The Great Commission delivers battle hymnal for today’s generation
Posted by The Skyliner on February 25th, 2009Trey Lancaster
Photo Editor
There is a battle going on in these dark days, not just a battle here on earth but also a battle on the spiritual level. Spiritual warfare is real and Redlands, California’s The Great Commission have written a collection of battle hymns for the God-fearing warrior.
Redlands has given the Christian hardcore scene several bands over the past couple years like Sleeping Giant and xDeathstarx and The Great Commission is the newest addition to the Redlands family. All of the bands in the Redlands area have a similar sound but still have their own unique elements at the same time. They bring a more beatdown hardcore sound to the table than the other bands from the area.
The Great Commission is blowing up pretty quick for a band whose debut album hasn’t even gotten a store release yet. So far, And Every Knee Shall Bow can only be purchased from online stores and iTunes. Right after the album was finished, they hit the streets nonstop to spread their message to the masses. They are currently on a U.S. tour with A Plea For Purging.
And Every Knee Shall Bow is one of the most passionate and spirit-filled albums that I have heard in the past year or so. Each song is full of aggressive, brutal melodies and scripture based and hymn-like lyrics. A good example of this is on the track “Let Your Kingdom Come.” This track is about the crucifixion and how it is what brought the kingdom of God to earth. The song even contains a “Nothing But The Blood” two-step part containing lyrics from the hymn. My favorite lyrics on this album are also found in this song. “Father forgive them; for they know not what they do. Darkness filled the sky and the veil was torn in two. Thunder fills the skies, heaven is falling down.”
The album contains a good variation of long, somewhat epic tracks and then short mosh tracks. Everything from the seven minute scriptural beatdown of “Let Your Kingdom Come” to the less than a minute anthem like sing-a-long “The Way, The Truth, The Life.” “The Way, The Truth, The Life” are the only lyrics of that track. It is a good simple sing-a-long mosh.
Another thing that makes this album pretty awesome is that it is jam packed with guest vocals from other members of the Redlands family. Some of these guest spot are done by Thom Greene and J.R. Bermuda of Sleeping Giant, Mattie Montgomery of For Today, and Aaron Wreckin Thangs of hardcore legends Point Of Recognition just to name a few of the many guest spots.
All in all I would give this album and band a nine out of 10. The album is very solid lyrically with the lyrics almost completely grounded in scripture and hymns. And the music is amazing, very heavy and full of two-steps, breakdowns and gang vocals, but still contains some very melodic and peaceful parts few and far between. So if you are ready to go to battle and need a hardcore praise and worship soundtrack, then this is definitely an album to check out.