Curb Records
Release Date: March 10th 2023
Reviewed by: Joshua Andre
Big Daddy Weave– Heaven Changes Everything (Single) (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Track Listing:
- Heaven Changes Everything
Way back in 2015, CCM band Big Daddy Weave released one of their most emotional, honest, and personal albums ever. Beautiful Offerings (reviewed here!) flooded the radio and our favourite digital outlets, with singles such as “My Story”, “Jesus I Believe”, and the Bethel Music cover “The Lion And The Lamb” all resonating with us at various points in time throughout the past few years. “My Story” was especially…well, special, to the band, given that lead singer Mike had to lean on his own words of the song as his brother Jay (who recently passed away, but who was also in the band) was undergoing surgery of both his feet in 2016 after a life-threatening condition. Little did the band know, while God was moulding and shaping their hearts in the midst of trials and tribulations, He was preparing their hearts with seeds for a new album. Granted they weren’t thinking of a new album back in 2016- more like focusing on whether Jay would live or not; but as God works in mysterious ways, He was using someone half around the world to be a direct agent of His and to write an incredible chapter in the book of Big Daddy Weave’s ministry.
So, have you ever had one of those life changing moments when you hear a song and nothing in the same ever again? Well Zach Williams- writer of the smash hit “Chain Breaker”- sure did, as he heard Big Daddy Weave’s song “Redeemed” on the radio after coming back home from a rock concert with his mainstream band in 2013. You can read more about Zach’s testimony right here, however the long and short of it was that Big Daddy Weave was a major help in where Zach is today as he ministers to every person and shares the gospel through song. Fast forward to 2019 when Big Daddy Weave released their latest album When The Light Comes, and everything has come full circle. Zach wrote a song called “Alive” in 2018 when he was touring with…none other than Big Daddy Weave. He played the demo track back to Mike Weaver, lead singer of the band, and the result was that the song was the band’s lead single of that album. With Big Daddy Weave’s single- “Alive”, written by Zach Williams- the lead single for When The Light Comes; Big Daddy Weave’s brand new album released in 2019, and is 4 years in the making. As the band extensively cover material and topics that they may have only glossed over in the past, When The Light Comes still is a standout album and one of my favourites of 2019. With the lead single “Alive” encouraging us to live life to the fullest because we are alive in Jesus Christ; there’s no better place to start than this album if you’re not a Big Daddy Weave fan yet!
But we’re not here to talk about Big Daddy Weave’s 2019 album. For throughout the next 4 years until this date, the band have been hit by COVID-19, death, and loss unimaginable. With Mike losing his brother recently, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the band was done. However, just like when Steven Curtis Chapman’s daughter died, and then he forged on and created music out of his pain and hurt; so too has Big Daddy Weave turned their anguish, grief, and sorrow into music. Just this past week, the new single “Heaven Changes Everything” released, inspired by Jay’s death.
I don’t know if any of you listeners feel this way, but reviewing this song or even listening to it and liking it sounds… wrong on some level. These guys have been through the worst pain unimaginable- one of their friends/brothers/brothers-in-Christ passed away, and not of natural causes. Never mind that this song, which speaks about the beauty of heaven and the wonder of seeing Jesus and our loved ones again someday, is lyrically true; because I’m sure that other people going through what the Weavers and the band are going through, may not even be able to stomach this song for… maybe ever. If you’re sick or your family member is, do you want to hear ‘Don’t worry, you’ll see them in heaven’, or ‘God’s got a plan’, or ‘God works in mysterious ways’? Even if all of that is true, you don’t want that. You want someone to sit in the hurt and the pain and just be with you. Maybe even cry with you. And so, I’d say this song isn’t for everyone. And that’s ok. It’s for those who want a reminder of the hope and assurance and promise we have in Jesus Christ. It’s for those who want a reminder that life isn’t hopeless or pointless or meaningless or worthless. It’s immeasurable in the eyes of Jesus and in the eyes of eternity. And so, in some ways, “Heaven Changes Everything” is probably the most inspirational song of the year.
What more can I say about Big Daddy Weave’s song “Heaven Changes Everything” that I haven’t said already? Whether just a standalone single or part of a bigger album, these guys have been through hell on earth, and it’s admirable that they’re still together as a band. This song at face value inspires, yet for those going through their demons and through their issues, this song could sound overly and simplistically optimistic. Would it be right to ‘rate’ this song though? Probably not, so I’m not going to. Mike and his friends have released (and probably will release) the most therapeutic song all year- so should you listen to it? Up to you. I won’t be offended either way, and the band won’t be as well. And so, can I just say well done Mike and co.? I can’t wait to hear what God has for you next in the future, and to hear about the effects of lives changed by “Heaven Changes Everything” as well!
RIYL: Michael W. Smith, The City Harmonic, Jesus Culture, Leeland, Tenth Avenue North
Love the review. This is definitely their best song since “I Know.” It just makes you want to raise your hands and praise God for providing a place for us beyond this world where we get to see Him one day.