New Petra CD

[Lirpa Loof]

NASHVILLE - Legendary Christian rock band Petra has secretly been at work on a new CD of holiday-themed tunes.

"We've always been fascinated with the way people use the word 'tree' to refer to the cross of Jesus," songwriter Bob Hartman explains. "We decided to look at that idea in more detail."

"We are so excited about this new CD," says lead singer John Schlitt. "This is the first new Petra stuff in some time, and we really think, knock on wood, that the fans are going to love it! We believe God really planted the idea in our hearts, and that it will, you know, leave you with something special when you hear it."

The songs on the CD stem from such stories as the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden ("Eat This Not That"), the building of Noah's Ark ("Gopher or Acacia"), Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel chapter 4 ("Stumped"), and Jesus' instructions in Matthew 7 about false prophets ("Figs from Thistles"). There is also a song called "Elijah's Nap" taken from First Kings 19, and a beautiful ballad called "The Lord's Delight" based on the first three verses of Psalm 1. "The Smallest of All Seeds" is a song about Jesus' famous parable about faith, and "You Sent This Worm?" is a song from Jonah's point of view, expressing his confusion about the fate of Nineveh. The collection is rounded out with a cover of U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name".

Petra has gone in new musical directions on this album, exploring sounds and timbers that they haven't used before. "We wanted to branch out into different areas, without abandoning our musical roots," Hartman says. "It's been a while since we've cultivated any new material, and there was some discussion whether it was a good idea to bring it all in for another CD. At first we thought that maybe it wouldn't be a good idea at all, but then we realized that it definitely wood."

The new CD will be released on April 26, 2013.

[Shell]

I always get a kick out of these...This is too funny. Happy April Fool's Day.

[Michael]

I always copy them over to Guide to Petra to save them for posterity.

OHHH THE PUNS!!!!

[sue d.]

Lirpa returns!
lol

[executioner]

Does anyone here really know the true identity of this person? He/she has been posting once a year for 9 years now on April 1. I'm always sitting there thinking what will they come up with next.

[LivingRock]

heyyyyy, welcome back Lirpa! we were wondering if/when you'd decide to show up

[Lirpa Loof]

Think I missed last year. Sorry about that.