Seventh Day Slumber Centers Forthcoming Project Around Worship
This spring, Seventh Day Slumber will usher their fans into worship with an unexpected motif and sound. Applying their rock, alternative style to worshipful songs, Seventh Day Slumber hopes to provide a tool of praise in a relevant way. “Take Everything” will release on BEC Recordings March 10, 2009 featuring nine cover worship songs in addition to three stirring original tracks.
“We wanted to make these songs more appealing to some of the youth and teenagers out there,” front man Joseph Rojas says of staples like “How Great Is Our God,” “I Can Only Imagine,” “Famous One” and “Nothing But the Blood.” “They’re all really amazing songs and are obviously known by millions of people, but we wanted to record them in way that wasn’t wrapped around the traditional arrangements. We wanted people who wouldn’t normally listen to worship music to hear it in a way that’s relevant to them.”
As most will recall Rojas was delivered from depression and a $400 per day cocaine addiction, but the story doesn’t end there. Recently out of the blue, his father with whom he had an estranged relationship with since childhood, called to reconnect their lives. Excited to touch base with his father Joseph flew him to attend a Seventh Day Slumber concert. It was at that concert where his father answered the altar call and gave his life to Christ. This event among other experiences convinced the group to center the content of their forthcoming release around worship.
“We wanted to come up with something really interesting, taking the same lyrics and basically the same melodies, but putting a completely different spin on them,” he echoes. “So there we were going through our iPods listening to a heavy riff from Underoath one minute and “How Great Is Our God” in a standard worship format the next and subconsciously started taking those traditional worship songs and making them heavier.”
Clearly the band created a project that is already resonating with listeners as radio is praising the debut singles. Debut single (AC and CHR format) “From the Inside Out” as well as the Rock single “Surrender” are already receiving adds and acclaim.
“This song is from a contemporary band plus a song that radio listeners already sing in church,” states Greg Cassidy Program/Music Director KHZR St. Louis, MO. “It sounds great on the air and is testing well! This is the first song from these guys we’ve added…it really fits.”
The importance of live touring in bringing Seventh Day’s Slumber message to the masses has always been the band’s top priority. This year, they have formed a new partnership with the H2O artist agency which represents Newsboys, KJ-52, Superchic[k] and other major bands in the genre.
“Some bands play great music. Others have a heart for ministry,” shares Scott Huie, President H2O Artist Agency of the new partnership. “Seventh Day Slumber is one of those rare jewels of a band that shine at both, and what a privilege it is to be part of their ministry.”
Excited about the new project and touring relationship with H20, Joseph shares, “God’s the ultimate source of our souls finding hope and rest, which after seeing it happen firsthand with my own life and now my father’s faith walk makes me even more excited to sing these songs than ever before.”
About Seventh Day Slumber
From its indie beginnings at the tip of the 2000s to debuting on BEC Recordings in 2005, Seventh Day Slumber has continuously raised the bar of alternative rock excellence coupled with an unabashed gospel message. It’s a tightly wound dynamic that’s not only seen the band’s last two albums land on the Billboard Heatseekers charts (at #33 and #10 respectively), plus a string of Top 10 singles (including the smashes “Caroline” and “Oceans From the Rain”), but it’s also quite literally saved lives. For more information and up-to-date tour dates visit: www.seventhdayslumber.com
