Songs of Declaration: Kingdom's Kingdom | Posted March 12, 2013
The worship tunes of Kingdom are the latest songs to grow naturally out of a group's service in their local church. In this case, the local church is Destiny Christian Church in Rocklin, Calif., and the tunes of Kingdom are a tasteful blending of contemporary styles and the hymns that form the familiar liturgy of the Western church.
The two opening selections, "At the Sound" and "Flood Song," both search to capture the broad scope of an arena worship sound made familiar by names such as Hillsong and Chris Tomlin. Heavy percussion and a focus on congregational vocals help achieve that sound as the words sung declare basic truths in response to the character of God. "He Is" follows in a similar musical vein, continuing to establish a trend of songs carefully crafted much more for congregational worship than commercial play.
"Nothing but the Blood" sees the band putting their own spin on a traditional hymn, choosing to recast it in a different key to give it a more sobering and haunting tone. Although revisiting old favorite hymns can be risky, Kingdom successfully adds their own voice through some heavy electronic interludes while still maintaining the integrity of the original. "God of Fire" is a stand-out moment on the album, featuring some beautifully solid pacing as it transitions between restrained verses and ethereal choruses (with a solid dubstep-influenced bridge in the middle).
"Salvation Song" introduces a more gentle acoustic sound for the first time, with lyrics that almost tremble in awe to complement it: "eternal King worthy of the throne came to me in skin and bones."
"Jesus Paid it All" is the second of the re-imagined hymns, this time keeping it closer to the original but with an updated sound for the contemporary Church. "No Other Name" is another song of declaration, announcing and establishing the reality that victory is found in our God alone.
"The Answer" is a simple song portraying God as the ultimate answer to this world's questions. "Victorious" is an appropriate track to end the main body of the album, focusing on Christ's victory in our lives on a personal level as well as His greatness on a universal scale. On these last two tracks the guitar work is particularly strong, notably in the dual guitar riff as "Victorious" builds. Although the band consists of only six members, they craft their instrumentation to create the full sound of a bigger ensemble.
The album features a few reworked bonus tracks, recreating songs such as "Flood Song" and "Nothing But the Blood" with a heavier electronic influence. These are good additions to the album for anyone who connects to the synthesized sound.
Closing Thoughts:
One of the strengths of this album lies in the fact that the group does not limit themselves to a single musical influence or style, choosing instead to blend a traditional arena worship sound with electronic influences and indie/acoustic interludes. The album displays solid musicianship and mixing throughout, although the band still seems to be in the process of solidifying their own identity as a worship ensemble. Many of the tracks are in essence songs of declaration, using language backed by Scripture and Church tradition to joyfully announce the identity of a holy, loving, saving God.
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