God Speed
Byron Dyess
Susan Dyess

KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban insurgents attacked a compound housing foreigners in the Afghan capital Wednesday, killing seven people, hours after President Barack Obama made a surprise visit and signed a pact governing the U.S. presence after combat troops withdraw. The Taliban said the attack was a response to Obama’s visit, which coincided with today’s anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden in neighboring Pakistan. It was the second major assault in Kabul in less than three weeks and highlighted the Taliban’s continued ability to strike in the heavily guarded capital even when security had been tightened security for the high profile events.

Obama arrived at Bagram Air Base late Tuesday, then traveled in to Kabul by helicopter for a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in which they signed the agreement. Later, back at the base, he was surrounded by U.S. troops, shaking every hand. He ended his lightning visit with a speech broadcast to Americans back home. The violence began around 6 a.m. in eastern Kabul with a series of explosions and gunfire ringing out from the privately guarded compound known as Green Village that houses hundreds of international contractors. Shooting and blasts shook the city for hours as militants who had stormed into the compound held out against security forces, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. A local witness said the attackers were disguised in burqas — the head-to-toe robes worn by conservative Afghan women. “A vehicle stopped here and six people wearing burqas entered the alley carrying black bags in their hands. When they entered the alley, there was an explosion,” said Abdul Manan. At least seven people were killed, according to the Interior Ministry. It also said 17 were wounded, most Afghan children on their way to school.

Click here to get a dose of the new album…

This is what metal is supposed to sound like!  Even the slow/soft songs are raw, tough and authoritative.  There are no crybaby Christians here, these guys are taking the devil by the horns. “I’m a stone…I will not be moved”, I love it!

Manafest – Fighter

Fighter moves further away from his rap roots, yet still shows off a great blend of urban hip hop and metal.   Although maturing lyrically, he unfortunately trades off the edginess of past efforts, and heads more toward pop-metal (which is a little saturated right now).  Songs similar to “Come Alive” have more character and are what makes Manafest stand out as unique.  I would have liked to have heard more of that on this album.

Planetshakers – Heal Our Land

Making “church music” fun is what these guys/gals are good at.  This is all of the favorite elements of past releases, refined and put on one album.  So much so, it seems like I’ve heard these songs before, but with different words.  Still a fun listen and full of catchy praises.

Toby Mac – Dubbed & Freq’d

I am always impressed with Mr. Mac’s choice and use of sounds.  His strength is in his mix.  There are a lot of details and things going on but they never clash nor compete with each other.  Even though he uses a lot of the same tricks on different songs, how he applies them makes it continue to seem fresh.  It takes a lot of creativity to hear these things in your head, then talent and skill to know how to implement it successfully…always impressed.

Click below to listen to “Tonight”

If ‘post-hardcore’ is your thing then this album will not disappoint.  From the sporadically-tight rhythms, dramatic bursts of silence, to the drum breaks and growling bridges; it’s all here and done as well as most other bands in this genre.  My advice for these guys is to not use all of your tricks on every song.  No matter how neat and exciting they are, when done every time (especially when the song maps/structures are so similar), they become redundant, predictable, and boring.  Being a ‘Christian band’…if you’re trying to win people over to God, you should stay away from the immaturity of songs like “Backstabber”.

-Lumpkins-

Click here to listen to Lies

Jesus said, “Repent” (which means to change your mind or adopt a new way of thinking), “for the kingdom of heaven is near” (which means, in effect, that it has arrived). In other words, Jesus was saying, “Change your way of thinking! The Kingdom of Heaven is here! I brought it with me!” When Jesus brought the Kingdom of Heaven to earth, He brought also the promise of restoring to mankind the dominion over the earth that Adam and Eve had lost in Eden. He brought back our ruler-ship.  Before we could be fully restored to our Kingdom, however, the matter of our rebellion against God had to be dealt with. This rebellion is what the Bible calls sin, and it is universal in human nature, a legacy of Adam and Eve’s treason in Eden so long ago. Jesus’ death on the cross paid the price for our rebellion so that we could be restored to a right standing with God, our King, and be re-installed in our original and rightful place as rulers of the earthly domain.

The “gospel” message—the “good news”—is more than the Cross. The Cross is the doorway that gets us back into the Kingdom. The Cross of Christ, therefore, is all about Kingdom restoration. It is about restoration of power and authority. It is about regaining ruler-ship, not religion. Our Father, the King of heaven, has given us the Kingdom. It is ours. Jesus Himself brought the Kingdom to us. It was His main purpose in coming to earth in human flesh. We receive the Kingdom through His death. The moment we turn from our rebellion against God and place our trust in Christ to salvage us from the consequences of that rebellion, we become naturalized citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, with all the rights, benefits, and privileges that come with citizenship.

Myles Munroe