....I must confess that I am more excited about the releases of the upcoming Casting Crowns & Mercy Me CDs than I am about Grimmark & Rob Rock. I love all of these bands, but I find that CC and MM seem to speak to me more on a personal level. Sure, Rob and Grimmark will wow me musically, but I find that the other two bands' songs tend to get me thinking about God a lot more.

OK, flame away!!!

Yeah, I would have to disagree with you there because I don't like much modern rock... but... I also know the feeling. I have been getting some flameage because I like the new David Readman cd and the new Kamelot cd better than anything else that has come out this year. They aren't very metal sounding. To me strong songwriting (and lyrics that speak to me) is more important than how "heavy" an album is.

Actually I think Chris' taste have been rather varied for the last decade (or more) he is just finally coming out of the "soft rock" closet.

I liked the first Casting Crowns album for a few months and then grew very tired of it (too much overplay on the radio and church PA). I couldn't get into their second album at all.

Pretty much the same with Mercy Me.

I do have to agree with Norm, good song writing trumps "heavy" everytime with me. I would rather listen to the light sounds of some well executed pop rock band, then listen to any kind of heavy music with terrible songwriting (even from bands I really like).

It's good to like lots of different styles. And I know what you're saying, alldat, about the lyrical content. Sometimes I really want there to be some bold out and out Praise God lyrics, but it's all too few and far between. Letter 7 and the new Titanic were great to hear. Good albums with clear lyrics right the way through but there aren't that many in all truthfulness.

Rob Rock's album will be awesome, and the lyrics will be Christian, but he's not the sort of guy to write "God sent His Son to die for me". Sometimes I need those sorts of words!

Fundy

I can't remember if I am supposed to flame Chris or post about my musical tastes changing .

Anyway, my musical tastes continue to "expand". I am listening to stuff hard and soft that I would not have listened to 15 years ago. My friends and family think that my tastes are getting heavier, and in a way, they may be, because I listen to more heavier stuff more frequently. But, 15 years ago I wouldn't have listened to Eva Cassidy or Myles Davis or Fernando Ortega, but I wouldn't be listening to X-Sinner, Deliverance, Rob Rock, Saint and all the "core" stuff that I have been sampling.

I understand listening to stuff that speaks to you and moves you. I have always listened to Russ Taff and Degarmo and Key. Their music and lyrics deeply move me and I don't think that is going to change.

I am pretty moody and I PRN myself accordingly with music. But, for the past 10 years my music purchases have probably been 80% stuff that I would consider, for me, heavier/harder.

Im going to have to agree with alldat on this just because casting crowns mercy me and all that stuff it just speaks to me more then all the heavy metal stuff i still love to rock

Well other than Topshot, it doesn't look like anyone flamed you.

I guess we're are not all as musically "narrow minded" as you might have thought.

Oh, my bad. I thought he WANTED to be flamed.

Maybe I should burn my classical CDs.

I did not mean to imply, though, that Rob Rock or Narnia are just out to sell CDs. Rob has never promoted himself as a "Christian artist", but his faith does shine through his songs. Narnia's last album was very straightforward in their proclamation of Christ.

All I really meant by all of this is that I enjoy listening to metal and hard rock, but I seem to find some of these lighter bands a lot more spiritually uplifting most times.

Chris - I think its hard to be touched spiritually by loud music, at least for me. Metal has rarely touched me spiritually for the 2 decades I've been listening to it. Even bands like Petra don't touch me.

For me, I have to be in a quieter place, or have quieter music, to really get to the soul. My avatar is of an album that has been a spectacular blessing to me, but its as far from rock and metal as you can get. Its a mix of praise songs and poetry reading, all about heaven. But it touches me more than any heavy metal album has or ever will.

There are times when I want to rock out. I want to just jam and enjoy heavy metal, which is still by far my favorite music. But there are other times when I want, or even need, to be spoken to. And in these times, I pull out that City of Gold CD, or a John Michael Talbot ( ) in order to allow God to speak His truth to me. Its hard to be spoken to by that still small voice unless you quiet yourself. That's tough for me to do when listening to rock or metal.

I agree to a degree with FoJ. I can't think of any metal CD that has really moved my soul though there is the rare metal song that I find a blessing like Theocracy's 'Mountain'. However, there are several hard rock CDs that bring out a worshipful mood if I allow them - Knoteye, Kutless' debut, Nailpoint Payment, parts of SDS' PUTP, Place of Skulls' EP, etc.

I really dig Casting Crowns. But I am greedy. I like it all.

Yeah, I tried to put my post in personal terms so I didn't seem to be saying "no one" can be touched by metal. I know many others have been. But for me, its never happened.