Project 86

Rival Factions

[3.5/5]

After an unsuccessful stint on the majors, Orange County’s Project 86 returned to Christian-rock citadel Tooth & Nail in 2004 and are back once more with a big, sexy sixth album that sounds a world away from both church and the clubs where they headline post-hardcore shows. With Eighteen Visions out of the picture, the time-tested band are ready to realize the OC’s arena-rock aspirations. When the night falls-and it’s usually dark here-the trio struggle with inner and outer monsters, making more noise than a sampler-packing sextet in the process. In the throbbing “Pull Me Closer, Violent Dancer,” drummer Alex Albert bashes out classic-rock big beats, and the song’s sleazy groove would sound great in a strip club. Randy Torres’ crunchy guitar and space-age keyboard fuse into a wall of sound in fist-pumping sing-alongs like “Slaves To Liberty.” Rival Factions has a cock-rock swagger-even if they’d never actually use the “C” word. (TOOTH & NAIL) D.X. Ferris