Mass: New Birth - 40th Anniversary Edition | Rising From The Ashes Of The ’80s
(2025 – Retroactive Records)
Time flies, even if we don’t realize it, and so many years have passed since the ’80s that we’re starting to look back on that era with gray hair (if you still have hair on your head) and a certain dose of nostalgia. For those born much later, it’s a decade that’s a bit of a mystery, yet also imbued with the magic that music has managed to convey over the years.
Without a doubt, the ’80s were one of the most substantial eras for Rock and Metal, especially for the latter genre, in which it shone with everything it had to offer. And that’s where Mass comes in, a Christian melodic Hard Rock/Heavy Metal band that emerged almost at the same time as the decade and never achieved greater significance than it did at the time.
Thanks to Retroactive Records, we’re getting a sort of throwback to the good old days, and they couldn’t have come up with a better idea than to reissue this Mass album—perhaps the most significant one for a band that was active throughout the 1980s.
Thus, “New Birth,” released in 1985, gets a new lease on life and is being reissued—as a way to celebrate its 40th anniversary—in a deluxe edition that allows us to immerse ourselves fully in the world of Mass.
At this point, it’s worth noting that “New Birth” is officially Mass’s first album, although in reality, the band had previously released a self-titled EP in 1984 and an album that didn’t see the light of day until as late as 2010 (“Fighter”), so technically, yes, we are talking about Mass’s first full-length album.
Mass’s sound is a sort of cross between traditional Heavy Metal—firmly rooted in the ’80s but interwoven with the early traces of what would become Sunset Strip-style Hard Rock. Think Dokken, W.A.S.P., Scorpions, Stryper, and all the names from that glorious era that come to mind.
“Too Far Gone” is the opening track, featuring a distinct riff and a driving rhythm, with chords and structures rooted in metal but with more melodic choruses. The guitar solos and riffs are one of the best things Mass delivers in this first track, but with “Crying Alone,” things seem to lean more toward the “softer” side, in a more A.O.R. style, without completely losing the precision and intensity that characterizes their foundation.
With “Time,” the vibe shifts toward a more pop-oriented direction—if you will—much in the style of what was customary back then if you wanted a spot in the scene’s spotlight, yet it actually hides one of the album’s best tracks. “Back To Me” continues the hard rock vibe but with much more powerful and rock-driven riffs.
The track chosen to promote this album was “Do You Love Me,” and as expected, a music video for the song was filmed and released, which has a vibe very much in the vein of Whitesnake on Aspen (an FM station that plays 80s greatest hits in Argentina). In other words, the typical 80s “hit.”
“New Birth” is not only the title track of the album, but also where speed and melody, combined with heavy riffs, come together to create a truly powerful and impressive track, while “Left Behind” showcases intricate riffs with truly impeccable guitar solos.
We really liked “Voyager (Look For The Edge),” a melodic Heavy Metal classic where Mass leans much more toward the metal side of things. It’s one of those tracks where raising your fist in the air becomes imperative—even mandatory. It features soaring guitars and solos that truly send shivers down your spine. It’s undoubtedly one of the best tracks on “New Birth.”
Back then, it was practically mandatory to include a melodic ballad on an album, and Mass delivers with “Day Without You,” a catchy, accessible track featuring guitars without too much distortion.
I can only imagine what the “religious folks” of the time must have said to Mass upon hearing “Watch Her Walk,” a catchy, fast-paced hard rock track very much in the style of Mötley Crüe, with lyrics that set them apart from being merely a “Christian” band, yet musically encapsulate Mass’s sound in some way. And since this is a special edition, it comes with a surprise: a bonus track featuring the song “Endless Thoughts,” a track recorded for this album that ultimately didn’t make the original release, now brought to light alongside this new version of this great work.
It’s striking that “New Birth” didn’t garner much attention, at least not in the end. The album itself is solid, by the standards of the time and adhering to the typical aesthetic of those years. Mass went on to release an EP and one more album during that period, but they remained stuck in the ’80s, and it’s only in recent years that the band has risen from the ashes, remaining active and even releasing new material.
In any case, “New Birth” is perhaps their greatest musical and compositional achievement. It’s the classic album every band has, and one of their best assets. The album’s production is impeccable, though it does suffer from sounding perhaps too similar to the pop hits of the era. In other words, there’s nothing different from what you could hear back then. Even so, the combination of traditional heavy metal elements with the Sunset Strip aesthetic sounds interesting.
The new edition of “New Birth” has its pros and cons. On the one hand, it’s great to have an unreleased track like “Endless Thoughts” as a bonus track, but beyond the impressive nature of this reissue, the truth is that we were a bit disappointed with the sound quality. While we commend the work put into remastering the material, we were left with the impression that the source material was clearly a copy of a vinyl record or tape in poor condition, and that works against this edition. They likely didn’t have access to the original master recording or it has been lost, and that must be the explanation.
What is definitely worth it, though, is the artwork. In a 40th-anniversary edition, the visuals had to be top-notch, and that’s where things really take off. Released on both vinyl and CD (the latter being the version we have in hand), and as we’ve come to expect from the folks at Retroactive Records, “New Birth” comes with the now-famous “collector’s card”—a cardboard sleeve containing a classic edition packed with vintage photos, the lyrics, excellent graphic quality, and an introductory text written by Louis St. Augustine himself, the lead singer of Mass.
The “40th Anniversary” edition of Mass’s “New Birth” is good news and another chance to get your hands on a copy of a cult album that isn’t very accessible to the general public and, despite everything, is limited to just 500 copies. In itself, “New Birth” is a testament to what Mass meant back in those days, an album that, heard from a distance, proves to be great material for those of us who still enjoy the melody, the great riffs, and that constant speed that seems to have been lost in time.
Below, we’ve included the band’s social media links (they’re still active, by the way), and to top it all off, the official music video for “Do You Love Me,” which, without a doubt, is the only music video the band has ever released…
https://www.facebook.com/masstheband
https://www.instagram.com/mass_theband
