One sound proclaiming the second coming of our perfect Savior. This is where rock and roll meets the love of Christ.
If you are new to Christian rock, please read this post about the definition of Christian rock and some of the biggest questions about Christian music.
10. Until We Have Faces – Red
Rating – 3 ½ Stars
Top Tracks – Feed the Machine, Faceless, Who We Are
With this new album, Red seems to retain most to all of their rock elements from their first two records. The two best songs on the album, “Feed the Machine” and “Faceless,” would fit perfectly on their two previous records. But, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing just yet. Red knows exactly who they are as musicians. They have a very polished hard rock sound that throws in a couple of ballads to keep things interesting. Even though they make very little strides from their first two records, Until We Have Faces is still a solid addition to your hard rock library.
9. With Shivering Hearts We Wait – Blindside
Rating – 3 ½ Stars
Top Tracks – Monster on the Radio, Our Love Saves Us, Bring Out Your Dead
In 2007, Blindside decided to take a break from the music industry. During their hiatus, the Swedish rock group focused on spending time with their families, performing a few overseas dates and deciding if they still wanted to record music. After rumors of a new album for a couple of years, Blindside finally released With Shivering Hearts We Wait. On this new record, Blindside really changes up their sound. They stay true to their hardcore style on a few songs with their usual screaming vocals and driving guitar riffs. But, most of the album features a very radio friendly version of Blindside. On “Our Love Saves Us” and “Monster On the Radio,” the group adds some new electronic sounds, and really embraces a softer side. With all that said, was the wait worth it? Was the four year hiatus, and six years between full length albums worth the wait? It all depends on who you talk to. Some might miss the old Blindside, and some may embrace their new sound and style. But, I believe the wait was worth it. The album wasn’t perfect by any means, but this is Blindside’s best work since About A Burning Fire in 2004.
8. What I’ve Become – Ashes Remain
Rating – 3 ½ Stars
Top Tracks – On My Own, Without You, Right Here
If I could describe this album in one word, it would be redemption. Almost every song features the story of redemption and coming out of a place of no hope. “On My Own,” speaks about the failures of fighting battles on our own without God. “Without You,” is easily the most moving song on the record in which lead singer, Josh Smith, cries out to God to save his life from emptiness and loneliness. My personal favorite is “Right Here.” The song is told from God’s perspective, and is a great reminder to us how much God loves us. Overall, the lyrics really shine on this record. Their modern rock sound is solid, and does a good job of accompanying Smith’s powerful vocals. But, the overt message that each song carries is the highlight of the album.
7. Sugarfist - Eleventyseven
Rating – 4 Stars
Top Tracks – Wasted, Milk the Lightning, Book of Secrets
Eleventyseven has been around for a couple years making fun, synthesizer filled, punk rock music. This album is no exception. From singing about college girls to the pitfalls of being in love to the spread of addiction, the topics on this album are vast. Even though most of their songs on this album are very catchy, I did find myself missing some of their older, and more overt, faith based lyrics on songs like “Reach That Far,” “Love In Your Arms” and “It’s Beautiful.” With that small complaint aside, musically Eleventyseven has never sounded better. They have been playing around with their synthesizer/electronic punk style for a couple of albums now. This is the first album in which I really feel that they have mastered their sound. This is simply a great, fun, punk rock album to listen to, just don’t expect any overt, faith based songs.
6. Kings – I Am Empire
Rating – 4 Stars
Top Tracks – Brain Damage, Heart Attack, Take Me Away
A loose concept album, I Am Empire’s debut centers around lead singer Austin Lyons’ father, who abandoned him when he was young. With themes of anger, loneliness, redemption and forgiveness, Lyons freely sings about the positive and negative emotions he experienced after his father’s desertion. Vocally, Lyons definitely has one of the more unique Christian rock voices. Lyons’ high pitched tone, and almost whiny screams make for a unique style of vocals. Add to that a solid, straight rock sound, and I Am Empire easily delivers a very strong debut.
