Well, folks, this is it. The absolute worst album I’ve ever written a review of. (Yep, you read me right - even worse than Plus One‘s debut.) I’ve been meaning to get this one out of my system for a while, but the unfortunate truth is that SonicFlood‘s highly anticipated second album is so disastrous that I dreaded going back and listening to it enough times to write an informed review. Ah, the price I pay for you savvy consumers!

I suppose I should give you the back story regarding why I detest this band so much. Back in 1998, there was a band called Zilch that had formed as a side project of dc Talk‘s tour band. Having recently recruited new lead singer Jeff Deyo, the band decided to record a modern worship album. That album ended up being released under the name SonicFlood, and it proved to be one of the most successful and influential worship albums of the decade - rightfully so, since the mix of upbeat, driving covers of well-known worship songs, plus a few newer songs and originals written by the band, was highly enjoyable in a climate not yet overrun with worship albums. As SonicFlood became a household name and many other bands (both new and existing) suddenly started recording worship albums, many people wondered what the pros in SonicFlood would come up with next.

The answer: NOTHING. While negotiating the direction that the band’s follow-up album would take, Jeff Deyo was very suddenly “voted out” of the band, in what appeared to many fans like an odd game of SonicFlood Survivor. Not long after, the rest of the band imploded upon itself, leaving only bass player Rick Heil, who had been added to the band after the first record was already completed. Why did the other original members leave? I honestly have no idea. Rick was undoubtedly left scrambling for a new crew to fill those shoes - he ended up with former bandmate David Alan (from Big Tent Revival - another group I love to hate), and three other guys that had been playing together for quite a few years. Rick is now the lead singer, and no one currently in the band was in the original SonicFlood.

Now, let’s ignore for a minute the fact that Jeff Deyo has far more talent and charisma than Rick Heil. Worship music shouldn’t be about comparison, after all. The fact that the new band is mediocre at best is only half of what bothers me. The real issue here is that there was some legal wrangling to be had over the band’s name. When Jeff was initially asked to leave the band (likely as a result of musical differences more than personality conflicts), he agreed, probably figuring the guys he had worked with for a few years would carry the torch capably. I’m sure he wasn’t counting on Rick taking over the band. He’s gone on record as saying that he’s not blessed that there’s a completely different band out there bearing the name SonicFlood. I can’t say that I blame him. The whole process was rather unscrupulous, if you ask me - and further complicated by the fact that fledgling label INO Records snapped them up when they were still working out their contract limbo with Gotee.

Bottom line - the new SonicFlood line-up is false advertising, plain and simple. The new sound is tinny compared to the tight and glossy but muscular production that the old band had going for them. They try to keep the formula the same by covering a few well-known worship songs and trying their hand at writing originals, but with one shining exception, the songs on Resonate hit the ground with a dull thud. Bits of sampling and other musical snippets that helped the first album to flow seem jammed in here for no particular reason. An out-of-place techno influence serves only to further flatten the group’s sound instead of adding dimension. What musical guests the band can afford on this obviously tight budget come off as a contrived attempt to recreate a moment that has long since passed.

Now I’ll make a disclaimer before I thrash this recording in greater detail - I do not have a vendetta against worship music. Do I think the market is currently swamped with mediocre worship projects? Certainly. But there have been a number of quality ones over the years (the first SonicFlood disc, Delirious?’s Glo, and the multi-artist Exodus serve as a good examples of this). I’m an aspiring worship leader myself - it’s not that I run screaming from simple, vertically-directed songs written with corporate worship in mind. Rather, I take worship music seriously, and when a project smacks of someone being out to make a quick buck, I feel like I have to speak out on it. Record labels know all too well that the public is going to snap up any worship project with a familiar name on it, thus perpetuating the myth that all worship music should be simple and not make us think too much, feeding off of the guilt we’re taught to feel for evaluating the music and lyrics with some sense of objectivity. Fans were hungry for anything with the name “SonicFlood” plastered on it, and INO delivered the name and little else, purposefully downplaying the fact that this was not the same band by any stretch of the imagination.

Okay, disclaimer over. On with the shredding…

Lord of the Dance
At the outset, you’re fooled into believing that this new band might have something remarkable up their sleeve, as Rick Heil’s opening prayer sets the mood much like on SonicFlood’s first disc, while an African chant plays in the background. What you might expect to be a cool experiment in ethnic rock quickly shifts gears, though, becoming a tinny, aerobic exercise in overproduction. This seems cute at first, what with the punchy drum programming and catchy guitar riffs, but as the band’s version of Kevin Prosch‘s peppy original wears on, it’s taken over by vocorders that don’t know when to say when, and overall sense of perkiness that just makes you want to scream, “Make it stop!” The lyrics are pretty cheesy, having nothing on the classic tune written in the 50’s or the awesome Steven Curtis Chapman track of the same name. Honestly, the whole thing sounds like a bad remix of itself, with Rick’s interjections of “Everybody dance now!” bringing back bad memories of C&C Music Factory.

