My new album, Iron Sceptre, Releases September 6th on Spotify and other services.
Over the last year or so, I have spoken about how we can use AI to make Christian music of the highest quality, both in lyrics and in sound. Many people in Bible-based churches have different issues with contemporary Christian worship. Some don’t appreciate the doctrine being sung. Some don’t like the style.
One solution that many give is very simple: just sing the old hymns. And there are many great hymns that can be sung. Like Amazing Grace, How Great Thou Art, What a Friend We Have in Jesus, Great is Thy Faithfulness and many, many more. I approve greatly of rotating through these amazing older songs regularly in your church services.
There are also some great modern hymns or songs of praise that stand above others. Like Keith Green’s, O Lord You’re Beautiful, or the Gettys’ In Christ Alone, and many other examples. There are great songs that you can listen to and sing.
But we are also commanded to sing a new song unto the Lord,
Psalm 33:3, “Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.”
Psalm 40:3, “He has put a new song in my mouth— Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord.”
Psalm 96:1, “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth.”
It is good and necessary to connect with tradition, but it is also good and necessary to be continually singing new songs unto the Lord that bring forth his greatness and glory to a new generation. A heart filled with love for the Lord is a heart that overflows with praise. New songs should be coming out of that.
So, I want to sing old songs and new songs. But it is really hard for me to find the kind of biting rock that I love to listen to, but Christian. Petra is great, and I love some of their music, but are they still making stuff? Jimmie Bratcher is top quality as well. But these kinds of strong masculine-sounding bands with great lyrics don’t seem to be as common in the modern church.
I love bands like Live, Matchbox Twenty, Screaming Jets, Cold Chisel, Metallica, Hunters and Collectors, Linkin Park, and so many more. But there are so many secular songs that I just don’t enjoy listening to as much anymore. But I still love the style.
Well, here comes AI. With this technology, you can make any kind of music you can imagine, and you can make it according to any theme that you like. With this, I have created various songs over the year, but I wanted to do something a little more special. I wanted to create a consistent album with a consistent sound and upload it to Spotify and other music platforms to test my music out on the most prominent music platforms. So, this is what I have done.
My new album from my AI band, Iron Sceptre, will be out tomorrow, September 6th on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, TikTok, YouTube Music and Amazon Music. The name of the band comes from Psalm 2 and Revelation 2. Psalm 2 says about Jesus,
“I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”
Psalm 2:7-9
This Psalm tells us that Jesus Christ is going to rule the world with a Rod of Iron. Praise God. But Revelation 2 tells us that believers will as well,
“Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. 25 But hold fast what you have till I come. 26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations— 27 ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’— as I also have received from My Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star. 29 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’
Rev. 2:24-28
One of the incredible things about believing in Jesus is that we become co-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17) simply by virtue of our rejecting this world and trusting in him. To those who overcome, they will be granted to rule this world with an iron sceptre. Hence, the name of the band has these twin meanings. It points to our Lord Jesus Christ and his rule and our participation by faith in that rule as well. We who believe in Jesus, who have overcome this world, will reign with Christ one day. Incredible!
While you can create great congregational music with AI, that is not what this album is. This is a rock album with a blues feel. It is designed to encourage men and women who like Rock to be able to worship Jesus in their car, at work, while working out, and while doing many of the things we all love to do while listening to music.
Here are some lines from the songs:
“Deliver me from sword and flame,
From, You Heard My Cry, based on Psalm 22.
From lions’ mouths and bulls untame.
I’ll sing Your praise before the crowd,
Declare Your name both clear and loud.
All ends of earth shall bow and say:
“The Lord is King! His reign holds sway!”
“Who can stand when the Lamb breaks the seal?
From, Who Can Stand, based on Revelation 6.
When the scroll is unrolled and the truth is revealed?
Glory and terror at the hand of the Son,
For the day of His wrath has begun.
The Lamb once slain now reigns on high,
His justice rolls like oceans wide.
He waits with grace, His judgment stayed,
But mocks of men will not delay.
Still He calls in patient love,
But mercy’s gate will close above.”
“Oh Ahab you coward king in disguise
From A Man of God Arises, based on Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal. Why are there not more Christian songs mocking false idols?
Your prophets crumble beneath your lies
Cry louder, maybe your gods are asleep
Or lost in thought in a grave too deep
Fire falls from the mountain high
Truth will burn through every lie
Your idols crumble your kingdom’s dust
In the Lord of justice we place our trust.”
“You are not a God who delights in wrong,
From Lead Me In Your Righteousness, Based on Psalm 5.
The wicked cannot stand in Your sight.
You hate all who deal in lies and blood,
The boastful and deceitful You will strike.”
People are more influenced by music than by sermons. I say this even though I am a preacher. AI music tools give us an unprecedented ability to produce Christian music of a high quality with the kind of lyrics and style we wish that Christian musicians would produce. There are many great Christian musicians. Of course. But the problem with Christian music and the music industry in general is that they fall into ruts of certain styles that mostly appeal to teenage girls. But there is a much wider breadth of music with which one can worship the Lord, and I decided to put this technology to the test on the open market.
Personally, I would love it if we sang this kind of style in church on occasion. Not because we want to perform. But this is the kind of music that get’s many people singing loudly and openly. One of my favourite things is seeing my kids sing lines from these songs based off passages in the Bible.
I hope this album blesses you. But I also hope it pumps you up for declaring the Lord before the crowd and declaring his name both clear and loud.
