Al Menconi Ministries - Music Reviews

Ever Stays Red

On The Brink of It All is the third release from Ever Stays Red, a hard-driving alt-rock band that should appeal to fans of bands like Anberlin.

As with many of the hook-laden songs, I couldn't get the title track out of my head. It's a sing-along anthem of hope:

Pillar

Pillar is my favorite hard rocking Christian band these days. For The Love of The Game only enhances that position, as it showcases the arena rock that they do best. Its Grammy-nominated predecessor, The Reckoning, impressively built on Where Do We Go From Here but

Delirious?

Delirious? once again delivers a quality project in Kingdom of Comfort, their final CD with a lineup that remained constant for well over a decade. Drummer Stew Smith has retired from touring and has been replaced by Paul Evans, who grew up in England emulating Smith's style before e

Tommy Walker

Veteran worship leader Tommy Walker delivers a collection of ten heartfelt, sincere worship songs on his Maranatha Music debut, I Have A Hope.

Walker's 15 years of experience helped him to chart earlier songs, including "Mourning Into Dancing," and "He Kn

NewWorldSon

Joy, fun, honesty, refreshingly new, and old-time Gospel are all words that describe NewWorldSon’s Salvation Station. NewWorldSon’s Inpop Records debut is a mix of old-time Gospel, 60’s rock and 70’s funk. The lyrics range fro

Hawk Nelson

See my Hawk Nelson interview from 2006.

Hawk Nelson Is My Friend offers up the band's expected pop punk sound wrapped in a goofy CD cover that pretty much fits frontma

Sarah Kelly

Sarah Kelly returns to her worship roots with Born to Worship, a quality worship CD in a world of sound-alikes. The Grammy-nominated singer's distinctive blues voice eliminates the excessive sweetness of some worship projects as her hunger for God and heart of praise shine through on

Various

The Grand Ole Opry has been a legendary show since before World War II. While most people automatically think "country music" when they hear the words "Grand Ole Opry," it also has a rich gospel tradition. How Great Thou Art is a tremendous collection of live gosp

Avalon

Avalon's latest project, Another Time, Another Place: Timeless Christian Classics, reflects upon nearly three decades of Contemporary Christian music classics.

Throughout their career, Avalon has achieved two Gold records, an American Music Award, multiple Dove Awards,

Passion

God of This City adds a quality disc to the growing collection of live worship projects from the Passion movement. Chris Tomlin leads the way with four tracks, Matt Redman contributes three, and the bearded Passion artists David Crowder*Band and Charlie Hall have two songs each. Adding some f

Inhabited

Inhabited's sophomore effort, Love, is a rocking CD with infectious hooks and challenging lyrics. Songs such as Hush and We Will Live have a No Doubt ska punk rock feel, while the ballads, Love and Song to the Fatherless, highlight singer

Sanctus Real

Sanctus Real has matured into one of the top rock bands in Christian music, putting on quality live shows and getting plenty of Christian radio airplay. Their fourth label project, releasing today, begins with the 80's metal flavorings of "Turn On The Lights," heavier than typical S

The Afters

The Afters rode their "Beautiful Love" hit single a lot longer than they expected, which left us waiting unusually long for a sophomore label release. Never Going Back to OK is worth the wait. The songs are polished and satisfying. While I enjoyed their debut, I like this C

Fee

Fee’s debut release, We Shine, from INO Records delivers a collection of 12 original, uplifting worship songs that will appeal to wide-range audiences.

From beginning to end, the album is a celebration of worship as the band combines meaningful lyrics with upbeat and refresh

Manic Drive

Brothers Michael (guitars) and Shawn (vocals, keys, sometimes drums) Cavallo have been together in bands since their early elementary school days in Ontario, Canada. Their many years of making music together are paying off as they continue to polish their sound in their early 20s, an age when

Various

Songs 4 Ever chronicles Christian pop and adult contemporary history over the past three decades. That's fine, as you get a box of ten CDs packed with 150 songs, but to call it "The Ultimate Christian Music Collection" seems like a stretch when no real rock music is include

Mercy Me

All That Is Within Me, the latest offering from Mercy Me, is a collection of pop/rock songs, which aim to encourage and edify believers.

Produced by Contemporary Christian music veteran, Brown Bannister, this batch of songs, possibly some of the best in Mercy Me's catal

Demon Hunter

Storm The Gates of Hell is the first Demon Hunter release in two years, following The Triptych with more of the expected melodic hardcore that has Ryan Clark mixing his trademark growls with superb rock vocals. Overall, the sound has plenty to offer for P.O.D. and Underoath

Kevin Max

The Blood is undoubtedly my favorite Kevin Max solo project. The gospel/spiritual stylings and message are powerfully conveyed by Max's expressive voice, still impressive in its range and flexibility, from the Johnny Cash-styled "Old Rugged Cross" to one of my favorites, &q

Phil Keaggy

Phil Keaggy has been one of my favorite artists since the 70s, and has become a friend over the past few years. While I could never get enough of his instrumental work live, on albums I've always preferred the vocal projects, perhaps because of my typical English major's love for words. T

Phil Wickham

Phil Wickham's follow-up to his successful label debut moves from acoustic worship to more of a Brit-pop rock sound for which his strong voice is well-suited. Cannons avoids the dreaded sophomore slump, so often a problem

AJ+CPO

Do you enjoy traditional hymns? Do you like your music raw and unadulterated? If so, you are going to love this album. How this album came about is a story in itself. AJ+CPO are Christians who make their living by performing songs they have written in secular venues.&#

Jars of Clay

Jars of Clay makes another foray into Christmas music with Christmas Songs. Their Drummer Boy EP came out in 1995, followed by a re-release with different songs in 1997. Rather than a decade-anniversary third release of Drummer Boy, they've given us a collection of

Falling Up

See my 2006 interview with Falling Up.

Falling Up moves to a bit more of a piano-flavored pop rock sound with Captiva. There's still lots of guitars and the "pash&qu

Storyside B

Storyside B recently released its sophomore effort, We are Not Alone. The CD starts off with a great song, Fall Down, that speaks to our need for God in our lives. The band sings about us falling, hitting the ground and how we can't make it on our own.

Brea