Frankly, I was a bit stunned by how much I liked it. Really liked it. It's modern power rock through and through, with all the slickness of modern production and over compression, but the end result caught my ear and the lyrics were ringing in my head for hours.
But alas, a bit of research confirmed my stereotypical expectations - generic, "positive" lyrics and a stage presence that did little to present the band's (genuine, I have little doubt) faith, let alone the Gospel. In the end, I felt a bit ripped off, caught up in a musical "high" only to find there was no there, there. Turned out I wasn't the only one: http://thepetrazone.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=56138
This has been my experience with multiple artists in today's "Christian" rock genre, which I won't list here. Frankly, I don't really want to rehash my disappointment anyway, nor do I want to offend any Skillet fans out there (I really really *want* to like them, so feel free to correct me). Nor am I trying to put down anyone who enjoys these "positive" bands - I'm cool with that, it's just not what I'm looking for.
What I'm wondering is if there are any solid Christian, modern rock/metal artists out there today? And by solid, I'm primarily referring to a strong, unashamed Christian message - either lyrically or even in their stage presence (some songs that might sound a little ambiguous alone can be redeemed by a bold live presentation, IMO). Preferably something with a musical kick, too.

There's a handful that I feel good about, namely:
Disciple (Hard rock - very strong lyrics, strong spiritual focus from Kevin Young)
Theocracy (Power metal - minimal stage presentation, but very very strong Biblical lyrics - even rivaling Petra in my opinion)
Project Damage Control (Sucking up to Brent, I know

And... that's about all I've got. Anybody else have thoughts on this? I've heard good things about Red, but haven't heard enough of them to comment. Are there any others? Is there anything good in the Swedish Christian metal space?
