Before I start typing my review, it is only fair for me to issue a word of warning; if you can’t stand or are allergic to Christian religious music with messages that are very much in your face, let this one slip by. Please walk away. This is very much a shrine to their lords by the VAN ZANT brothers. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. So, now only the real lovers of these brothers have stayed on, I can continue. VAN ZANT class themselves as a unique blend of Southern Rock, Country and Gospel that reflects their deep family ties and unwavering faith. And they are right, that is exactly what you will get throughout the full 49:26 minutes that it takes to get through their most current album “Always Look Up”.

The lyrical content of “Always Look Up” makes it very clear about what has happened with the VAN ZANT brothers in their musical as well as family lives. They are all written and sung in plain English, without mincing words or intentions. What it boils down to is that after some 20 years of chasing their dreams they found that it was time to return to the beliefs they had before that time. That just meant to reopen the very tight ties to family as well as faith. And that is what all the songs on “Always Look Up” deal with. Musically they are all alright, but the message is being just a bit too much to my taste, making it nauseating at times.

Look, I like my Christian Metal. I love STRYPER, TROUBLE, BELIEVER and many more, but with those artists the message is always mixed in with the music, instead of being so much in your face that it is devoid of any subtlety. That is what VAN ZANT has done on “Always Look Up”. And that is where I draw the line. I don’t mind undergoing some religious beliefs, but I don’t want my face rubbed in if I have any say on it. The thing is, the musical side of the songs ranges from okay to very good, and if the brothers would have been a little more subtle on the lyrical side of it all, I might have enjoyed “Always Look Up”. Currently it has become an annoyance. Now do you understand why I had to put down my warning at the beginning of my review?