You Are the Holy One
Remember a track called “Holy One” on the first SonicFlood disc? Yeah, that song rocked. This similarly titled number (unfortunately also the second song on the disc) could be considered “rock” in the same way that a pebble is considered a rock. It starts off with recorded vocal fragments that sound like a scientist who thinks he has some smug objective proof of God’s existence or something, before a less effect-driven but still hollow-sounding band takes over with a retread of the same upbeat song about God being holy that we’ve heard a million times before. We get to hear a little more of what Rick really sounds like on this song without all the effects to bolster his voice - he’s a little more nasal and less gritty than Jeff Deyo was. Jeff may have not been the most refined vocalist in the world, but sheesh, at least the man sang with passion. That’s all but missing from this clunker of a song.

Resonate
Thankfully, the title track is a breath of fresh air in this this thin musical landscape. Backed by a fuller sound (still more pop than rock, but at least an orchestra helps to fill in some of the gaps), this is the first true original song on the record, co-written by Rick Heil and label mate Jason Ingram. It’s not the most profound song out there, but Rick’s voice is much more suited for a breezy, mid-tempo track like this, singing about how God’s creation echoes His glory and how we as humans want to participate in that. It’s a fun song to sing and it’s well-suited for corporate worship. It still has nowhere near the zeal of the old SonicFlood - the rest of the band seems to be more or less going through the motions, quickly finishing up the bridge and final chorus before the whole thing gets too long for unedited radio play. In this case, at least playing it safe rescues the band from being laughably bad!

I Lift My Eyes Up
Probably the most recognizable song so far to contemporary churchgoers, this simple take on Psalm 121 gets a sorry attempt at a hip, upbeat makeover here. The chords are changed slightly in the verse, allowing for more syncopation in the vocal delivery, and when guest singer Lisa Bevill breaks in to repeat the first verse, you’re left with total déjà vu… this is pretty much a rip-off of what the original SonicFlood did with Delirious?'s “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever”. Now, I used to be a huge Lisa Bevill fan, but she’s since wandered off into the world of bland adult pop, and her attempts at perking up this song ultimately can’t save it. It’s bouncy and catchy, but difficult to sing along with if you’re used to singing it at a slower tempo… sometimes simple songs are simple for a reason, guys.

Fuel
Now this is an interesting inclusion - the band tries their hand at covering a worship song that actually emerged from modern rock culture. Originally recorded by Analogue, this song has always seemed to me like it could “burn” with a little more energy than it actually does. It starts quiet, with another simple prayer from Rick, which is just fine by me - I like songs that build from a whisper to a roar, but this one never roars with the hot intensity its lyrics allude to. It’s as if the band purposefully set out to suck the passion out of it, missing every opportunity to kick in with a burst of raw energy. I’d not expecting gritty, pounding guitar riffs or anything, but once again, I can’t help but think how the old SonicFlood would’ve handled this one. I do like the brief a capella break in the middle, but it’s too brief, and of course there is no real power when the instruments rejoin the mix. This “Fuel” could use a little anti-freeze.

Write Your Name Upon My Heart
The band manages to get a little more energetic for radio single #2, warming things up with a darker techno sound before dropping that altogether once the intro’s out of the way. I’ll give the band credit for letting loose a little more on this one - too bad that when they do, they sound like every pop/rock band on Christian radio. Add to that the fact that the lyrics are pretty much a long string of recycled phrases from every worship song you’ve ever sung, and you’ll get tired of this one real fast. “My Jesus, it’s You who I adore/Lamb of God and Savior, Your love goes on and on forever.” All true statements, but can’t these things be expressed with a little more originality if we’re going to pay money to hear your songs? I don’t think that’s too much to ask. The one thing I really can’t get over this song is the uncanny resemblance to a similarly-titled Plus One song at the end of the chorus… shudder. Strange Middle Eastern sounding instruments take over during the few seconds between the last chorus and the fadeout, proving to be as pointless as the song’s intro. It’s a shame that the only interesting parts of this song (the beginning and end) don’t factor in the slightest way into the actual meat of the song.

