Anyone following "The Union of Sinners and Saints"?

(this is straight up rock, those who are interested in metal only need not apply)

Advertising themselves as a Petra/Whiteheart mashup, the band features
https://www.facebook.com/TheUnion7/
New single can be heard here http://theunionofsinnersandsaints.bandcamp.com/

John Schlitt (Petra)
Billy Smiley (Whiteheart)
Anthony Sallee (Whiteheart)
Jason Fowler
Jon Knox
Jonathan Crone

I'm cautiously interested.  Can't hear the single though, my last computer update messed up the sound on it  .

P.S. Jon Knox was also in Whiteheart.

Not only am I following, I have the CD preordered at Amazon.  If you go to Amazon, you can hear clips of all of the songs.

Some of it sounds a little lighter than my usual fare, but for the most part I am really digging what I have heard.

I also pre-orded the album from Amazon.

The samples bore me. I'm disappointed. I feel like Billy Smiley is capable of so much more than this. And John Schlitt was born to sing big rock anthems. When he goes soft, his voice is exposed. It reminds me of Scott Wetzel from Whitecross - awesome rock singer, ballads and slow songs not so much.

I'll pass.

As you all know, I have probably posted more about John Schlitt, Petra, and Whiteheart than anyone these last four years. I'm no longer a rock fan and did not enjoy the song in my OP, but I wanted to put it out there in case folks weren't aware.

I have a deep connection with these artists from my younger years and so I do follow their careers even though I no longer listen much.

I'm pumped that I get to see them in concert in June. They are playing here in Iowa. Gonna get the cd then as they said they will have them early.

I'll have to go back and listen to the samples again, but what I've heard on Facebook snippets so far was a cover of a old hymn and John singing a rendition of Beyond Belief. I'm waiting to hear some original music out of this band before I'll get excited about it.

The guys that used to rock have aged and lost too much testosterone.  They need an estrogen blocker and start taking an HGH booster.

Well, I had no idea they were so close to release their album. I am currently listening to the samples, and despite the fact that I am not very impressed with the sound, I am enjoying it and I guess it might grow on me with more listenings.

I will buy it, I still see a great potential in John Schillit's voice. He is really talented, undoubtedly, and his voice doesn't look to get so old after so many years of his carrer.

Superjuice wrote:The guys that used to rock have aged and lost too much testosterone.  They need an estrogen blocker and start taking an HGH booster.

Seeing that their audience (like myself for instance) has aged and lost too much testosterone, this will be right up their alley.  And mine, of course.

alldatndensum wrote:

Superjuice wrote:The guys that used to rock have aged and lost too much testosterone.  They need an estrogen blocker and start taking an HGH booster.

Seeing that their audience (like myself for instance) has aged and lost too much testosterone, this will be right up their alley.  And mine, of course.

*Bump*

Ironically, "Old Guys Rule" is one of the better songs on this.

Overall there are too many slow songs for my taste.  The best two songs are the Petra and White Heart covers and I like both of the originals better.  The two other real rockers "Old Guys Rule" and "Bittersweet" are also really good, there just aren't enough of them.

Your thoughts?

Maybe I am just starved for classic sounding rock but I enjoy this album.  It is so different than the hardcore/black metal/death metal junk that seems to be all that the labels want to push anymore.  Its gotten to where everything is sounding the same.  The Union Of Sinners & Saints, while dated sounding, breaks away from that.  Knowing that this is not a young band with that hunger to succeed, I think it is a great album with some old guys showing that they've still got it and are doing what they can to reignite some artistry in the Christian scene without just doing worship music.  Even with the one worship track they did, they showed that you don't have to do it with a simplistic acoustic guitar/keyboard cookie cutter style.  You can rock it out if you want.

This goes right up there near the top of my list for the year with the Dogs Of Peace album.  At least we have some classic rockers who are making good music and not caring about any current trends or formula.

I find it quite enjoyable as well, the only track that has me wanting to hit the skip button is the last one. Of the original tunes, "Old Guys Rule" "Lone Soldier" and "Rise Up" are all fantastic songs, and their version of "Independence Day" is really cool as well (it's great to hear Schlitt sing it).  
Honestly it seems like anyone who likes Schlitt's solo albums or even the last few John Elefante albums should really dig this.  Pretty much all the tracks have great hooks and even the slow songs get stuck in my head.  It's not metal, but Petra and White Heart were not metal bands...nobody should be expecting metal (or even hard rock really) from these old rockers.

Really well written and ''nice'' songs.....but just to soft. John Schlitt sounds great, but White Heart has always been waaaay to lite. As soon as I heard white heart I pretty much knew what to expect.

Jessrox wrote:Really well written and ''nice'' songs.....but just to soft. John Schlitt sounds great, but White Heart has always been waaaay to lite. As soon as I heard white heart I pretty much knew what to expect.

Freedom and Power House are both pretty rockin' albums.

I'm loving this!  It is classic rock from my generation!  This will, mostly likely, be in my top 5 against albums by Dogs of Peace and One Bad Pig.  Mike Sweet's newest and Stairway are also contenders.  If Randy Rose gets his done this year, then someone is probably getting knocked out of that top 5.

This is just on the very edge of my listening habits.  The very OUTER edge.......but this is the type of "supergroup" I'll at least give a chance.  I'm gonna go see them tonight with the wife, some of the kids and one of their friends, since they are playing World Pulse Fest tonight, and that's basically in my back yard.

Like many Christian Rock/metal fans over a certain age, Petra was one of my first Christian rock and roll experiences...and Billy Smiley has some sort of extreme extended family connections (the wife has referred to him as "Uncle Billy" for as long as I've known her, but I MIGHT have met him once in passing 2 decades ago.....his MOM is a pretty cool old lady, though! LOL!).  So yeah, there's a surprising level of curiosity about this for me.

The concert will be my first experience with the music.  Ought to be interesting!

Fun seats!

Are those your seats? If speakers are in a totally different direction how is that gonna sound?

Well, tickets are free (just as the Pulse Fest always is) and it's "seat yourself".  We've already moved SLIGHTLY......but it's not gonna matter.  The acoustics in this joint are some of the worst I've EVER been subjected to.

5500 seat ice hockey venue, the entire thing is all concrete and steel at harsh angles.  Sound is a mess.  First act is on, classic vocal quartet The Imperials, and the sonic reflections are so harsh that it's all noise, and you can barely understand a word they're singing.  Once the actual "bands" with electric guitars and drums start, it's probably actually going to be physically painful

Moving to the front might improve your experience I think, I am not expert, but from your position you are listening to the rebound on the sonic if you go to the front you could hear directly from the speakers and not the rebounds, I think

Nah, nothing's helping.  This is just a poor choice of venue.

On the plus side, we've run into a DEAR college friend (she was my wife's maid of honor!) we haven't seen face to face for a decade!  NIGHT MADE!!!

Enjoy...

...if you can

OLD GUYS RULE!


LOL!


the guitar players (Jason Fowler and Jonathan Crone) can PLAY.  Crone in particular is a heck of a lead player.


Schlitt has not lost a thing.  Seasoned frontman, and it shows.


Jason Fowler has a solo album out that I missed the name of, but they played a song off it along with a decent selection
Of Petra and Whiteheart numbers thrown in as well.

I am suitably impressed by the level of musicianship here.  Probably gonna walk out with a CD, more for the wife's benefit than mine, but these guys are a darn good act!