Future of Forestry - Slow Your Breath Down

A video that I'm really digging right now is Future of Forestry's Slow Your Breath Down. It's one thing to read the album credits and hear all the instrumentation going down on the cd, but it's entirely a totally different feel to see it all in action. I mean, it's flat out amazing what these guys (and girl) are doing musically with what God's given them. Amazing. Here it is...

Jonathan Thomas - Rambler's Reflections

Jonathan is an artist that I want to feature not only for his music, but I also discovered that he's a blogger and has some of the most interesting well-thought out content that i've read in a while. I mean, it stands out... He writes his thoughts out in a way that I personally, can not only relate well with, but understand. It leaves me walking away with an elevated perspective about my walk with Jesus. Not too many people do that for me these days. Hopefully, you'll feel the same.

His Blog

Bandpage

The Walking Tree - We Are Instruments

                                   All I have to say is...
Finally a band that is new, fresh, innovative, dreamy, explosive, intoxicatingly delicious and just downright gnarly... The Walking Tree just released a new album titled We Are Instruments, and it is just really nice. After getting home after a long day's work, I cranked up their song We Are Free. All I can say is I'm feeling pretty good now. This is a band that I just discovered about a month ago, and when I did, I downloaded their debut EP Glorious and really liked it. But now, they just released We Are Instruments and I feel like I have been given an early birthday present. Thanks guys! I don't know what you're doing different, but it's working.

Bandpage

Holiness > Worldliness

What does it mean when God tells us to be Holy, and that without Holiness no one will see Him? That's a good question and one I think is one of the most important that we can talk about in the last days. If you Google the definition of Holy or Holiness, several sources have it as being,

"Sacred, pure, saintly, blessed, godliness, clean, sanctity..."

These are all possibly good definitions, but they don't really explain anything.

What I think God means is that we should do something on our part as an expression of our faith in Jesus. First off, let me say that we have nothing in us that is Holy outside of Jesus Christ. Nothing. The only reason we have anything good in us at all is because of Jesus. But, what we can do is offer our lives as a living sacrifice, undefiled and pure to Jesus. But, how do we bring purity to Jesus. Some ways that I have found are successful in doing this is full surrender. Surrendering your will, mind, heart, emotions, everything to Jesus to bring Him glory. Basically, being "All In". Another way is not being a "lover" of the world. The Bible tells us that when we love the world, we don't love God. God and His ways are the opposite of the world's. The world and it's desires are passing away, but those that do the will of God will live forever. So, I think that taking a personal inventory of worldliness in our own lives, and then making changes is another essential element in remaining pure and undefiled. So many of the movies that come out these days are actually defiling you and you don't even realize it. Some movies encourage us to live a loose lifestyle, while scary movies invoke the spirit of fear upon us (something demons feed on). I own a TV, but I don't really watch it ever. It just sits there unplugged. I know that by bringing that to life with cable and movies will keep me distracted from the work God has for me. I actually believe that one of the major things satan and his kingdom use against people in these last days is distraction. It seems like if he can get us distracted enough away from the things of God, then we will always be lukewarm and never realize our full potential, and never really get on fire for Jesus. You might remember in Revelation, where God hates lukewarmness enough to vomit people like that out of His mouth. That's not a good position for a believer to be in at the judgement throne. Another thing is music, which is ultimately why I ever even started this blog in the first place. I have a personal testimony about something I went through as a musician years ago that forever changed my views about music. To make it really short, I relapsed on drugs and when I started playing my guitar, I felt something enter inside of me and I began to play a song that I knew and listened to on cd many times, but never learned. The music just came to me and my fingers went to the right positions on the guitar neck. After that, I realized that demons do help people play and write music. Another story I have is one where I had been sober for a little while, and the only thing I changed was my music. I went from Christian music, to playing Alice in Chains unplugged. It wasn't long before I was using drugs again. Again, what I changed was music. Satan and his kingdom use music to entice people into a worldly lifestyle. Music is powerful, and something that should only be used for God's complete glory. We should get absolutely none of it. It all belongs to Jesus. I am sure there are many other ways to be holy and bring purity to Jesus that I haven't listed. What I am trying to do is engage people and find more ways that we can be set apart and holy, so if you have any suggestions, please comment. Thanks!