5. My Brain Says Stop, But My Heart Says Go – FM Static
Rating – 4 Stars
Top Tracks – My Brain Says Stop, But My Heart Says Go, Black Tattoo, Breaking Me Again
For their fourth album, FM Static has decided to embrace a more top 40 style of pop music. With huge guitar hooks, cheerleader vocals and even a couple of raps, FM Static really mixes up their sound. Lyrically, this could be FM Static’s most thematic album to date. Some of the songs, such as “F.M.S.T.A.T.I.C.,” “Hey I Want It” and “Cinnamon and Lipstick” are fun, pop anthems. But, the rest of the album could be their heaviest lyrically. “Black Tattoo” is easily the highlight of the album, in which McNevan sings about a girl wrestling with fear and guilt while trying to escape an abusive relationship. “Lost In You” is a rather unique FM Static song in that it is a pure, worship tune. “Last Train Home” and “Breaking Me Again” are simple songs about wrestling with your faith and allowing yourself to put your whole life in God’s hand. Even though this album has the side project moving in a different direction both musically and lyrically, FM Static still sounds impressive.
4. Crazy Love – Hawk Nelson
Rating – 4 ½ Stars
Top Tracks – Crazy Love, One Shot, My Next Breath
For their last few records, Hawk Nelson has experimented with their sound. But, on their latest album, Crazy Love, Hawk Nelson returns to their original pop-punk roots, similar to their Letters to the President debut. Inspired by the book Crazy Love, this album at times is almost a worship style punk album. “Your Love is a Mystery” speaks about God’s awesome and sometimes mysterious love, “My Next Breath” is a slow, worship ballad and “We Can Change the World” is a rally cry for Christians to fully live out their faith. Throughout their career, Hawk Nelson has rarely been shy about sharing their faith through their music. Their latest album takes their overt message to a whole new level.
3. Scripted – Icon For Hire
Rating – 4 ½ Stars
Top Tracks – Theatre, Make A Move, Get Well, Off With Her Head
If you mix together mohawks, synthesizers, Paramore and Skillet, the result would be the band Icon For Hire. Musically, Icon For Hire’s debut album has a radio friendly, fast paced style that mixes breakdowns, electronic beats and pop melodies. However, the vocals from lead singer Ariel Bloomer easily carry this album. Not to say that the music is bad by any means, but her strong and impressive voice definitely sets the band apart. Even though Icon For Hire is brand new to the Christian rock scene, this group is going to be around for a long time. With strong vocals and a fast paced, momentous sound, Scripted will have you rocking for days.
2. On Fire – Peter Furler
Rating – 4 ½ Stars
Top Tracks – Matter of Faith, Hold On, Reach, All In Your Head
I am a huge Newsboys fan. I remember way back in middle school when I first saw them in concert. Since then, I have been hooked to the Newsboys and the vocals of Peter Furler. When Furler left the group a couple years ago, it is safe to say that I was heartbroken. But, when I heard that he was returning to the music industry as a solo artist, I couldn’t have been more excited. With this new album, Peter Furler has never sounded better. His short break from the music industry really seemed to revitalize his passion and love for music. His unique vocals beautifully compliment the pop worship sound that he has perfected over these many years. “Reach” is easily the catchiest song of the year. “Matter of Faith” and “Hold On” are great songs of hope and inspiration during a desperate situation. “All in Your Head” and “Faster and Louder” are stamped with Furler’s fun, pop style. This is just a great, great album. All I can say is, welcome back Peter Furler. Welcome back.
1. Love Riot – Worth Dying For
Rating – 4 ½ Stars
Top Tracks – Savior, Through Your Eyes, Closer, My Glorious
The best description of Love Riot is edgy worship. On Worth Dying For’s sophomore album, the group features everything from metal breakdowns and screams to electronic beats to pure, piano ballads. Even though the music is very diverse and spans multiple genres, the heartbeat of the album remains the same. The mission and heartbeat of Worth Dying For has always been worship. It doesn’t matter if they are headbanging to metal screams, or simply pouring their heart out to God with just a piano melody, Worth Dying For is still worshipping and praising Christ. I think that is really, really cool. If all that wasn’t enough, the band also features a short sermon, a very strong rap during “Stir It Up” and Trevor McNevan makes a guest appearance. With this album, Worth Dying For has easily turned worship music upside down.
I hope you have enjoyed this look at my Top Ten Christian Rock Albums of the year. This list would not be complete without honorable mentions. These albums were very solid but ultimately did not make it into the top ten.
