The new year has come and everyone here at NewReleaseToday is ready to give it their best! I want to bring you the best in rock and metal content that I can in 2020 and I hope you find hope and encouragement in what you find!
Canada has brought us some awesome bands, such as Thousand Foot Krutch, Hawk Nelson, and an uprising band, Cliffside. Cliffside is a decent metalcore band that brings a small, but powerful 5-song EP titled Wilderness. Cliffside shares, "We are overwhelmed with the outpouring of support regarding our debut EP. We look forward to releasing more music and we love building relationships with absolutely anyone and everyone. We feel blessed our music has been able to impact so many people around the world already." Taylor and Joel of the band wrote Wilderness as a testimony to the difficult circumstances which they overcame throughout 2016-2018.
New Tour: The "Mighty Morphin Tour"
The Protest, The Persuaded, and Relentless Flood are going on tour together in April 2020. These three bands are great, faith-based rock bands of various heaviness but a single passion–the Gospel. The Protest shares, "Stoked to announce The Mighty Morphin Tour for the spring! We will be touring with our mates Relentless Flood and The Persuaded! This tour will have 3 awesome bands and FULL PRODUCTION and lights at an unbeatable price! If you're interested in bringing this tour to your town please email theprotestrocks@gmail.com or shoot us a message!" With enough time between now and April, hopefully, plenty of fans will able to reach out to their churches and local venues to get them booked for an awesome night of rock and roll centered on faith!
News Headline: John Cooper's Proclamation
John Cooper of Skillet took to social media to share his vulnerably honest thoughts on the state of the church earlier in 2019. Many remember his first major post, encapsulated by the phrase, "We must value truth over feeling." This was publicized with the first video posted below. John Cooper continued to write a couple more posts similar to that one, but they were not as controversial. On New Year's Eve of 2019, he shared his heart with everyone once more, with what he calls, "2020 Vision–Why I'm Coming Off The Leash." In this, he proclaims that he will not be quiet in 2020, even if it is controversial like it was earlier in the year. Two weeks into 2020, we see he remains true to his word. He encourages every believer to be bold like he is. Can you accept his challenge to be boldly truthful?
With the turn of a fresh century in 2020, many people, before 2019 ended, looked back on their last ten years of life. I wanted to do the same but for one of my favorite bands, Switchfoot. Switchfoot is no newcomer to rock and roll, neither were they in 2009 when they released their seventh album, Hello Hurricane. This album boasts some of Jon Foreman's most aggressive vocals on heavier songs such as "Mess of Me," "The Sound," and "Bullet Soul." Yet, some incredibly beautiful melodies, such as on "Your Love Is a Song," "Sing It Out," and "Free." Switchfoot is a consistent band. Their music style hardly changes over time, and that is okay because I do not want their unique Southern California/Surfer influences to fade out. Jon's very passionate and compassionate soul pours over into all of his music and his loyal and supportive band members influence every song just as much. Ten years later, Hello Hurricane is still a true gem in their discography.
A Song Devotional: Manafest "Plan For Me"
Sometimes, the message of a song is very direct and unavoidable. "Plan For Me" is one of those types of songs, with it addressing an abortion. Knowing Manafest, I would say that his reasoning for releasing a song like this is only to spread hope and reach those who do not know how to explain how they are feeling. The first verse is from the father to the unborn child, the second verse from the child to the parents. It speaks of forgiveness, especially for repentant parents of aborted children who must not focus on their past, but on the glorious forgiveness of Jesus and find it in their hearts to forgive themselves for the hurt they caused. Maybe this has a direct message for you and it is a relatable song for you. If not, I hope you know someone who is going through something similar to this story, so that you may share this song to encourage them.
Ryan Adams grew up in Boise, Idaho for most of his life. He fell in love with rock and metal music through his high school best friend. He currently lives in Ohio and loves sharing his passion of music with NewReleaseToday.
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