Dear Lord
Rick gets a little more personal and introspective for this ballad that he wrote with singer/songwriter Kelly Minter… the introspection lasts for about four lines. Inspired by what I’m sure was a trying bout with Crohns disease (which causes quite a bit of stomach pain), he refers to “this pain inside me” and goes on to praise God in the midst of that trial. It’s an admirable attempt, but the personal disconnect happens when he feels the need to wrap everything up neatly in another flurry of clichés: “I know You’re here and You calm all my fears/And I know You’ll never leave/Your word is true and You make all things new/And I know You’re all I need.” Again, all true statements, but wouldn’t it be so much more touching to hear specifically how God is healing Rick and what He’s learning about God that He didn’t already know? Oh wait, I forgot, this is a worship album generated for mass consumption. It has to be easy to sing and memorize. Apparently personal testimony has no place in worship.

Your Love
Here comes another attempt at being cute - the perkiest, fastest track on the album starts off sounding rather distant, and then creeps up to full volume during the first verse. I would’ve thought that was cool when I was 12. These days, it just makes me want to smack my stereo to make sure one of my speakers doesn’t have a loose cable. The thoroughly annoying guitar and keyboard riffs on this track are only outshined by the repetitive, inane lyrics: “Your love, give me Your love to fill up my heart.” This one is a whisper away from being a camp song. Remember “Holiness” on the last record? Now that was a camp song, but at least that band knew how to pull it off with some sense of style.

Holy and Anointed One
If you ever got tired of worship leaders dragging out the “Jeeee-eeee-sus” in this song at a slow enough tempo to put you to sleep, then I guess this version is for you. Not surprisingly, the band’s attempt to rev it up doesn‘t do much for me - partially because they commit the mistake of messing with the melody and making it difficult to sing along. The bizarre countdown at the beginning of the track makes you think you’re about to be launched into a really cool soundscape - I guess for these guys and somebody’s grandmother, this is pretty rockin’ stuff. I’ve always liked “Holy and Anointed One” as a worship song for its verse about Jesus’ name being line “honey on my lips” and so forth, but this version goes to show that revving a song up doesn’t always make it more powerful.

Lord Over All
Is this album over yet? I don’t recognize this song, but apparently it’s a cover of a decently well-known tune by worship leader Gary Sadler. It’s honestly hard to distinguish from the other semi-upbeat tracks on the album at this point. Its cry of “May Your will be done in me” would likely sound fervent in the hands of another worship band, but here it seems like a retread of sentiments already expressed in “Your Love”. The band characterizes this one as a song you’ll want to crank up. I suppose that’s a fair assessment, given that almost every song on this record is produced in such a way that no matter how much you crank it up, it still doesn’t seem very loud.

In Your Hands
At long last, the disc sputters to a stop with another dry ballad, composed by the same pens that came up with “Dear Lord”. It’s bland, mid-tempo corporate pop/rock at its most faceless. The lyrics fare a little better than some of the original tracks on this record, using tired analogies but at least expressing honest doubts and struggles before God. The guys fill in with some harmonies that might actually be pretty nice if this song didn’t have the most boring tune imaginable. This tracks runs over five minutes, and at this point, I’m longing for the clear acoustic beauty of “The Heart of Worship”, or the powerful thrust of “My Refuge”, or anything that remotely resembles the last SonicFlood record. I should know better by now. At the very least, a small spark of personality closes out the record, as a few seconds’ worth of studio chatter are tacked on in which the guys thank each other for a job well done. (Well, that’s debatable.) Hey, at least it’s not four minutes of talking…

I’m sorry that I have to be the one to give these guys a verbal lashing. I’m not questioning whether the worship is genuine or whether it touches the heart of God. I’m certain that when two or more are gathered and their passions are genuine, God is worshipped and will move through it. Some of these songs will probably fit wonderfully into Sunday services (especially the title track). But by and large, the recordings leave me uninspired, and even a bit cranky when I think about how great this record could have been under the right supervision. As it is, it just feels thrown together, and you know, if this was a brand new band labeled as such, I’d probably slap them a three-star rating, congratulate them on their one genuinely good track, and get on with my life instead of boycotting them so fiercely. It simply isn’t right to pull the old bait-and-switch on your audience. I think SonicFlood should be forced to come up with a new name.

(My top four votes are SemiSonicFlood, SonicYouthGroup, MoronicFlood, and my very favorite, SonicDud.)

TRACK REVIEW SUMMARY
Excellent: NONE
Good: Resonate
Decent: Fuel
Weak: You Are the Holy One, Dear Lord, Holy and Anointed One, Lord Over All, In Your Hands
Skippable: Lord of the Dance, I Lift My Eyes Up, Write Your Name Upon My Heart, Your Love

Band Members:
Rick Heil: Lead vocals, guitar
David Alan: Keyboards
Thomas O’Michael: Bass
Todd Shay: Lead guitar
Brett Vargason: Drums

Website: http://www.sonicflood.com
(Pay them a visit and marvel at how no mention is made of the original members, but they’ll eagerly claim the old albums as their own!)

Not Great Music to Play. Period.


Recommended: No