Unshakeable Album Review

As a worship leader, I am not what you would call normal. I am not a fan of much if any mainstream ‘radio’ worship. I have nothing against those types of worship albums, but they don’t stimulate me through the full hour. Usually there is one song that stands out.

This is partially because I tend to be a more independent person, but also because I come from what most would call a ‘charismatic’ church; though I never cared for that term as it doesn’t accurately describe me or my church.

I say that to give some background to this review. It is hard for a worship album to really knock my socks off, but it seems like 2010 is becoming the year for it to happen. The recent release of Gungor’s ‘Beautiful things’ was phenomenal, and I had nothing negative to say on it. I have already incorporated much of it into my weekly worship services.

‘Unshakable’ by the Band Deluge is another album that impressed me greatly, though there are some things I felt could be changed. The Self-Titled debut from Deluge was a decent offering, but seemed lacking to me. Honestly I did not go into this expecting much change.

‘Unshakable’ has a noticeable improvement in production quality. It had a wonderful flow, I know this comes from it being a studio album, but still it was a treat. The first track is simple an instrumental intro into the album and flows right into the Title track. Unshakable is a solid rock/worship song, and I can see it being used by many youth groups. The next track called ‘Deeper’ is a true delight. It has the modern flow of something that you would expect from a Hillsong or Delirious album. Its lyrical content is superb. Honestly, it’s exactly what my heart cries on a daily basis. This is a song I look forward to incorporating into my rotation.

The Fourth track on the album is my favorite from a musical standpoint, but I would imagine being quite controversial. The track is called ‘Power’ and comes from Acts 1:8. It has a very industrial feel to it, its raw emotion, and hits hard. But this song is not typical worship, its about a desire to function in the gifts of the Spirit like the church leaders in Acts did. This song fits for their church, as it is a charismatic center that advocates gifts, signs, wonders, and supernatural miracles. However, I do not think this song is suited to a more traditional church. The focus is to power oriented and less on relationship.

The fifth track is nice, but seems very generic. I mean that I could see it being on a Hillsong Album, or Chris Tomlin, or a number of other albums. It doesn’t have the distinction that makes me go ‘wow, that’s sweet.’ It is a very congregational friendly song, easy to play, and great flow. It just doesn’t blow me away. Also, coming right off of ‘power’ which is a hard driven song, this seems almost dead quiet.

The following track ‘Refuge’ is my favorite on the album over all. Musically its strong and delivers even though it’s a slower pace. The lyrics really resonate in me. I have been caught several times singing the chorus, at work, at home, and just out on the street. To me, this is one of the marks of a great song. I am fully intent on learning the song and using it in worship as soon as I can. This song alone would be worth the whole album.

Track seven, ‘Sing of the blood’ is also brilliant. It could just be my imagination, but it seems like songs about the blood always have to work harder to become popular. Almost as if blood is taboo and we don’t want to think of it or sing it. I love songs of the Blood of Jesus and think this is an excellent addition to the list. It has great flow, and passion, and would fit in almost any church service. I could especially see this for a non-traditional communion setting.

Here is where the album picks up the pace again. ‘Overjoyed’ is a good medium to fast paced track that would be wonderful as an opener for a worship set. It reminds me of the feel of ‘The Lord Reigns’ from CFNI. Driven, but relaxed at the same time.

‘I Wanna Dance’ is just about the only song I didn’t care for on the album. The song itself is not bad, but the bridge ruins the song for me. The bridge has a very defensive tone to it, defending the idea of dancing in church. If you cut the bridge, this would be a great song for a youth setting. I have trouble with the argumentative nature of the bridge, and it hurts the whole song in my opinion.

‘Come alive’ is a song that has a wonderful slow driven electronic beat in the back with some soft guitar. This song is more a horizontal song of encouragement to the believer. It’s a solid offering, but I do not see it being used often as a congregational worship song.

‘Let’s worship’ is a nice change of Pace. It’s driven from the piano rather than the electric guitar. Its another horizontal song from believer to believer, but this one is more of a call to worship style song. I like it a lot, and could see it as song used by many churches. Though it is not stated anywhere on my copy of the album, I did note the guest vocalist’s distinctive tone. Kari Jobe adds something almost mystical to the song with her vocal mix. Kari is always a Joy and treat, and adds to any song.

‘Come in my Courts’ is almost the Lord’s response to the previous song. It’s a song of the Lord singing over us, beckoning us to come to him. I love it, there is a great moment in worship where we have cried out to him with everything inside of us, and suddenly he responds and sings over us. That feeling is beyond belief. That little touch of his presence as he responds to the call of our hearts is worth everything, and this song is a great example of that.

The final track on the album is another piano driven work called, ‘I want to be used by you’ this song is a passionate cry between man, and his God. It’s a great way to close of the album.

The Tracks ‘Deeper’ and ‘Refuge’ are the two that I think stand out the most in terms of usability in the church setting. Most of the album would be great, and fit, it all depends on how your worship setting is. In the end, if you spend the money for this album, you will not be disappointed. While it is not an album that will change the face of worship, it is a solid hour of worship that you can pop in to your car or stereo and just spend time with God.