Review by JD on December 3, 2008.

'Government by a God'... that is the exactly what this Athens, Georgia band's name literally means. Seems to me like a perfect name for them... This trio of men certainly knows how to go for it all in a very big way, and does not care if some might call it cheesy in any way. It is cheese we all love at some time.

If you take the musical might of progressive bands like Stratovarius and Dragonforce... mix in some 80's hair metal like Europe, then simply speed it all up then write some very blunt Christian styled lyrics which are quite smartly written... then have it produced so well, it seems that it is nearly over-produced in the end. With all of that put together...you end up with the band called Theocracy.

Anthemic and nearly grandiose to a fault, the band explodes out with passion and fire throughout the album. Songs like 'A Tower Of Ashes' and 'Laying The Demon To Rest' are symphonically put together and harkens back to the layered sounds of the late 80's and even very early 90's. They tell stories straight from the bible and history, but never once do they seem as if they are bashing you over the head with the good book. It is religion that can be lived with.

The title track is the most impressive song on the CD, and clocks in at a whopping twenty two minutes and twenty six seconds long while never once seeming boring or even too long for the most of it. It shows that they are all (three piece unit) great musicians and can write well. That, for a band, is the most potent weapon that any band can ever have... and these guys use it so well.

Theocracy... they are the next force in Symphonic styled Progressive-ish metal with God in mind... hopefully people will see that they play very well, and forgive the band's religious overtones on the process.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 9
Originality:7
Overall: 9

Rating: 8.4 out of 10