[.ca] Sonicpraise

could be better.:
for starters, this is a good cd and a good listen, but it is plagued by small mistakes that take away from my overall enjoyment. i'll take it song by song: Open the Eyes of My Heart: wonderful song with a great performance. The guitar work is particularly good. The only problem is that, as in many other songs on the album, the backing vocals are bearly audible which takes away from the sound and intensity. I Want to Know You: this song is given a faithful performance except that, once again, there is a lack of harmonies. The second verse is also unnecessarily repeated for no apparent reason. Carried Away: one of the better performances on here. the solo is amazing although the strings drown out much of it. Holy One: pretty cool rendition of this song. Extended at the end for some audience participation. You Are Worthy of My Praise: this song is way too long and isn't particularly good to begin with. Spontaneous Worship: yet another track that wears out it's welcome fairly quick. Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble: if you've trudged through the two nine minute songs that came before this one then you won't mind another. plus there's no break in between them so you'll either love it or be bored out of your mind. This is a good performance of this song with good guitar work and good vocals by Deyo. Lord I Lift Your Name on High: once again you don't get a break after the last song, making tracks 5-9 one extrememly long song. This one's great though. Before the Throne of God Above: i confess i've only listened to this song once so that should give you a clear indication of what i think of it. I Could Sing of Your Love Forever: hands down, in my opinion, the best song on the album. has a wonderful begining where the song sort of comes out of nowhere. great vocals with Lisa-Kimmey joining Deyo for a spirited performance. I Have Come to Worship: i would think that this song would be a better opener but it's still okay at the end. not a very good performance and the backing vocals are pretty much not even there. This is a good record but could have benefited from better production and mixing. A decent epitaph for the original Sonicflood

Sonicflood's "Swan Song":
When Sonicflood's live album "Sonicpraise" was released in early 2001, the original Sonicflood band had already fallen apart at the seams. The turmoil within the band delayed the release of this album for almost eight months (The original release date was for August 2000). It's a miracle that "Sonicpraise" even saw the light of day but Praise God, it did. After all the delays, this album was truly worth the wait. "Sonicpraise" was recorded live in late 1999 in Holland and Nashville. The performances captured on this album are stunning and demonstrate just how on fire for God the band really was. Beginning with a solid uplifting version of "Open the Eyes of My Heart" and ending with the Jeff Deyo original "I Have Come To Worship", "Sonicpraise" will leave you asking for more. A true highlight of the album is a continuous praise suite beginning with Track 5 "Holy One" which leads directly into a spirited version of "You Are Worthy Of My Praise" which is followed by nearly 10-minutes worth of "Spontaneous Worship". Here, the band really lets loose and there's even some audience participation. This leads directly into a rousing version of Delirious' praise classic "Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble?" which goes seamlessly into a fabulous rendition of "Lord I Lift Your Name On High". Phew! This counts as nearly 40-minutes of the album's 73-minute running time and in my opinion is the main reason why "Sonicpraise" is a must have. Other highlights include "In The Secret" which has more punch to it here than on the first album, the almost ELO-esque "Carried Away" and a wonderful interpretation of the hymn "To The Throne Of God Above". Of course, I can't forget "I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever", another Delirious cover, which Jeff Deyo duets with Lisa Kimmey from Out Of Eden. This is a breathtaking performance which will bring a person to their knees. Like I mentioned above, "Sonicpraise" is a miracle of an album. This is one of the best live worship albums out there and no music collection is complete without it. It's a shame that the original Sonicflood couldn't stick together. This album shows exactly what was and what could've been with this band. Jeff Deyo has since gone solo and has released an excellent debut album entitled "Saturate", Jason Halbert and Dwayne Larring are now involved with production work. Aaron Blanton now plays drums in the band By The Tree. Bass player Rick Heil, who was not an original member of the band, assembled a new group of players and formed a new version of Sonicflood in which he is now the frontman. The new Sonicflood is completely different than the original band and in some instances, is weaker. However, there is no denying just how special the original Sonicflood really was. One needs to look no further than "Sonicpraise" just to see how true it really is.

Awesome songs!:
I just purchased this CD a few months ago as my first Sonicflood CD and have found that, while some CDs have a few great songs and the rest are OK, this CD is full of hits. They are all very inspiring and lift me up with the great Christian rock that Sonicflood puts out. I fell in love with both the lyrics and the instrumentals, and it all comes together to make terrific music. My favorite song on this CD is number 9, "Lord I Lift Your Name on High," but all of the others are great as well. They all stir up feelings in me that just fill me with the beauty of God through the music. The band sings with so much energy and enthusiasm, and you can tell that they are all wonderfully absorbed in giving God their all. Not only that but the spontaneous worship that is in the middle of the CD lets you connect with the band and all join together in giving praise to God. I highly recommend this CD for anyone who is willing to give Christian rock a shot because you will surely not be disappointed with this excellent music and worship.

As good as it gets ...:
This review isn't very long. All i want to say, is that i'm on my 2nd Sonicpraise album ... due to the fact that the first one isn't playable anymore (not by abuse). The cd simply was played 24/7 doing a long period. It's a cd you'll never get tired of listening to. I know, I'm not!!!!

Amazing:
This is by far one of my favorite CDs. First, I must clarify, this is a LIVE CD. It is NOT a "best of" CD. And as far as live CD's go, this one is excellently mastered. If you want a truly incredible worship experience, buy this album, find a comfortable place, and just worship away. People buying this CD just to get every single Sonicflood CD, or just for the new songs, or just for the sake of musical enjoyment might find themselves disappointed, because yes, it does repeat songs off of their first album. However, I would recommend this album over the first one for the sole reason that is shows the passion these guys have (or had...since the band as we knew it is no more...), and while no recording can do any band justice, this one sure shows that the holy spirit came in power. The first listen was amazing enough to brighten my whole week. If you're looking for a good worship album, this is definitely one of the best out there.

• Intro
• Open the Eyes of My Heart
• I Want to Know You (In the Secret)
• Carried Away
• Holy One
• You Are Worthy of My Praise
• Spontaneous Worship
• Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble
• Lord, I Lift Your Name on High
• Before the Throne of God Above
• I Could Sing of Your Love Forever
• I Have Come to Worship