Reviewed by Nigel Harris

The debut album from this new Essential Records signing embodies the powerful testimony of frontman Joshua Brown. He started in the music business at 15 - and started doing drugs at the same time. By the time he was 22 his band Full Devil Jacket was signed to Island Records and supporting bands like Nickelback, Fuel and Creed. However, God had other plans for him and, hitting rock bottom, Brown gave his life to Christ and withdrew from the music business to spread the Good News. Returning to songwriting a couple of years later he met guitarist/songwriter/fellow believer Gregg Hionis and Day Of Fire was born. The band's name came about as Brown reflected on the day he was baptized in the Holy Spirit and realized that it was his "day of fire". Stylistically, this sounds like the Christian album that Nickelback never made! Powerful vocals meet hard rock guitar backing, sometimes out and out metal, sometimes a more mellow or acoustic accompaniment. The album was produced by Scott Humphrey, who has worked on records by Metallica, Motley Crue and Rob Zombie, among others. Musicians contributing to the album included Chris Chaney, bass player from Jane's Addiction, and drummer Gary Novak and guitarist Phil X, who have played with Alanis Morissette and Avril Lavigne. This is a mature and well-crafted album from musicians with a huge amount of experience. The band's website describes the outstanding track "Jacob's Dream" as "an epic, aggressive sound that fits in alongside the heavy music found on rock radio today." That's about it - nothing too innovative, but everything done just right. If that's your style, you'll love this album.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.