition between a ringing telephone with the answering voice and offbeat sound effects. Remaining distance proves metal slugfest, with some of the albums more pronounced guitars and brazen soloing combining for the sublime as impetus peaks for the every bit imposing ‘there’s a battle raging under Eastern skies’ refrain. Catchy, cogent and even a little progressive, “Eastern Skies” serves as a showcase for the Siloam abilities.

“Deceiver” rocks with a classic hard rock vibe. Opening to guitars crashing in and out of the mix, it snarls ahead to technical drum proclivities as spoken word delivery leads the way through the intense verse portions and more of the groups tightly woven harmony vocals for the sweeping refrain. Lead guitar continues in a fiercely played direction. In the end, “Deceiver” proves a three-minute explosion of unremitting energy and emotion.

Ballad number two, “After The Fire”, follows with its warmly tinctured acoustic form. A churning keyboard solo carries the first minute prior to momentum slowly drifting ahead calm and gentle until rhythm guitar with an earthly supplants and aligns with the moving scene. Siloam leaves little doubt as to its ability to compose a top-notch ballad.
“Lethal Lady” is first of three heavier pieces to close Sweet Destiny. What we have is a forward hard rocker echoing of the bluesy, intrinsic to open air guitar and drum solo to start only to move its length to full on upbeat emotion as Hammond B3 cleverly decorates the backdrop.

Albums title track owes more to an AOR-ish to melodic hard rock quality ala Guardian as opposed to Stryper or Skid Row. It works, with a left to right channel keyboard solo to start succeeded by verse sections of a slowly moving, thickly woven form (with guitars setting the bottom heavy tone) and refrain on the lighter, freely flowing side (backed by polished vocal melodies). Nah-nah-nah-nah harmony vocals precede the fusion like instrumental section. A highlight.
“Decent Souls” closes the album to its share of variations. At times, it impresses of a ballad, opening its first minute and a half to acoustic guitar and flowing harmonies; at others, it derives of hard rock, as found in the weighty guitars and muscular low end to carry the remaining distance. Added organ serves to tie everything together.

Similar to many albums of the time, ”Sweet Destiny” went out of print and turned into a hard to find collectors item. Enter Retroactive Records, whom in 2020 remastered (courtesy of Rob Colwell of Bombworks Sound) and re-issued ”Sweet Destiny” on Gold Edition CD limited edition to 500 copies.
The remastering takes things to the next level. Outside of increased volume levels to bring the album up to modern standards, fine details better sound out in the form of a more transparent drum sound, crisper guitars and easier to define bass and keyboards.

If quality melodic hard rock / melodic metal with an AOR touch is your thing, then look no further than Siloam debut ”Sweet Destiny”. The front to back consistency is in place (noting no skip buttons or filler tracks) along with strengths in the areas of musicianship (lead guitar, bass and drums particularly stand out) and varied lead vocals.
Fantastic album / remastered reissue.

Only at 0dayrox

01 – Here I Am Again
02 – Miss Lizzy
03 – Child Of Mine
04 – Chemical King (Big Fight)
05 – Eastern Skies
06 – Deceiver
07 – After The Fire
08 – Lethal Lady
09 – Sweet Destiny
10 – Decent Souls

Lee Guthrie – lead, backing vocals
Tim Laroche – guitars, backing vocals
Chad Everett – bass, backing vocals
Brian Lutes – drums, percussion
Ken Maris – keyboards, backing vocals

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www.amazon.com/Sweet-Destiny-Gold-Disc-Remaster/dp/B082ZSXBR3