Each year, the Gospel Music Association aims to honor
Christian musicians for their talent and achievement. The Dove Awards cover all the major Christian
genres, including: rock, pop, gospel, country, hip hop and worship.
For this post, I want to talk about the nominees in the
categories of Rock Album of the Year and Rock/Contemporary Album of the
Year. If you missed Part 1, where I
cover the nominees for Rock Song of the Year, you can check it out here. For
each of the nominees, I listed the album title and the name of the group.
Rock Album of the Year
Control by Abandon
Until We Have Faces by Red
Vice Verses by Switchfoot
What I've Become by Ashes Remain
With Shivering Hearts We Wait by Blindside
It was no surprise that the Dove Awards included the rock
heavyweights of Red and Switchfoot in this category. Both artists were very successful this past
year with their new albums. One of the
biggest bright spots of last year was the return of Blindside. However, I was a little shocked to see them
receive a nomination. They deserve to be
recognized for their latest project, but their style of music is not usually
Dove Awards material. I was happy for
their inclusion, but just a little surprised.
Two of the smaller groups, Abandon and Ashes Remain, also picked up
nominations. Both groups are fairly new
in the music industry, and picked up a lot of steam last year with their latest
albums.
This category is fairly strong, but there were a couple of
snubs. As I said in Part 1 of my
coverage of the Dove Awards, Icon For Hire should have received a
nomination. Not only was their debut
very strong, but they set sales records for new bands on Tooth and Nail. I know a lot of critics weren’t as fond of
their new album as some of their previous work, but FM Static deserved a nomination for My Brain Says Stop, But My Heart Says Go. By changing up their sound and adding some serious
themes to the lyrics, FM Static’s new album was very impressive.
This leads me to the questions of, “Who should win, and who
will win?” I would like to see either
Ashes Remain or Blindside pull out this award.
For a debut album, I thought What I’ve Become by Ashes Remain was
exceptional. Their lyrics were very
strong, vocals fit perfectly, and the rock radio sound was solid. On the other hand, 2011 was a great year because
of the return of Blindside. Even though
With Shivering Hearts We Wait was not as good of an album as I had hoped for,
it was still a solid addition to their music collection. I would love to see Ashes Remain or Blindside
pick up this award.
The bigger question is, “Who will win?” I think this category is all but wrapped
up. I would be shocked to see anyone
besides Red or Switchfoot win this award.
Both Red and Switchfoot have been very successful in the past at the
Dove Awards. I think it will be a very
close competition, but Switchfoot will narrowly win in this category.
Here are the nominees for the Rock/Contemporary Album of
the Year.
Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year
Ad Astra Per Aspera by Abandon Kansas
Come Home by Luminate
Crazy Love by Hawk Nelson
Mountains Move by Kristian Stanfill
The Reckoning by NEEDTOBREATHE
Just like the earlier nominees, two bands stick out as the
frontrunners. Hawk Nelson and
NEEDTOBREATHE are the two heavy hitters in this category. The other three artists are fairly new and to
a point, relatively unknown. Abandon
Kansas has been around the independent scene for a few years, but they’ve only
been a part of Gotee Records for two full length albums. Luminate’s record, Come Home, is technically
their debut full length, but they have released a couple of independent
EPs. As much as I love the music of
Kristian Stanfill, I was surprised to see him make this list. I would categorize Stanfill’s music more in
the line of worship than rock.
Once again, there were a couple of snubs. Just like the Rock/Contemporary Song of the Year
category, I wish Peter Furler received a nomination. On Fire proved that Furler is one of the
forerunners in Christian music today. A
second snub was Love Riot by Worth Dying For.
By blending together rock and worship, Love Riot was easily my favorite
record of 2011.
I would love to see Hawk Nelson pull this award out. They haven’t had much success in the past at
the Dove Awards. With the release of
arguably their best album to date, I believe Hawk Nelson should win for their
release of Crazy Love. However, I think
NEEDTOBREATHE has this category locked up.
Besides Hawk Nelson, I really don’t foresee any of the other bands giving
this southern rock group competition.
The 43rd annual Dove Awards will be presented on
April 19, and televised nationally on GMC TV on April 24 at 8 p.m. EST.
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