Music
Press
“Who thought you could get an epic journey through life's most hard-hitting issues and concerns in a 4 song EP? Promise Land does it with a backdrop of progressive rock orchestration that paints a mural of God's answer, and our hope that is Jesus Christ. Promise Land will open your eyes and ears and leave you thirsting for more.”
~Jack Rhodes (Admin) - Christian Rock And Fellowship
“Promise Land’s 4 song demo is what I would describe as a mini masterpiece. The ability to show so much musical and songwriting talent in the span of four songs is absolutely amazing. ……..great musicianship and songwriting with subjects that cut deep… Awesome Music, Awesome Message, and Awesome Talent make for a very strong debut. I anticipate great things for this band….”
~Brad “Wheat” Bowman - Christian Xtreme Magazine
The four-song demo starts off with an instrumental that gives the band a chance to strut their stuff. Both the guitars and the keys seem to play an equal role in this band and both get equal time in this instrumental. The remaining three songs do have vocals. Musically these songs are mid-paced and lyrically well written. Promise Land is very open about their Christian faith. All three vocal songs are very blatantly faith based. "Secret of Tears" even finishes off the album with a prayer of supplication. Promise Land may be force to be reckoned with.
~Scott Waters - Metal For Jesus
“I love this CD, and for any Christian who is looking for a spiritually fulfilling CD, you need to get this album. I give it a 10!”
~Dale Huffman - Firestream
“Very well produced…Solid Christian lyrics….Good Christian music ministry”
~Kingdom Bound Ministries - Kingdom Bound Ministries
"Promise Land's ministry is very powerful. Their mix of orchestration and rock is utterly amazing. The music and ministry of Promise Land has made quite an impact to people at the C.R.F.. Their music does, indeed, minister to a whole lot of people."
~Lia Markham - C.R.F. Ministry
Discography
Promise Land "EP"
Photos
Bio
Interestingly enough, Promise Land started off as an acoustic rock duo by David Ralston and Alex Coyne in 1997. They had been working on getting a Christian hard-rock/metal band together but were unable to fill all the positions at first. So, after much time and prayer, Dave and Alex decided to continue on with the calling God had on their lives. They started playing many of the local coffeehouses and churches as “Promise Land”, which was only meant to be a side project until the Lord had provided the members for their “band”. Little did Alex and Dave know at the time; God had bigger plans for Promise Land.
After recruiting a bass player and drummer in 1998, Promise Land changed their style from acoustic rock to rock/metal. After these major changes were made, God began opening the doors for Promise Land and before they knew it the band was well on their way. Promise Land began to headline many youth group rallies/events as well as being featured live on Word FM. They were also selected to perform in many outdoor festivals such as Cornerstone Festival and Sanctuary International and asked to open for bands such as Bride, ApologetiX and TenPointTen. One thing that remained very consistent and always impressed the venues was Promise Land’s boldness for Christ and speaking God’s Word! -- There is no compromise in this band!
In 2000, due to time constraints both the bass player and the drummer parted ways with Promise Land leaving Dave and Alex to once again seek replacements. Then enters longtime friend Gary Bova who in 2001 became Promise Land’s bass player and has remained so to this day. Then came Eric Bowser in 2003 to fill the position of Drummer.
Between 2001-2003 the Lord began to work strongly on the band and its ministry. One major change was the music style, which took a new direction: theatrical/progressive metal. Orchestration, heavy guitar grooves, and creative lyrics came to be the style of the new Promise Land. Another change was in the bands outreach focus, which has primarily been geared toward unsaved teenagers but now they have broaden their age outreach to anyone from preteen to adult. In addition, the band also saw a need for ministry among the saved as well, seeing how Christians face struggles too, some of which is shared with unbelievers and other struggles that are only faced as a Christian. This allowed the band to not only share testimony of how they came to the saving knowledge of Christ but also to share the struggles they’ve faced since becoming a believer. They share how God’s love, mercy and grace has always gotten them through the struggles of life and only through Christ can one truly know real peace.
After these changes were made Dave and Alex immediately began recording the band’s first “EP”, which was released in late 2005. Since its release, Promise Land has received great reviews on it including request for airplay on several Internet radio stations. The “EP” was also selected on Firestream.com as “Album of the Moment” for several weeks running, as well as remaining #11 on the “Best Rated Albums” out of hundreds. They were also selected as one of the TOP 10 in the 2006 Kingdom Bound International Talent Search. From the exposure, the band has gained a good national fan base via the net while still continuing to build strong local support.
Currently, Promise Land continues to schedule concerts and festivals such as Cornerstone Festival 07’ and hopes to also schedule an East Coast tour in the near future. Meanwhile, they continue to work on recording a full-length album for a release in the near future.
In summary, each member of Promise Land has a very strong desire to serve the Lord and preach His Word to the “lost” and uplift/encourage the “saved” and so they continue working hard to take this ministry as far as the Lord will allow it to go. To GOD Be ALL The Glory!
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