Ever wondered what’s happened to the punk music scene?  To find the answer you need to head across the Atlantic to Manchester, England, to the roots of punk and the home ofAmbassadors of Shalom.

Ambassadors of Shalom formed in 2012 after an acoustic gig at Stoke-On-Trent, UK and recently signed to the indie punk label, Thumper Punk Records. This three piece outfit is comprised of Pete Field (bass, background vocals), Neil Roddy (guitars, lead vocals) and Joe Wilson (drums).

Their 13 track debut album, Abdicate Self, takes punk fans back to the roots of the genre, with Ambassadors of Shalom’s raw, gritty and driving sound. The band describes themselves as evangelistic punk rock. And rightly so. The band delivers no-holds-barred, in-your-face lyrics about their Christian faith.

Won’t look to the left won’t look to the right
Look to the cross, Christ is in my sight
The devil comes in, tries to divide we all stand together in Jesus Christ – “United We Stand”

Besides their original music, Ambassadors of Shalom delivered a surprise on Abdicate Self with their cover of “Nothing But The Blood” (can you call if a “cover” when it’s a hymn?). It will leave you wishing your church band would go punk.

Don’t imagine that Ambassadors of Shalom are a wishy-washy church basement band. Far from that, the band has a tight cohesive that belies their new band status. A must have for any punk fan, Abdicate Self, delivers the music and the message to the masses in droves. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that Abdicate Self turns out to be the top punk release in 2014.