In the early 1990s,
Faith No More enjoyed a lot of praise for its creative, fresh-sounding use of rap. But
Faith was hardly the only metal/hard rock band that was into hip-hop -- headbangers ranging from
Anthrax to
Living Colour and
24-7 Spyz were also incorporating rap. Another group of headbangers that brought rap to its heavy metal/hard rock foundation was
Atom Seed, whose debut album,
Get in Line, came out in 1990. With influences ranging from
Judas Priest to
Aerosmith, the British band would have been noteworthy even if it didn't incorporate rap. Lead vocalist Paul Cunningham is primarily a singer, but his enthusiastic rapping on "Rebel," "What You Say," and other tracks makes the CD all the more interesting. Although
Atom Seed didn't become well known in the U.S.,
Get in Line is worth hunting for if you like your hard rock and metal with a lot of rapping. ~ Alex Henderson