Empty Hands and Heavy Hearts – Close Your Eyes Alive In You – 7eventh Time Down All Things Bright and Beautiful – Owl City Vice Verses – Switchfoot Patterns – Run Kid Run
Also, here are my Top five EPs of the year.
1. The EP – Wavorly
2. A Whole New World – Stellar Kart
3. Awake and Remixed – Skillet
4. Relient K is for Karoake Part 2 – Relient K
5. Hanging On By A Thread Sessions, Volume 1 – The Letter Black
Thousand Foot Krutch has been a staple in the Christian music industry for nearly a decade. Fronted by Trevor McNevan, Thousand Foot Krutch has released five full length albums, sold over 800,000 records and scored 11 No. 1 Christian rock singles. The group also recently released a special fan themed version of their latest full length, Welcome to the Masquerade,which serves as a thank you to their long time fans. The album features Welcome to the Masquerade in its entirety, as well as pictures of fans and three unreleased songs. In his spare time, McNevan also fronts the pop punk side project FM Static, alongside TFK’s drummer Steve Augustine. The group released their fourth album entitled My Brain Says Stop But My Heart Says Go earlier this year. On November 3, 2011, I had the chance to speak with Trevor McNevan about Thousand Foot Krutch’s new fan album, the new musical style on FM Static’s latest record and TFK’s decision to leave Tooth and Nail Records.
Webb: You guys just released a fan edition of Welcome to the Masquerade. What inspired you to release a fan themed album?
McNevan: We just feel so blessed to have the support that we do. Honestly, we had three bonus songs that we loved from the last record. We wanted to save them for something special. At the end of the day, we felt so humbled by the support. In the meantime, before this new record is out, we would love to put out more of a thank you and appreciation to the fans, have a fan edition with those three bonus songs on it. Also, have them [fans] send in pictures of themselves wearing the masks on the record, so that we could make a collage inside the artwork. That’s what we did. It’s been a really cool thing.
Webb: Could you tell me a little bit about the story behind each of the three new songs that you released with it?
McNevan: Yeah man. “Shook” is a song that is a hard-hitting, high octane kind of tune that was originally going to be a single off the last record. I think a lot of bands put out B-sides and rarities that will hold people over until a new record comes out. We really wanted to put out something that we believed in just as much as any single that we put out or any song on our record. So we kind of held off, so that we could put something like that on this new edition. It’s about the craziness and commotion, from my point of view, that my life feels like sometimes. I know it’s something that everyone can relate to in their own way. Just kind of needing my faith and trust in God to keep me centered, especially in those crazy storms. Sometimes it seems like everyday. That song is just about my need to be grounded. I guess a bit of a humble statement about I am not strong enough to do this on my own.
“Take It Out On Me” is a song I wrote from a perspective of talking to someone that I love, whether it is your best friend, your wife or someone in your family. Whether it is from the way we grew up or from stuff we have been through in our life, some of us carry a lot of baggage. Anger, pain and a lot of these emotions we keep them bottled up sometimes, instead of dealing with it in a healthier way basically. Letting it out, talking about it and being able to seek counsel and share. This song is kind of from the point of view of talking to that person, and saying listen, ‘Don’t do all of these things. Take it out on me.’ It’s more of God’s heart of saying give your burden to God on this. Take it out on me if you want to, but don’t drink yourself to sleep. It’s not so specific to say those things, but the general idea is talking to that person.
“Anyone Else” was a song I actually wrote for the Daughtry record. It’s the only time that’s ever happened on one of our records where I have written for someone else, and then we ended up wanting to use it. We kept it for our stuff. It meant something to me as more of a classic love song when I wrote it to pitch for him. It still rings true for us. It’s definitely more of a traditional love song than TFK usually does. It’s a little platonic too in a sense that it is open to the listener; whoever that is to you, whether it is a friend, a loved one or on a spiritual level something to do with your faith. It’s more of a traditional love song.
Webb: You are in the studio right now mixing your new album. I know it is still early, and you can’t release a lot of information. But, could you give a little preview of the new album?
