November 3rd, 2009 was the anticipated release of “Beauty Will Rise”, the album that was made to express the struggle and walk with Christ that Steven and his family took during the time after the death of his daughter Maria, who lost her life in a tragic accident in May 2008.

This album, as Steven called it in a recent radio interview, was “his psalms”. After the death of Maria, he would sit at the coffee table for long periods of time reading of the Psalms, thinking that his struggle with her her death and what has came from it is indeed like David’s walk. As I listened to the album repeatedly in preparation for this review I couldn’t help myself from being overwhelemed with the grief, hurt, pain, anger, love, understanding, and faith that encompasses this album. The album actually walks you though the 5 stages of grief a person takes after the death of a loved one. This album is a will not only help you in a time of loss, but also in a time where you are walking in a valley of your life. It helps you to understand that God has purpose in all things, from the little things to major events. It is there where you will find his never ending love for you.

This album is great from beginning to end because it highligts the emotions and struggles we all go through. One element of the album that I enjoyed was the acoustic sound. This acutally comes from the fact that he wrote and recorded as the songs came to him. It is a very intimate album that is very well produced. The the piano and string arrangements help add harmony of the album. A few of the songs that standout to me are listed below.

Heaven is the Face: This is the current single being played at radio. In this song he expresses his love for his daughter and he cannot wait to rejoin her. He gives us insight about all the little things that he loved about Maria. It also gives us a insight on Heaven and what it truly means to him, on how there wont be any pain or suffering.

Jesus Will Meet You There: A great song that tells us when we feel you are at a dead end in the road you are traveling, Jesus know where we are going. He will meet us there to guide us and lift us out of the darkness, no matter the situation. Cry out to Him, tell Him of your struggles and allow Him to work within you.

Spring is Coming: The song tell us that behind each dark season in your life, spring is coming. What is Spring? It is the light of Jesus in your life that gives us peace and guidence in our future endeavours for His kingdom.

I feel that this album would be an excellent addition to your collection and I challenge you to preview the album and just see how it effects you in your walk with Christ. If you feel that this is a depressing album because of the circumstances surrounding it, I say to you it is not. Is is emotional? Yes.
It is a album that could help you in your time of need by lifting you to Him.

Released September 19th, 2006, the major label review from Nevertheless featured two singles, The Real and Live Like Were Alive, as well as a number of other fantastic songs including Lover, O’Child, and Let It Fall.

Josh Pearson’s emotion filled voiced, backed by strong guitars and powerful drums make this album a must-have for any fan of Christian rock.

Featuring a pop/rock sound, Nevertheless truly released an album that made an impact in 2006, and is still one of my favorites to this day.

Buy Live Like We’re Alive @ Amazon.com