Marked By Heaven

By Thomas Jenkins

GENRE: LIVE WORSHIP
LABEL: JESUS  CULTURE
RELEASE DATE: MAY 26, 2009
RATING: 3.5 OUT OF 5

If you frequent this site much, you probably know that I’m not a huge fan of praise and worship music. And if you’ve read my review on a band called Anthem, you know that I like live worship music even less. However, it’s been said that there are exceptions to every rule, and Jake Hamilton could be called living proof of this. Almost every element that is missing in most worship albums can be found in his latest offering, Marked By Heaven.

Perhaps the best example of Hamilton’s skill at music writing is the fact that the opener to the album is eight minutes long, and doesn’t get boring. Sure, it’s not perfect, but when you consider the fact that most worship songs that are even three or four minutes long quickly lose their appeal, and Hamilton manages to keep your attention for eight minutes, this artist’s skill quickly becomes apparent. As the album continues though, it becomes clear that this eight minute beast was no fluke. Hamilton creates a solid worship album from start to finish, and finally creates a live worship project that’s not complete garbage. How does he do this? by combining solid instrumentals, a passionate voice, and engaging lyrics. Probably the number one selling point for Hamilton though, is his passion. He yells, sings, howls, and ends up showing more emotion than almost any other singer I can think of. The instrumentals are also solid, if unspectacular, and the lyrics fit remarkably well with his style of music and his passion.

Of course though, this album isn’t perfect. The first problem is the crowd, which may not seem like a huge problem, and in reality isn’t something that completely cripples the album. From the volume of Hamilton’s performance, and the passion he displays though, you’d expect a far more involved crowd than what appears on the album. The crowd isn’t awful, but in the portions that Hamilton gets them to sing along, the voices are barely audible, and the lack of passion showed by the fans takes away from the overall effect of the album. Secondly, although the instrumental work by Hamilton is generally solid, there’s an overall lack of variation that ends up hurting the album as it reaches its close.

Small flaws aside though, Marked By Heaven is certainly worth a look, and if you’re in the need of more worship music it’s hard to go wrong here. Although I’m no avid listener of live worship music, aside from David Crowder Band’s live offering, this is the best live worship album I’ve ever heard. Hamilton deserves a lot of credit for creating something that’s not only listenable, but also enjoyable. Something that’s become all too rare in today’s music industry.

Review title sent courtesy of Jesus Culture Music