McNevan: Absolutely man. The new record is called The End is Where We Begin. That title rings true to us in a lot of ways. We’ve been through a lot of transition as a band in the last year, from getting new management and switching that up, to finishing our record deal. We really said no to all of the offers that we got in as far as signing another deal. We just felt like this was something we wanted to do ourselves. We really wanted to do it independently, and be able to connect with people on a closer level than we can when we are on the label. We have chosen to do that. Yeah, we are literally doing this one on our own. We feel like in the state of the music industry right now, we didn’t want to be still handcuffed. We wanted to be able to put out music more often, more reasonable and reasonably priced. Give away free music if we wanted to, and just have the options to do those things.
The End is Where We Begin definitely stands true to that. With the state of music right now, that title really speaks to me as far as that and the transition that is going on in music. On a spiritual level, [it] always kind of made sense to me with the idea of die to self. That’s the title. This new record, I am so excited about it. It’s got some fresh flavors for TFK. It also has some songs that bridge what we have done on our last record to this one, kind of doing that stuff a little better. There are a handful of songs on this that I felt really inspired to go back to our roots a little bit. There’s a little old school influence of TFK on a couple of these [songs] that we are really excited about, and had a lot of fun with too.
Webb: Do you have a tentative release date for it yet?
McNevan: We are hoping either the last week of March or the first week of April is the tentative release date.
Webb: If you could sum up the new record in one word, what would it be?
McNevan: That’s a great question. What’s the word I am looking for? I would have to say insane [laughing]. It’s loud and crazy, but it is also beautiful.
Webb: You mentioned this a couple questions ago, but I thought I would hit on it. Does that mean you are no longer with Tooth and Nail, and you are an independent band?
McNevan: We are indeed man. Tooth and Nail has been incredible. We love them. They are still family and they always will be. But, we have been thinking and praying about it for awhile. We were very blessed to be in a position where we had deals from all the labels. That was a great spot to be in. But, at the end of the day, we just felt the need to grassroots a little more. We want to do it bigger and better, that’s for sure. It won’t affect any of those things. We just want to connect with people a little closer again than you are able to sometimes when you are in those situations. Just be free to release music in the fashion that we want to. If we want to release music sooner, we can. We can put out EPs; we can give away some free music here and there if we want to. Our fans have supported us, and that is such a humbling situation. They have supported us with such a strong hand, that we want to give back. This will allow us to do that a little more.
Webb: Since you have been on Tooth and Nail Records for a quite a few years, are you nervous about this new phase or are you excited about hitting the music industry on your own as a band?
McNevan: We are excited about it. Yeah, there is a little bit of nerves in there. It’s a risk and a new frontier for us. I work with bands all the time and these labels all the time outside of TFK. The guys do other things as well. We’ve been fortunate enough to learn a lot about this business through the years we have been in it. You learn how it runs, what it needs to run and who you can trust. We have been very blessed to find the right people to be able to do that with them. We are excited man. We are definitely trusting that people that connect with this band can work with us on this, and we can do it together. That is what we are most excited about.
Webb: Is FM Static going to stay with Tooth and Nail?
McNevan: We haven’t made a decision as of yet. As FM Static, we finished our deal with Tooth and Nail as well. It’s kind of up in the air.
Webb: Speaking of FM Static, I do want to ask you a couple of questions about your side project. You released your new album earlier this year. I absolutely loved it. My personal favorite song on the record is “Black Tattoo.” I was wondering, when writing the song, how did you come up with the symbol of the black tattoo to represent the song?
McNevan: I actually have a pretty substantial black tattoo. On my right arm below my elbow, basically the size of a pretty legit wristband, is a solid black tattoo. I got thinking about this song and just the idea of it. That played into it. I hear this all the time when people ask you questions about your tattoo. You kind of realize that if you are going to get a solid black tattoo on your arm, it is a bit of a statement. It’s not something that you take very lightly. So, that’s what it was kind of symbolizing in the song. It was more of a statement.
Webb: I also want to mention the song “Lost In You.” Do you view that song as a worship song?
McNevan: Yeah.There is no right or wrong here. But, I think a lot of Christians look at worship as Matt Redman or Chris Tomlin, which is traditional worship and incredible. I shouldn’t say traditional worship; it sounds bad to say that. I mean those guys are out of the box in a lot of great ways. I love what they do. I think worship comes from the heart. To me, for FM Static or TFK, some of these songs like “Breathe You In,” “This is a Call” and a couple songs on our new record, those are worship songs to us every bit as much as “Blessed Be Your Name” and some of the classics.
