Artist: The Violet Burning
CD: This is the Moment
Label: Northern
Released: 2003

Goose bump music. That’s what I like the most. My musical tastes have evolved over the years, but the one constant is that I love music that has so much musical and lyrical genius that it just makes you sit up and take notice. I was driving around with a friend recently and he was listening to The Violet Burning’s seventh record in 13 years – it was a copy of their new album we were sharing – and I realized that there was something incredibly powerful about their songs, the kind of lush melodic rock that makes my hair stand up on my neck (in a good way). Now, I’ve never really had much contact with the band, although I know them indirectly because they have influenced plenty of other bands. For example, I’ve been listening to GlassByrd a lot lately, and there’s a strange connection between the two sounds – it’s basically modern rock with some emo underpinnings. Right now, “This is the Moment” it’s my top pick for album of the year. It has so many cool moments, where one chorus unfolds into another bigger and better chorus, lyrics that pierce right into your soul and stick there, and some amazing guitar riffs that layer into one another to a building crescendo.

The album opens with “Lovesick” (a song about being enraptured by God) and just keeps getting better and better. “Everywhere I Go” is an emo worship song about staying close to God’s heart. The song starts with a smattering of acoustic guitar and then explodes into staccato guitar and vintage 80s oohs and ahhs. Careful on that chorus – it plants itself so deep into your synapses that you might be singing it all day. “Radio Jesus Superstar” is just a fun song about being “full on” for Jesus. Hey, there’s a trend here – after 13 years n the music business, the band is just ready to just be blunt about the message of Christ: total commitment or nothing at all. I like the imagery of the line “hanging on my heart…” and Michael J. Pritzl’s pleading, hopeful intonations.

Things quite down on “The Only One” and make the band sound even more emo. The song talks a lot about trust. The anthem quality of the song reminded me a bit of Petra at that band’s absolute best moments. “I’m Not Letting Go” is a little more old school new wave, although every song still has Violet Burning’s characteristic guitar work and, occasionally, some soft background synth. I also loved “Manta Rae” about laying down before the worthy lamb – an image of eternity. The Violet Burning has an ability to hook you into their world and keep you there, mostly transfixed by the beauty of Christ but also by the majesty of the music. A great band, one of my favorite records of the past few years. I’m looking forward to “researching” their back catalog for some time.

John Brandon
Christrock.com