Crime Scene Earth 2.0
Artist: Saint
Label: Retroactive Records
Time: 10 tracks/41:41 min.

Retroactive Records has taken a recent independent Saint album and given it a major facelift ­ giving it the upgraded title of Crime Scene Earth 2.0 in the process.  I somehow missed the original version of Crime Scene Earth 2.0, so I can not make a comparison between the two. I know that several vocal tracks on v2.0 were re-recorded to give fans the singing style they wanted.  From what I can tell, that was a great move. Like I said, I do not know if that is a big improvement over the first version or not, but it works for me. The vocals here are what any fan of Saint or Judas Priest would love to hear.

Yeah, I know ­ you just can not avoid the Judas Priest comparisons when talking about Saint. If that is a bad thing to you ­ why are you reading a Saint review in the first place? There is even a Judas Priest cover on this album ("Invader"), so it's not like the comparison is going to offend the band.

The production here is just a bit on the rough and thin side, even with the re-mastering job performed. While that might bring the album down for some, the energy and passion makes up for any problems with the sound.

There are also some nice touches here and there and keep this CD from veering into "one song replayed nine times on an album" territory.  Is that a prog-metal influence I hear on "Everlasting God?" Just slightly... but nice.  Maybe a bit of Goth influence on some background vocals (see the beginning of "Lost" for example)? Once again it works.

Speaking of "Lost", I want to re-visit again those that criticize Saint for being Judas Priest clones or outdated rockers. Saint gets the fact that they are not for everyone.  They get that they are not Vampire Weekend. When are the naysayers going to get it?  When a band sings things like "Lost in the 80's / Van Halen Blvd"... I think the real joke is on the people that just do not get it.

Me? I'll be the weird guy in the vehicle next to you banging his head like there is no tomorrow.

By Matt Crosslin (January 22, 2010)

Matt Crosslin - editor of  Down the Line http://www.downthelinezine.com, web designer,  occasional writer
I'm a major music fan with a great wife that cheerfully indulges my taste in "weird" music.  My wife and I love to travel to strange lands, but I can't get her to join me in watching obscure SciFi TV series from start to finish.