Webb: You guys changed up your sound a little bit on this new album. What was the inspiration to go with a more Top 40 sound than your previous FM Static records?
McNevan: I think with pop music in general, that genre can have some bad connotations to it. I have just always been a fan of huge hooks and pop rock, from the Beach Boys to the Beatles and all that good stuff. I think it’s whatever you feel inspired to do at the time. It wasn’t really a conscious decision to change the sound. It was more of let’s take what we are doing and re-skin it a little bit for this record, and have fun with it. I came up listening to a lot of hip-hop, and I love a lot of the old school stuff. Yeah, I think the influences and the programming and loops, kind of felt natural. It made sense timing wise too.
Webb: I know you have worked with some hip-hop artists like Manafest and KJ-52, and you even had a little bit of a hip-hop on the new FM Static album. Do you ever want to put some more hip-hop stuff in your music, whether it is Thousand Foot Krutch or FM Static?
McNevan: Yeah, it’s funny. It’s something that is very honest to me. When I was 13, I actually did a full on rap demo. At the time, it was a tape [laughing]. It was a rap tape, which sounds hilarious. When I was 16, I put out another record. The drummer for Three Days Grace was in my band. We kind of grew up in the same town. That one was half hip-hop and half rock. I started getting more into the rock stuff when I was like 15 and 16. The little town that I grew up in only had a classic rock station. That was it. I grew up listening to mostly just hip-hop. Between those two influences, it kind of drove that. I have always been rhyming. It has always been something that meant a lot to me, as much as singing does. I think it is honest to say that it could very well come out on this TFK record a little bit. A little old school TFK love.
Webb: Do you ever find it hard trying to balance your time between Thousand Foot Krutch, FM Static and even your personal life?
McNevan: Yeah, it’s a bit of a constant juggle. Those things are part of my passion. They are what I feel drawn to, and just love to do. I am very blessed to have an incredible wife who is very supportive and understanding. It is a constant juggle. To be totally honest with you, of getting some healthy time that you need for yourself once in awhile, [having] the habit of being a good husband and as a perfectionist trying to do what I love the best I can. It’s a juggle man. But, thank God he is stronger than I am.
Webb: Have you thought about doing any music videos for Welcome to the Masquerade or My Brain Says Stop But My Heart Says Go?
McNevan: Yeah, we talked about some for the new [FM] Static, and there has been no decision made yet. I think because there has been so much transition going on with the label with TFK. It was bypassed a little bit. We will see what happens there. But, with the masquerade record with TFK, we actually did record a video for “Fire It Up.” We didn’t like it. Long story short, it wasn’t what we signed up for. We didn’t want to put it out. I think it was released. The label did release it on a soft release kind of thing. I am sure you can find it on YouTube. It was not something that we intended to portray that song. We ended up not really being able to [do a video] after that. I wish we could. That is one thing that I would love to go back and do on that record, but unfortunately I don’t think it is going to happen. Now that we are free there, maybe we can put something out and not have to explain it.
Webb: As a musician, which do you like better? Creating songs in the studio, or playing a live show?
McNevan: I honestly can’t really pick one. I love writing songs. I love working in the studio. I do it all day long, even when I am not with the band on tour. But, you can’t beat live. It’s something as TFK, and for all of us, it’s a big part who the band is, and who we are as people. The record is one thing. That’s really the other side of us is our performance and what we do. We give it 200 percent, and just love the live aspect of it. You can’t beat live as long as you have a chance to do it. But, I do really love the studio aspect, and it’s just a different pace.
Webb: Speaking of your live show, do you have any touring plans in the future with Thousand Foot Krutch or FM Static?
McNevan: FM Static, no. With making this new TFK record, it has been impossible to find time to tour that one [FM Static album] right now. But, hopefully in the future. With TFK, we are doing a lot of spot dates, a lot of fly in dates right now. We just got back from Switzerland and Germany. Yeah, we have a bunch of U.S. shows coming up here, and we just finished a Canadian tour as well. We are heading out in March and April with Red and a band that I have been working with for a couple of years that is just coming out called Nine Lashes. It’s going to be great. It’s going to be an awesome tour.
