Album Inspired by ‘Aftermath’ Paradox of the Crucifixion of Jesus

Best-selling modern worship band Hillsong UNITED offers its highly anticipated, 11th full-length album and second ever studio recording, AFTERMATH, Feb. 15, 2011 on Sparrow Records. Having its pulse consistently in tune with the heart cry of congregations across the globe and a fresh, forward-thinking soundtrack to match, Hillsong UNITED has been the veritable gold standard of modern worship music for the past decade and counting. The album follows a string of 2010 sold-out events in the US and around the world, and is its first new recording in the alliance announced last year with EMI Christian Music Group.

AFTERMATH is also the first new album from Hillsong UNITED in over two years. The band members took the time to challenge themselves musically and lyrically. Not willing to be bound by what’s considered “worship,” nor willing to rest on their past laurels, Hillsong UNITED offers an unabashedly creative collection of new songs that celebrates the One who saves, redeems and is the true representation of Hope in a world where hopelessness abounds.

“I think we just wanted to create an album that didn’t follow all the rules and that we ourselves would want to worship to, whether we’re in the car driving home, on the train on the way to work or wherever we happen to be. We didn’t want to rely on what feels familiar,” says Hillsong UNITED’s Joel Houston. “So we sat back and asked ourselves the tough questions, namely what are we trying to achieve, and why did we even start doing this in the first place.”

As Houston and Hillsong UNITED’s team of songwriters penned and recorded the tracks for AFTERMATH, the theme of genuine, paradoxical hope in the wake of the apparent tragedy of the Cross emerged in track after track. The imaginative opener, “Take Heart,” sets the stage for the conversation as the stadium-friendly rock anthem “Go” reminds believers to be ready for whatever plans God has in mind, while “Search My Heart,” the first radio single from the album, is a pulsing, urgent cry to be used by God for His – not simply our own – purposes.

“Normally ‘aftermath’ has a negative, even traumatic, connotation,” Houston says. “At the same time, when I look at the Crucifixion as an event, it paints an extraordinarily negative and horrific picture. But the aftermath of the Cross is hope for all mankind. It’s grace, freedom, peace, life and everything that is good about God. I absolutely love that picture.”

Creative, diverse and not limited to any one demographic, the heart of Hillsong UNITED is to create music that reveals the truth of who Jesus is. Fronted by worship leaders Joel Houston, Jad Gillies and Jonathon "JD" Douglass, the UNITED team is also an evolving collaboration of pastors, worship leaders, musicians and songwriters - all intentional about giving voice to a generation passionate about God.