When Third Day's newest project kicks off with vocalist Mac Powell declaring 'I'm the son of a good man/I'm the child of an angel,' you don't get the sense the statement is necessarily autobiographical. It's personal yet universal; a reflection of man's never-ending search for his identity.
That thread of searching for definition plays throughout Revelation, the veteran Atlanta-based band's 11th studio album. For Powell and his longtime bandmates - guitarist Mark Lee, bassist Tai Anderson and drummer David Carr - that search involved stepping out of their physical comfort zone by recording the project in Los Angeles, and out of their creative comfort zone by bringing in producer Howard Benson, known for his work with artists such as Daughtry, P.O.D., Flyleaf and Hoobastank.
The result is a muscular sound, strung taut with hooks and hat-tips to its Southern-rock influences, but also a real, palpable vulnerability in both song matter and performance.
'As we mature in our faith, we come to a point where we realise that everything is not black and white. The older you get, the more questions you have,' Powell says. 'The point is that it's okay that we don't have all the answers - but we know the One who does.'