Provident Label Group

Release Date: July 19th 2019

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Elevation Worship– Aleluya (En La Tierra) (Amazon mp3/iTunes)

Track Listing:

1. No Se Detendra (Won’t Stop Now)
2. Dios De Promesas (God of the Promise) [feat. Evan Craft]
3. Aleluya (En La Tierra) (Hallelujah Here Below)
4. Contigo (With You)
5. Encuentrame Otra Vez (Here Again)
6. Eco (Echo)
7. Digno (Worthy)
8. Viene El Cielo (Here Comes Heaven)
9. Poderoso Dios (Mighty God) [feat. Evan Craft]
10. Poder (Power)
11. Fiel (Faithful)

With so many worship bands and solo artists out there; the competition is high and the standard is quite high as well- as groups like Hillsong (all facets!), Planetshakers, Vertical Worship, Bethel Music, Jesus Culture and Passion all deliver high quality worship albums year in and year out; not to mention solo artists like Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, Phil Wickham, Kari Jobe, Meredith Andrews, Crowder and Paul Baloche to name a few. Creating probably something of a worship saturation point from all of these many artists churning out the album releases; does the addition of another worship movement/band create an unnecessary movement, or a challenge for new and existing bands to rise up and become more creative and inventive with their songs, musically and lyrically? What exactly makes a band like Elevation Worship so special?

Hallelujah Here Below is a release that was distributed to us last year at the end of September (and I’m not really going to write an in-depth review here, as since September, the internet probably has been flooding with reviews- so I’ll just give my brief thoughts); while Paradoxlogy dropped a few weeks ago, which is a collection of reimagining’s and rerecordings of select songs from Hallelujah Here Below. And while the band has recently started to become popular due to their songs “O Come To The Altar”, “Do It Again”, and “Resurrecting”; I reckon their latest offering is one of the most cohesive ever. It’s no mean feat for the group to release a new album in the same year that both Mack Brock and London Gatch have left to pursue solo careers; yet in light of this development, Hallelujah Here Below stands tall amongst quite a lot of worship albums from last year. Again, another album that I wish I reviewed at the time (to be a bit more current!); Elevation Worship deserve to be congratulated, and to be proud of themselves.

Do I need to say anything more about Elevation Worship that I haven’t encapsulated in this in depth introduction paragraph from a while back? Probably not. These guys are quite popular now, given their heavy radio rotation of songs like “O Come To The Altar”, “Do It Again” and “Resurrecting”. Their latest single “Echo” features Tauren Wells (and is a big bolter for WOW Hits 2020)…so what do these guys do now after unveiling probably one of their most inspiring and powerful live albums ever? You’d expect them to release something new right? Another live album wouldn’t be a bad thing, right? Wrong, I guess! If you’re on a good thing, why change it up?

Last week, Aleluya (En La Tierra) released. Yep, it’s the Spanish version of Hallelujah Here Below. While I love albums sung in another language- it allows God to move and you to be more susceptible to the Holy Spirit; I reckon this release is overkill. Why release this album now rather than at the end of September when the original album released- so as to gain the most momentum? It seems like these guys are milking the album for all it’s worth (which has nothing to do with these heartfelt and earnest songs, but rather the timing!), however I still enjoy this album as a whole in its own right. I’m still hanging out for another live album (or a studio album!) of something new, but I guess I should take what I can get with Elevation Worship!

While the band is still on the rise, and many songs from Hallelujah Here Below propelling Elevation Worship to even greater heights than “O Come To The Altar”, “Do It Again” and “Resurrecting”; it seems that the group are unexpectedly excelling without Mack and London. Sure, they will miss these guys because of their experience and the worship leading ability; however the evidence from the past three albums Hallelujah Here Below, Paradoxology and Aleluya (En La Tierra) is resounding and hard to ignore. With the next all-new album maybe being at the end of the year or next year sometime, let us hope and pray that the awesome music that was present in Hallelujah Here Below continues. And who knows, maybe on future listens to Aleluya (En La Tierra) will heighten my enjoyment for this unique offering from these guys. So…bring on the next album sometime this year/early next year!

4 songs to listen to: Aleluya (En La Tierra), Eco, No Se Detendra, Poder

Score: 3.5/5

RIYL: Hillsong Worship, Planetshakers, Meredith Andrews, Kari Jobe, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman