 "Why do God's people sleep while the whole world goes to hell?" What a way to start an album! We Are Victory wastes no time in establishing their purpose, they want to see people come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior and for believers to grow in their walk with Him. In a day and age where so many are watering down the gospel I am greatly encouraged by this band and their new album "Sirens". Before coming to Christ I was a big metal guy, I was heavily into Meshuggah, early Korn, the Deftones, Sepultura, and a bunch of grindcore and deathmetal bands that I won't mention. When I came to Christ it was clear to me that I needed to put my secular music away and stop listening to it. I am going to be honest, I was worried that I wouldn't find comparable or better bands. For years I have been on the hunt for solid Christ-centered metal. I share all that to say, We Are Victory brings all my favorite metal elements to the table from grindcore and deathmetal to punishing breakdowns and beautiful melodies. "Sirens" is such a dynamic album that takes you on a musical journey, and these dudes are not afraid to experiment with different sounds and styles all brought together with super smooth transitions. The album has many electronic elements weaved in and out as well and I personally love the tasteful use of autotune throughout the album as well. I think this is an under used tool in metal/rock and if done well it can add so much to a song. For me, lyrics matter. As I stated earlier, we are in a day and age where so many are watering down the gospel, especially in music. What I really appreciate about We Are Victory is that they don't compromise the message in order to be heard. Right out the gate in their song "For Eternity" they make it clear that they are about following God when it is passionately sung "I will follow you to the end for eternity" and "You are worthy, You are holy. Let my heart's cry be for You to show me". And this is only the beginning of the album, it only gets better. I was going through their lyrics on genius.com and you can select the highlighted lyrics for notes about the song. I loved what I saw when I selected one of the lyrics, it said, "We are a Christian band, first and foremost. We do this music to worship the living God." This is evident in the chorus of the title song "Sirens" as it is beautifully sung "The warnings are all around, listen close, can you hear it now? These sirens are sounding out for the ones who will stand their ground, so the lost can be found." We Are Victory is challenging the body of Christ to get uncomfortable, to share the love of Christ through word and deed and seek to reach the lost for Jesus. It is clear to me that their music is not simply music, it is an admonition, it is exhorting the body of Christ into action. Complacency is a killer and their are lives at stake. "Sirens" as a whole is a stellar album and for sure worth your time! A few stand outs for me are the songs "Burns Within", "Afresh", and "Endgame" but the whole album is really well written. If you are a fan of bands like I The Breather, For Today, Fit for a King, and Plea for Purging you are really going to enjoy We Are Victory. Fun fact, this album was DIY project. The band recorded and produced this album themselves and they achieved an amazing sound, this is quite an accomplishment! If you are looking for a new album to jam out not only in the short term but one that you will find often in your rotation I want to encourage you to pick up a copy of "Sirens" by We Are Victory. We have included links for you to stream and purchase the album on your preferred platform. At Tentmaker Music we are about promoting Christian artists that are promoting the Kingdom of God. We believe strongly that God is at work in the underground music scene in all genres and that is why we seek to support those underground bands that are serious about Jesus and making amazing music. We Are Victory is one of those bands, support them, this is a ministry and your support helps them continue to share the gospel through their music and their lives. As always, thank you for taking the time to read this, we hope you enjoyed your time. Below you will find the lyric video for We Are Victory's song "Endgame" and the links to stream/purchase. Follow them on Facebook, God Bless! -AJ  The “SHOOT YOUR SHOT CHALLENGE by MARQUS ANTHONY“ contest launches Monday, April 15 and will run thru Friday, April 26. The winners will be announced Saturday, April 27.
The challenge is two-fold. Rappers, take the instrumental and spit your best 8 bars. Two winners will be selected to be featured on the official Shoot Your Shot Remix. Producers, take the acapella and create a brand new beat around it. Be creative! One winning producer will be selected. The tempo for the song is 142. Winning prizes: All 3 of the official winners will win all of the following prizes: 1. Single cover by @lifeofzero 2. Press release for next single written by Justin Sarachik (Editor-In-Chief of Rapzilla, Co-Owner of New H2O) 3. Promotional packages (including written and podcast interviews, site postings and/or social media blasts) for their next single from Jam The Hype, Five Twenty Collective, Rep Da King Mag, the Bookkeeper247 and Tentmaker Music. 4. Spotify playlist placement for next single from New Release Today, Jam The Hype, Five Twenty Collective, Lit Christian Rap and more. 5. Next single played on 90.1 FM Hope Jamz Radio in the UK 6. Song mastered by TLD Beats In addition the two winning rappers will receive an exclusive original beat of their choice from Miraql3 (producer of Shoot Your Shot). The winning producer will also receive a 70x7music.com T-shirt as well as a portrait illustration by Eric Ealons of the Bookkeeper247. The official remix will be debuted on City Takers Radio Show on Victory 91.5 FM in Atlanta! The winning remix will also have a new single cover with the new featured artists names and be distributed everywhere via EMPIRE Distribution as part of the Shoot Your Shot Remix EP. Also, any producer remixes which are fire will be included on the remix EP too! Royalties will be shared on all songs from the EP. (The original song has about 50k streams on Spotify alone since Jan. 25). To enter you have to purchase the Shoot Your Shot album online at your preferred location for $3. Here is the link: smarturl.it/shoot_your_shot. This contains the instrumental and the acapella in addition to the original song. Upload your contest submission to Instagram and Twitter, and tag @marqusanthony and put #ShootYourShotChallenge Thank you so much to all of the sponsors. Contestants, Shoot Your Shot! Connect with Marqus Anthony Short Bio: Marqus Anthony is a Minister, Rapper, Writer and Actor from Detroit, Mi. He is also the founder and President of Blessed on Purpose LLC and the Chief of Staff os The Edge Christian Light Club. His music garnered attention quickly, and debut single, “Problems” appeared on The Edge Compilation CD. The hit single “Take Off” was only his second release, yet it was featured on Holy Hip Vol. 20 distributed by Capitol Records. His highly anticipated debut album, “Walking by My Faith”, was released in Dec. 2016 and has since been heard by thousands in over 25 countries. Marqus Anthony has also been blessed to be on The Edge Experience Nationwide Tour and has opened up for artists such as Da’T.R.U.T.H. and Derek Minor. He has been featured on many radios, television and online media outlets such as “Celebrate Live” on Total Christian Television, CHH Today, Trackstarz and many more. Marqus Anthony testimony is powerful because he is a former scientist that did not believe in God. Miraculously, he opened his heart to Christ and accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He renewed his mind and repented, forsaking a sim-filled life of drugs, sex, and alcohol to become a faithful servant at Rhema International Church under Bishop Eric Lloyd. He now lives to tell the world that atheists are yet being transformed by the power of The Gospel of Jesus Christ!  B. Simmons landed on our radar when he submitted his single "Brand New" to us. We knew right away that we need to reach out and develop a relationship with him. It is crystal clear to us that B. Simmons makes music to and for the glory of God. The bio section on his Facebook page reads; "This page is simple: A rapper giving God glory with good music!" That's what's up! At Tentmaker Music this is what we are all about and we desire to promote Christian Artists that are promoting the Kingdom of God. Be on the look out for this cat, he has a ton of potential and longs to glorify the Lord with it! Check out his single "Brand New" and be sure to connect and follow him on Facebook , Instagram, & here is his Website
D.A.V. (Delivered. Adored. Victorious.) dropped two brand new singles on April 5th. What I love about this is that both singles sound drastically different from each other and this really demonstrates D.A.V.'s depth as a musician. "Scratching the Surface" and "Fly Away" are both beautifully written and songs that you can listen to over and over.
