Audio Adrenaline - Sound of the Saints (Album Review)

I think I'm going to start looking at the name Audio Adrenaline as an evolving product name or corporation. Honestly it's like what once was has been replaced and replicated just in namesake. This band features not one member of the band you might have grown up listening to. The last Audio Adrenaline album featured only original bassist Will McGinniss but really felt like an all new band. At least the bass player was there linking something to the past. It was nothing much like the original Audio Adrenaline and sounded a whole lot more like DC Talk (Kevin Max was their current vocalist at the time). This time around the band has a bunch of members that threw the banner name on and joined the band or were hired by somebody who owns the band name in 2015. Some of these members are from a more current crop of Christian bands. Think Christian bands that were popular around 2007ish-2012ish. We've got members from Stellar Kart, Wavorly, and Seventh Day Slumber. This collective has slapped the Audio Adrenaline title on their new band and a few months later we've got a brand new Audio Adrenaline band and album, Sound Of The Saints. I heavily criticized Audio Adrenaline's last album, Kings & Queens, in 2013. I wondered just how I'd feel about the even newer, all new Audio Adrenaline album in 2015.

Where should I start? Well this time around Audio Adrenaline sound a whole lot less like DC Talk and a whole lot more like Stellar Kart. Most notably and probably because Stellar Kart singer Adam Agee has taken over lead vocals. Agee has a decent voice and I enjoyed some of his work in Stellar Kart. He's a pretty good pick for a new vocalist. I think he performs pretty admirably on this album. Most of the music, and it's not surprising due to the probable use of the name, sounds ready for radio. The music is basically Christian themed pop, pop/rock, or pop/light. There are dance and electronic elements thrown in here or there. The music seems neatly packaged to try to appeal to listeners. It's pretty successful at that as well. While nothing on here is far above vanilla and very little chances are taken, the album should serve up to radio pretty well and go over with concert audiences. It's a pretty listenable album. In some ways there's an energy to it that the last Audio Adrenaline album didn't have. I think Agee sounds pretty enthused on the album. Musically it chugs along nicely. It's mixed pretty well and produced nicely. Some of it is a little over produced for my taste and that definitely adds to the vanilla feeling I get from the music when I listen to it. I think for what it's going for the production probably adds more to it than it hurts. It feels bland in a really similar way to the last couple Hawk Nelson albums post Jason Dunn. In fact both bands are arguably doing about the same thing.

I think, and I'm being honest, that Audio Adrenaline was a standout Christian band. Heck, they were just a good band without the religious tag. With these last couple albums, and especially this one, it all just feels like a cash grab on using a band name people once loved. Whether you dig this album or not it isn't Audio Adrenaline and I think the continued use of the name is ruining the original band's legacy. It is a cool legacy. That fact is probably the reason why someone or someones somewhere want to keep using this name to sell albums, concert tickets, etc... Just know when going into this you really aren't going to get what you want, a new Audio Adrenaline album. This band should go by the name The All New All Different: Audio Adrenaline. Until some distinction is made I'm going to find it hard to support what they are doing. Aside from that this is a pretty well done but generic pop/rock Christian themed album. It's likeable enough and that will probably get the job done. I think I found some enjoyable moments, but was left wanting a lot more from it.