Bloom (CD - 1996)

Additional personnel: Eddie DeGarmo (keyboards); Jason Halbert (Moog synthesizer); Greg Herrington (drums); Todd Collins (percussion, background vocals); John Hampton, Ben Cissell (percussion).

Engineers: John Hampton, Erick Flettrich, John Painter, Jef Curtiss.

Recorded at Ardent Recordings, Memphis, Tennessee; The Salt Mine, Brentwood, Tennessee; House Of Insomnia, Franklin, Tennessee.

BLOOM was nominated for a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Rock Gospel Album.

Audio Adrenaline uses the term "NuRock" to refer to its particular recipe of punk, thrash, straightahead rock and softer rock ballads, with Christian metaphors and unwavering spirituality sprinkled throughout. BLOOM is NuRock at its most accessible, with a strong alterna-pop sensibility but not without the intensity, speed and edginess of Audio Adrenaline's previous albums.

Lyrically, there is no doubt about where the band's inspiration and interests lie. In "Walk On Water," Mark Stuart sings, "If I keep my eyes on Jesus I can walk on water/If I keep my eyes on him I can walk on water just like Peter." This unwavering faith is continally reaffirmed in an appealingly unapologetic guitar-churning context, and often with an inviting blend of wit and humility--as on "Never Gonna Be As Big As Jesus," in which Stuart fantasizes, "I could move to Hollywood/Get my teeth capped/I know I could be a big star on the silver screen/Just like James Dean," and then concludes, "Never gonna be as big as Jesus/Never gonna hold the world in my hand."

Personnel: Audio Adrenaline (background vocals); Eddie DeGarmo (keyboards); Jason Halbert (Moog synthesizer); Greg Herrington (drums); Todd Collins (percussion, background vocals); John Hampton, Ben Cissell (percussion).

Audio Mixer: John Hampton.

Recording information: Ardent Recordings, Memphis, TN; Franklin, TN; House Of Insomnia, Franklin, TN; Salt Mine, Brentwood, TN; The Salt Mine, Brentwood, TN; The Salt Mines, Brentwood, TN.

Photographers: John Falls; Rusty Rust.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Jef Curtiss; Will McGinnis; Mark Stuart ; Barry Blair; Will McGinniss; Bob Herdman.

Arranger: Eddie DeGarmo. minimize