Decyfer Down Review

Decyfer Down

“Crash”
by Brielle Coronet (reprinted from my music review column in ChristineEzine July 2009 issue )

Last night I was totally engrossed in trying to build something in Second Life (not too well) and as I hyper-focused on the task at hand, I began humming absentmindedly to a song playing on the television.

After a few bars, I realized with a start that the song was, “Forever in You” by Decyfer Down! The kicker was that it was playing over a promo for a show on the Soap Network! (don’t ask) It was sort of a déjà vu moment for me. After all, this is almost exactly how I was introduced to The Afters a couple of years back. That time it was the theme song, “Beautiful Love” from the popular teen soap drama, 8th and Ocean.

This got me to wondering how many Christian bands are played on tv without much fanfare. More so, was it by chance or choice of the producers? When you consider how secular Hollywood is, it does raise an eyebrow. But, no matter what the reason, it’s refreshing that Christian music is getting airplay on tv.

Decyfer Down is classified as alternative metal, alternative rock and post-grunge. They’ve toured with the likes of Thousand Foot Krutch and Skillet. This summer in New York City, they will be sharing the stage at Rock the Sound with Red, Pillar and Remedy Drive and yours truly will be there rocking out with the best of them!

As of this date, Decyfer Down is the 20th most requested artist of 2009 according to ChristianRock.net. Their last cd, “End of Grey” had no less than four singles reach the coveted #1 slot on the Christian rock charts. I predict “Crash” will have equal or more success. The song, “Fading” moved up the charts quickly and has already reached the top.

Don’t let this band’s genre labels scare you off. If you appreciate good vocals, strong driving rock (sans the metal core screaming), you’ll enjoy DD. “Crash” offers a nice balance of hard rock music and slower ballads. And, most importantly, all of us will identify with their soul searching:

I am made new,
I want to live like every breath matters.
I wanna love what you love,
I want to see what you see,
I want a heart that burns like a fire in me.
I want a light in my life,
I want my heart renewed,
Here I am…
Forever with you.

I can’t wait to see them August 1 at Rock the Sound! **

addendum 8/2/09

Saw DD last night and they rocked the roof off the Manhattan Center's ballroom! They are truly hard, driving rock with octane energy---the perfect band for the Red/Pillar lineup!

Newboys "In the Hands of God" cd review

I bought two new cds the other day. Yes, I have an ipod. I just like the real thing. Call me old fashioned but there are always a stack of cds in my car. For some reason, the sound quality seems better to me with a real cd. Another reason is I detest the whole cd-transfer-to-itunes-to-ipod-with-cable process, a major pet peeve of mine. Come on, we are nearly out of the first decade of the 21st century and they can’t figure out how to offer wireless transfers of music data in a less cumbersome setup?

But, I digress, back to the cds. So, while driving along one of the busiest interstate roads in my state, I blindly plucked one of the new cds from top of the pile. Head bobbing, foot stomping, good ole solid rock worthy music immediately streamed out-- not too heavy, not too pop. I was getting into it—and then the singing started. I stopped mid-head bob from shock.

I quickly ejected the cd. Instead of it being the band I thought it would be, it was the other band’s new cd; a band better known for fun pop/rock songs like, “Go (I Wanna Send You),” “Wherever We Go” or slower worship music like “Presence (My Heart’s Desire),” “He Reigns” or “Devotion” but sure enough, the cd label said Newsboys. After I heard the distinctive vocals of Peter Furler, I knew this cd would earn membership in my personal favorites hall of fame. The cd’s first cut, “The Way We Roll” starts off with a bang and instructs us to:

Put on your backpack,
Throw out your roadmap,
God’ll use anything, check it and see.
He’s using us more than we could ever ask for,
That’s the new way we roll cause we’ve been set free!

Another fun song that gets your heart pumping and singing in the car is Dance. The song urges us to shed our self-consciousness.

Dance like no one is looking
Sing like no one can hear
Love like you’ve never been hurt before,
Live like there’s nothing to fear

Ok, I know Chris Tomlin said basically the same thing in one of his hit songs but it doesn’t hurt to reiterate this message to the masses.

One of my favorite songs on the cd , “Lead Me to the Cross” is one I sing in church. They didn’t fiddle with the original Hillsong arrangement too much either so it comes off pure and sincere, just the way it should.

With busy lives, we tend to forget we are mortal with a “finite number of heartbeats.” The song, “This is your life” doesn’t sugar coat its message. I may put these words in my profile:

This is not a warm up round…
This is your life
Treat yourself right,
Treat others right.
Live like you know you should…
Fight the good fight,
Fight for what’s right.
Do what you know you should.
Every living soul completes a finite number of heartbeats…
The devil knows you get just one shot…
Did you forget that heaven’s calling for your best shot?

That’s a good question to ponder. The Newsboys cd, “In the Hands of God” is a great addition to your collection.

Update: On March 9, 2009 the band announced that Michael Tait (formerly of dc Talk) will replace Peter Furler as the Newsboys lead singer.