Webb: I know this is a little bit of a loaded question. But, I was wondering how do you think God uses rock and roll to win people for the kingdom?
McNevan: I think music has always been a major communicator to all of the generations really. I think, when I look at how music speaks to me as a person and how it communicates to me, I connect with it. I always have. I think a lot of people connect with music in their own way. Some people can receive something through the message of a song or through the lyrics of a song, that you couldn’t just walk up and tell them. They wouldn’t take it from you that way. But, it could be communicated to them or to their hearts through music. So, it’s not like someone is sitting there trying to preach at anyone. But, the heart of it is that you talk about life and what you are going through, just the way you see it as a songwriter in your songs; no matter what you believe and what your faith is. Yeah, we are Christian guys. That is our faith and our lifestyle. I am writing about the stuff that I am going through and the way that I see it. Talking about God, life, love and sometimes hate, just real life. I 100 percent believe that music can communicate, not better than anything else, but in a different way.
Webb: Since you have been a musician so long, could you talk about one or two things that you have seen change in the music industry over the years?
McNevan: One of the big things is a glaring issue in the music industry right now. That is one of the reasons why we are so excited to kind of be able to do this on our own. It has just become almost impossible to sell music. Without pointing any fingers, just obviously a mass amount of people are stealing it and not buying it. That is the most glaring one. It affects all of us as artists. I see a lot of it everyday, from the biggest artist to the brand new ones. It affects us all in a massive way the amount people are stealing music. When you do that, you are not supporting the artist. Just as someone who loves music, I really hope that people can support it in that way again or realize how much they are affecting it. It is just like movies or anything else. It takes money to put a record together and a movie together. Those budgets are becoming slim to none. If you love music, support it. I would encourage you to.
Webb: In a little bit of a different note, you have collaborated with a ton of artists over your career, writing, producing and even doing some guest vocals. Do you have a favorite collaboration or one that really sticks out in your mind?
McNevan: They have all been fun. I have a blast working on music with people, and feel honored to work with the artists that I have. Some of them have been like a day, and some of them have been months and months. I’d have to say the ones where I got to spend more time with [are my favorites]. We just have more memories, and more fun times in those projects. Hawk Nelson, getting to work with those guys for so many years, with those first few records. They’re still family. Those guys are incredible. Manafest is a good, good friend. I love all of that stuff. Working with Toby was a lot of fun. I just think about Toby as a person. He is definitely one of those guys who is the real deal. I remember sitting there when I was tracking his vocals for a demo we were working on. Just sitting there and thinking, ‘wow this is so funny. When I was in youth group, I would probably be freaking out right now [laughing].’ You have those moments. But, I feel blessed and so fortunate. God is so good.
Webb: Do you have an all time favorite Thousand Foot Krutch or FM Static song?
McNevan: Man, that is a tough one. I love them all. I really do. With TFK, I can’t even pick one. FM Static is almost as hard. I think because the record never really got as much push, and it is just a heartfelt song to me about a family member. I think the song “Tonight” off of our second FM Static record called Critically Ashamed. Yeah, I would have to pick that one.
Webb: You have already mentioned this a little bit already. Besides your new album and your upcoming tour with Red, do you have any other plans in the future with Thousand Foot Krutch?
McNevan: There are a million things going on with this new stuff that we are doing. We are going to be doing a huge pre-sale campaign coming up. Offering tons of different packages, from all sorts of merchandise packages to early listening and early downloads of the record before it actually comes out to a private listening party to a Skype call. We are just getting really creative, and having fun. Like I said, just more ways to connect with people and getting to share this with them. Yeah, that is going to be coming out in the next few months before the new record comes out. We will probably have a new single out in January. I really hope you guys dig it. We are excited. We have got a second wind.
Webb: Do you have any last comments that you want to share?
McNevan: I appreciate your time. If anyone gets the chance, you can check out thousandfootkrutch.com. That would be fantastic. Also, you can check out Live At the Masquerade. We released a live CD and DVD. We actually released that independently. Just really encouraging people to check it out, it’s a great live portrayal of who we are. We brought tons of fire, and got crazy. It was a blessing.
Below, is the official lyric video for Thousand Foot Krutch’s song, “Shook.”
