My Top 40 albums - #36

#36
SONICFLOOd - "Sonicflood"

Year: 1999
Label: Gotee
Favorite songs: Carried Away, My Refuge, Holy One, I Want to Know You, I Have Come to Worship
Lyric sample: "You are the wisdom of the ages / You are the one who stays the same / The power in the wind / The sun left by the rain / How could I begin to make it / If all I had was me / Just take me as I am Lord / And sweep me out to sea"

This is one of only two CDs on this entire 100 albums list that fall expressly into the "worship" category, and the only one in the top 40. That alone should tell you something about the enduring quality of this disc. I'm not one to listen to worship music for entertainment - and let's face it, usually it's not very entertaining. Of course, worship by its very nature is about God and not about me, so I have no conceptual problem with that. I'll sing the songs in church, but when I want to kick back and chill, on goes something a little more versatile. These days we live in something of a worship revival, and more and more talented musicians are infusing the genre their own flavors. We have more at our fingertips in every genre than ever before. In 1999, this was not necessarily so. In fact, many people were taken aback by Sonicflood's, if you'll pardon the expression, ballsy rock worship effort. Our local Christian station wouldn't play my requests because they didn't fit the format. Fortunately I had some great youth leaders at the time who gave us kids something worthwhile to listen to. The lyrics say holy, worthy, I want to know you. The vocals tenderly cry out for God. BUT! The drums kick and pound, the bass thumps, the guitars grind and roar. This is rock music meets worship in a way so passionate and pure that not only had I never heard anything like it up to that point, I've never heard anything like it since.

In these glorious days, Jeff Deyo was the frontman for the group. His strong and distinctive presence helps move the songs forward. It's tender enough for the soft moments like "I Need You" and edgy enough to carry the almost-screams of songs like "My Refuge." Of course he wasn't the only class musician in the group. Keyboardist Jason Halbert had been on tour with dc Talk, and the rest of the group were no slackers either. The group hits the speakers guns blazing with "I Have to Come to Worship," a modern rock blitz that knocked most listeners of the time off their feet. Despite poppy vocal expressions on the likes "Holy One," and the cover of "I Want to Know You," these songs still rocked hard, the former particular featuring some grating distortion in the background. Speaking of "I Want to Know You," when was the first time you heard that song? Do you seem to recall there being "bop boddop bop bop ba's" in it? Sonicflood's rendition is practically the definitive version of the song. Like Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower" or GnR's "Knocking on Heaven's Door," Sonicflood didn't write a lot of the songs on the album, but for a generation, they defined them. Not content to merely play three major chords and a minor one, Sonicflood chose their chord voicings carefully, threw in some surprise progressions and creative harmonies, and generally added a unique alternative flare to these tunes. They move between bright acoustic segments, dark string arrangements and bursts of energy with ease. This unmistakable devotion to excellence makes the CD stand out over countless covers of these same songs. Kevin Max even appears as a guest vocal on "Something About That Name." Yes, between Kevin and Sonicflood, even a Gaither song becomes listenable. To this day, this record contains the only versions of "Holiness," "I Can Sing of Your Love Forever," and "Open the Eyes of My Heart" that I consider canon. Silly, you say? Eh, maybe. But they are really great versions. If you don't believe me I beg you to hear them. Chances are you've been getting by on some fairly lackluster substitutes.

AND... speaking of lackluster substitutes, I give you every album released under the Sonicflood name after SonicPraise. Deyo and all but one of the original members left the project. Only bassist Rick Heil remained, gathering a new group and assuming lead duties. However, the magic was long gone. Since 2001, Sonicflood has put out several records and had a few radio singles, but they've never done anything really memorable. Their voice ceased to be distinct and blended with all the other CCM radio clones. I don't know if they are still around. I don't care. I do know, however, that this first record remains a milestone achievement, a great listen, filled with uplifting and striking arrangements that reminds me of a good time in my life.

Jeff Deyo went out to release a few solo records which maintain more of the trademark Sonicflood feel than the subsequent albums by the titular band. In that way, his Saturate is the unofficial sequel.