Here, in a nutshell, is Christian-music label ForeFront’s apparent marketing strategy: Scan Billboard for top-selling acts, find a group of 20-somethings to mimic them almost exactly, then ram the record down the throats of the youth-group crowd.
Introducing The Benjamin Gate, a group that “borrows” heavily — isn’t stealing mentioned in the Ten Commandments? — from the likes of Garbage and The Cranberries down to the press-kit photos, CD packaging and electronica-production techniques. Gone is Shirley Manson’s sensuality and Dolores O’Riordan’s intensity, arguably those act’s selling points. Blatantly stealing another’s band’s soul won’t get you into my CD collection
This article appears in May 23-29, 2001.