"Scratching the Surface" is an extremely dynamic song that breaks the norm of today's traditional rock culture. In all honesty, the song reminds me of an amped up Skillet track. I love that it goes from well written melodic parts into guttural screams and then into a very well done chorus. The song even contains a dope death metal like blast beat drop that is fantastically placed! It has all of these dynamics running through it but the overall song fits well into the more mainstream Skillet type of rock, this is the brilliance of "Scratching the Surface" in my opinion. The sound quality is stunning, the lyrics are punchy and if you are looking for an awesome rock song to jam out to this song will for sure scratch that itch! This brings me to "Fly Away". "Fly Away" is more of a ballad/praise and worship rock song. Whenever I am doing a review I set out to listen to the song(s) as much as I possibly can in order to give the best assessment I can. With that, this is a song I would have on repeat whether I was reviewing it or not. I connected with the lyrics, especially the chorus where it D.A.V. sings "Fly Away, fly away with You, fly away with You, In Your presence, I am made anew, everything is washed away, Your love, I can't contain it." "Fly Away" is a song about surrendering everything to God because of what He has done for you. I found myself jamming out but also reflecting on God's goodness in my life. I was meditating on the lyrics and worshiping God, and to me, that is awesome. This song is very well written and I pray that if you take the time to listen to it that you have the same experience I did. I don't normally do a rating system in my reviews, but if I did, I would say that these songs earn a solid 4.5 out of 5. They are simply very well written tracks that any rock fan would be sure to enjoy. As always, thanks for taking the time visit our site and for reading this review. I really want to encourage you to check these songs out and support D.A.V. as he is in the midst of putting together what is sure to be an epic EP (that doesn't include these 2 songs). Follow Dave on Facebook at www.facebook.com/officialdavmusic Thanks again, God Bless!
 We were blessed to have the opportunity to connect with the lead singer and founder of the up and coming Christian rock band Adelaide, Laura [aka Adelaide]. It has been amazing to watch the band grow over the last couple of years and their latest album "Strong + Brave" is nothing short of incredible! Those of you who have been supporting Tentmaker over the last year or so know, we like to keep the main thing the main thing and so as always... Laura, when did you come to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? For as long as I can remember, I have gone to church. God became very real to me at a young age through some hard seasons of my childhood. I was 6 years old when I gave my life to Christ. Wow, praise God, that's amazing! It is beautiful when a young person comes to know Christ and He starts doing His thing! That's what's up! How long have you been making music & why did you get started? I have been writing lyrics since I was twelve. At 14, I joined my worship team at my church at the time under the leadership of my Aunt. I sang backing vocals and played strings on the piano. Believe it or not, I've always been a very shy person. Hanging out in the background was my comfort zone. My upbringing wasn't ideal and with it came a lot of hardships. Music took me to another place and to me it was an empty gift unless there was a receiver. Feeling completely reliant on God, it only made sense to sing to and for Him and make that the depth of the lyrical content. That is when my music began to mold itself and find it's purpose in my life. Love it! It is our hope and desire that more of us live in what you stated towards the end there; "Feeling completely reliant on God, it only made sense to sing to and for Him and make that the depth of the lyrical content." That is inspirational. What are some of your short term/long term goals? I kind of take life as it comes. In the beginning of all of this, I honestly didn't know what to expect. I had written all of these songs and I had no idea what to do with them. I was fine selling the songs and having someone else sing them. Obviously, God had other plans...including pushing me way out of my comfort zone. So long as I am able to successfully balance my life as a wife, a mother and ministry, I'm succeeding. I do push myself in everything I do but, I'll never stop making music. Nothing wrong with that! Our Father is in the business of stretching us and pushing us out of our comfort zone, praise God for your willingness to be obedient to Him. With what y'all have been creating as of late we are thankful that you have responded to the call! Who are some of your favorite musicians (artist or band), and who have been rocking to lately? Wolves at the Gate, Skillet, Fireflight, Evanescence, The Cranberries, Tenth Avenue North, Citizens and Saints Great list! Y'all just released a new album, can you briefly share a bit about the inspiration behind the album as a whole? It's been amazing to see these songs come together and in a way, compliment each other. Our message to The Church is pretty loud throughout the record. We address unity in Strong + Brave, motives in Masquerade, materialism in Chasing Echoes, forgiveness in Reminiscing, the battle that rages inside of us in Restore Me and the need for a Savior in Pick Up the Pieces. By the end of the album, we hope you have been challenged to see what your heart reflects as a person. Who are you? How are you fitting into the story God is writing for your life? How does God fit into your life? Or are you writing your own? Each one of us are so priceless to our Creator, yet we waste so much precious time on pointless things. We hope it shows a perspective of encouragement to The Church in that we're in this together - each unique with different stories