Sparrow Records recording artist Sanctus Real is back with their third release titled The Face of Love which releases April 4th of 2006. Sanctus Real has gone through a lot in the last 2 years since their sophomore release Fight the Tide. The band took home a dove award, and were featured a lot of magazines, as well as great radio success, with songs like Everything About You, and U2’s hit song Beautiful Day. But in the midst of this they also had a lot happen at home.
Graalman’s first son was about to be born and guitarist Rohman preparing to be married, all indications pointed toward another banner year for Sanctus Real. Then, turning on a dime, life dropped absolute heartbreak into the mix. Two hours after Graalman’s son was born, just one floor below the happy celebration, Graalman’s father was diagnosed with cancer.
The Face of Love is an amazing album! It is by far one of the best albums I’ve ever heard. The lyrics are so true. Even through all the hardship they still sing about Jesus’ love for the world. Lead singer Matt Hammitt on the bands lyrics; “All the lyrics we’d written shifted to the stuff we were going through at this point. This is by far the bands most mature and honest lyrics they’ve written yet. Musically the band stays on the same track they’ve been on since their debut Say it Loud, and sophomore release Fight the Tide. I love their style and really enjoy listening to their music over and over. The album was well produced and is a must for any fan of rock music.
There is so much to say about this band, there courage, and there dedication is overwhelming. Their story is so amazing, how they were able to write music during these hard times, and being able to trust God in the hard times they faced is amazing. All the members of Sanctus are great role models; they all had their ups and downs and yet still produced an amazing album in the midst of every thing that went on in the last two years.
Overall if you’ve liked Sanctus Real’s past albums you're sure to love this one, they didn’t change much musically, but their lyrics are much more mature than any of the other two albums. If you new to Christian music, I’ve seen it noted that Sanctus Real sounds like Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World, Switchfoot, and U2. I highly recommend Sanctus Real’s The Face of Love album, as well as their sophomore release Fight the Tide, and debut Say it Loud. Sanctus Real is a great band, they have great music, awesome lyrics, and they’ve got amazing hearts for God.
Article by Jeremy Koering, Editor / Photographer / General Writing