5to Angel - Review

5to Angel means The 5th Angel in English. 5to Angel is a band out of Lares, Peurto Rico (hometown of Jose Feliciano). I don't remember how I discovered them but somehow we arranged it to where they sent me a CD and here it is, a review. The album they sent me is more of a demo EP with 6 songs on it titled:

El Final - End
Acerate -  Come Quickly
Aqui Decimos Adios - Here We Say Goodbye
4 Anos - 4 Years
Culpables de Homicidio  - Guilty Of Manslaughter
Sin Ti  - Without You

My personal favorite is Sin Ti which I must have played the intro (first 20 seconds) numerous times. It's good and embodies the old-school metal that I grew up on. However, the whole album isn't metal. It is a mixture of alternative hard rock with pop punk elements. Comparative to Hawk Nelson at times, but with more of a heavy edge. All the lyrics are in Spanish, and though I can't understand any of it, I can understand the feelings and emotions that the singer is trying to convey. It's really not a bad start for a band. For Spanish audiences, that enjoy fun and energetic rock, 5to Angel will bring it. Culpables de homicido is a song that invokes feelings of deep thought and contemplation and is their slowest one on the album. 4 anos is another song that is one of my favorites on the album. It has a nice arrangement and solid instrumentation. Aqui Decimos Adios is one of the more energetic and rocking songs on the album. I really like the guitars on it and the chorus. I bet it goes over well live with the audience. Acercate is another one that is very energetic and rocking. The guitar player has put together some really nice licks on this one. El Final is the first song on the album and delivers a nice tone to the rest of the album. The overall pace of the album and the best way to describe this band is energetic. Overall, 5to Angel is a solid band and should they continue to make music, they could easily be one of the most excellent alternative hard rock/ metal bands for the Spanish market.

For booking or contact info:

787-217-6607

939-260-0676

humber_5toangel@yahoo.com

Band Pages:

facebook.com/5toangel

youtube.com/5toangelofficialpage

Here is a link to their first album:
FIRST ALBUM LINK

Reviewer:  Cory Enderby

SPANISH VERSION:

5to Ángel significa El quinto ángel en Inglés. 5to Angel es una banda de Lares, Peurto Rico (ciudad natal de José Feliciano). No recuerdo cómo los descubrí, pero de alguna manera nos organizó para que me enviaron un CD y aquí está, una revisión. El álbum me enviaron más de un EP demo con 6 canciones en él tituló: 

El Final  
Acercate  
Aqui Decimos Adios
4 Anos  
Culpables de Homicidio 
Sin Ti

Mi favorito personal es Sin Ti que debo haber jugado el clip Introducción (primeros 20 segundos) varias veces. Es bueno y encarna el metal de la vieja escuela que yo crecí. Sin embargo, todo el álbum no es de metal. Es una mezcla de hard rock alternativo con elementos de pop punk. Comparativa de Hawk Nelson a veces, pero con más de un borde grueso. Todas las letras son en español, y aunque yo no entiendo nada de eso, no puedo entender los sentimientos y emociones que la cantante está tratando de transmitir. En realidad no es un mal comienzo para una banda. Para el público español, que disfrutan de la diversión y enérgico rock, 5to Ángel lo traerá. Culpables de homicido es una canción que invoca sentimientos de profunda reflexión y contemplación, y es la opción más lenta en el álbum. 4 anos es otra canción que es una de mis favoritas en el álbum. Tiene un bonito arreglo e instrumentación sólida. Decimos Aqui Adios es una de las canciones más enérgicas y balanceo en el álbum. Me gusta mucho las guitarras y los coros. Apuesto a que va más bien en directo con el público. Acercate es otro que es muy enérgico y balanceo. El guitarrista ha reunido algunos licks muy agradable en este caso. El final es la primera canción del disco y ofrece un buen tono para el resto del álbum. El ritmo general del álbum y la mejor manera de describir esta banda es enérgico. En general, 5to Ángel es una banda sólida y que debe continuar haciendo música, podrían ser fácilmente uno de los más excelentes bandas de rock / metal duro alternativas para el mercado español. 

Para reservas o información de contacto:

787-217-6607 
939-260-0676 

humber_5toangel@yahoo.com

Páginas de banda: 

facebook.com/5toangel 

youtube.com/5toangelofficialpage

Aquí hay un enlace a su primer álbum:
Primer eslabón ALBUM

Evaluador: Cory Enderby

After The Well - Glory Resound

Until recently, I am not sure that I have ever heard of After The Well, but after listening to their music on Facebook, I think they're a really solid worship band with a fresh sound. Founded in 2008, they have played for thousands at youth conferences, camps and all across America. Their sound can be compared to Lifehouse and David Crowder Band, but with enough originality to be different. Some things on this album that really stick out for me are how well the songs are written, produced and recorded as well as other high points like the vocals which are edgy, but very clean as well as the guitars and keys that somehow flow and intertwine with each other making musical bliss. This makes for a very solid sound and I really think these guys make the kind of music that will be heard on the radio. My favorite songs are Open Heaven, I Refuse and Not Alone. As a matter of fact, most of the day yesterday their song Not Alone was going through my head. I'm really excited to see what this band continues to do. They certainly have the potential to have a career like Mercy Me or David Crowder. Scope their album. I am sure you'll agree!

Band Page

Shane and Shane - Bring Your Nothing

I just got turned onto a band of two men called Shane and Shane. They're an interesting group because they have a slightly edgier vibe going on with their worship sound. I really dig it. Shane and Shane just released their 8th studio album "Bring Your Nothing" and it sounds pretty good so far. If you're into a really nice acoustic worship sound, then this a band that you should know about!

Band Page