and callings. Fantastic! Music with purpose that takes you on a journey, love that! Personally, we think the message within each song and the album as a whole is clear and powerful. One of our staff (Fisher), is all about the song Deep Waters, he is currently working on an album and has that song on his "album inspiration playlist". He was real excited about us having the opportunity to chat with y'all. What is your favorite board game or video game and why? (we like to have some elements of fun sprinkled in, we want people to get to know artists and see they are real people too). As a band, we like to play Quiplash which is a load of fun. The way the band plays involves a lot of inside jokes - mostly between the guys since they grew up together, and references to The Office. Honestly, most of the games played by the band are in the van and totally made up! Okay, so having never heard of Quiplash, I looked it up, haha, that sounds like it would be a blast with the right group of people! Sounds like y'all have a lot of fun, that is both awesome and I am sure needed while you are out grinding! If you were to name a Playlist after your life, what would you call it, and what would be 3 songs you would include on that playlist? I'd have to call it, "Strong+Brave" and 3 songs would be Fighting My Battles by For King and Country, Unbreakable by Fireflight and The Resistance by Skillet. Do you have a particular life verse and favorite book of the Bible? Romans 15:13 (you guessed it, Romans is my favorite book). "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." That is a wonderful verse, such a fantastic truth! Do you have any practical advice you would like to share with aspiring Christian artists? It would be to truly question your motives as an artist. What is your true heart's desire? If it is to make a name for yourself, be an artist that is a Christian. If it is to make Christ's name the primary focus and share the gospel, then be a Christian artist. It has been very disheartening to see artists confuse these ambitions because the heart truly reflects backstage. Be a minister wherever you are - to the sound techs, hosts, bands, those serving you lunches or driving you around - we all need to see the love of Christ and enjoy each other's fellowship. Never lose sight of the heart of Christ and servanthood: to love God and love people. Thank you for this, we have been sharing very similar thoughts with people. Our first podcast was centered around the Christian artist verses artist who is a Christian conversation and I think you hit the nail on the head. Huge shout out to Laura from Adelaide for taking the time to answer our questions, such a blessing! We want to thank those of you who took the time to read this and we really want to encourage you to check Adelaide out, you will be thankful you did! Check out Adelaide's new single Strong + Brave off their new album "Strong + Brave" and if you are digging it, be sure to follow the links and give the whole album a go! Thanks again, God bless!  Did you know… that the New Testament was written in the first century and not hundreds of years later, as some might argue?
The writings range from some letters of Paul written just a few years after Jesus’ crucifixion (3 to 7 years) to the Gospel of John written 60 some years after such event. The New Testament was written by those who either knew Jesus personally and were direct eyewitnesses of His life, claims, and deeds, or were close companions to disciples of Jesus, testifying of what they had seen and experienced with their own eyes and writing to an audience who had also experienced the life, deeds, and claims of Jesus. Although we do not have in our possession the original copies, what we have is an incredible abundance of early manuscripts that make the the New Testament incredibly pure and amazingly accurate, 99.6% accuracy that is according to scholars! The 0.4% variances are insignificant in nature and have absolutely no bearing on the Christian doctrine. The other amazing part that makes the New Testament so credible is that we have absolutely no manuscripts nor writings of the first century from opponents of Christianity that deny nor contest the claims the disciples of Jesus were making. On the contrary, the writings we have attest of the events and claims of the New Testament (even if they denied the claims themselves–so for instance, no one would deny Jesus’ claims to deity or that he was viewed as deity by His followers and that His disciples believed they had seen Him risen from the dead. What they would reject are the claims themselves), making it the more credible. Although the Gospel of John is the last writing, it is the earliest manuscript we have in our possession, dated from only 30 years after it was written. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are believed to have been written within 40 years of Jesus’ death and resurrection. We have over 24,000 manuscripts (5,600 in Greek alone) circulating around the world (and by the way, it is only in the late 2nd and 3rd century that we start seeing some pseudo-gospels such as the Gnostics which start giving a different view to Jesus, His claims, and the events around His life). How does that compare to other events of antiquity? The New Testament puts to shame any other writings and is second to none in its accuracy and purity. Take for instance the work of Plato. What we have are only 7 manuscripts and the span between the actual writings and the earliest manuscripts is 1,200 years. As far as Aristotle, number of manuscripts 49 and span 1,400 years. Caesar, manuscripts 10 and span 1,000 years. Finally, the second most abundant and accurate writing is Homer’s Iliad with 643 manuscripts and a span of 500 years. And yet, no one denies such figures of antiquity and such writings. Why do we then so stubbornly reject the accuracy of the New Testament? Thanks for reading! Finish the article over at GrowingDeeperRoots.org |
