Thoughts And Prayers

Taylor Schumann never thought she'd be a victim of gun violence. But one spring day a man with a shotgun walked into her workplace and opened fire on her. While she survived, she was left with permanent wounds, both visible and invisible. In When Thoughts and Prayers Aren't Enough, Taylor invites us to see what it means to be a survivor after the news vehicles drive away and the media moves on.

1950 was the year that Leonard and Phil Chess rebranded their record label and began their legendary association with Sam Phillips of the Memphis Recording Service. With the great Willie Dixon writing and co-producing they helped build the foundation of what we call Rock & Roll. Ike Turner, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters are just a few of the key figures that Chess brought to the world. Fast forward to the late 60's and bands like MC5 and The Sonics took the music back to its raw and powerful state. And now, it's time again to get back to the root.

There are no secrets to living the Christian life. No prerequisite attitudes. No conditions more or less favorable to pursuing the Way. Anyone can do this, from any place, starting at any time. But it is only possible through prayer. We can only pray our lives into the way of following Jesus.

Most bands don't have the creative capital to embark on, let alone finish a cogently defined double album. Then, again most groups aren't German extreme metal masters HEAVEN SHALL BURN. Indeed, the follow-up to 2016's celebrated Wanderer full-length is a double album. Titled, Of Truth and Sacrifice, and featuring 19 tracks covering 97-minutes of runtime, the Germans needed to get this out of their system. To accomplish their vision, they pulled back from “the cycle”—writing, recording, touring, repeat—to focus solely on the songs and the message that would eventually comprise Of Truth and Sacrifice. They also sought out diversity. By bringing in composer Sven Helbig (Rammstein, Pet Shop Boys) and renowned conductor Wilhelm Keitel, HEAVEN SHALL BURN added a string section to their formidable sound. And so, without bookers, managers, and label reps in their ear, HEAVEN SHALL BURN set out on a nearly four-year journey to capture their aggression, their hopes, and to realize two full-length albums as powerful in song as they are illuminating on message. Split between two halves—”Of Truth” and “Of Sacrifice,” respectively—Of Truth and Sacrifice is HEAVEN SHALL BURN at their most intense, insightful, and adventurous.