Integrity Music Hillsong Live The congregation of Hillsong Church gathered together as ONE in Sydney’s largest indoor stadium, ‘Acer Arena,’ to unite in ONE sound and record the latest Hillsong LIVE worship album. The atmosphere was electric, as the sound of over 13,000 worshippers reverberated throughout the auditorium… real people living real lives… singing, dancing and giving expression to the faithfulness of their God through wholehearted worship, led by Darlene Zschech and the worship team.
Even before the first note was sung, Darlene declared the truth of Psalm 27:4: “ONE thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the House of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in His temple”.
The new songs included on this album are exactly that – songs with life, energy and, ultimately, heartfelt adoration for our Saviour, Jesus Christ. The title track ‘Saviour King’ has become an anthem in Hillsong Church of late. Listeners be inspired to worship in spirit and truth as the power of our incredible God is declared through the beautiful songs on this latest Hillsong LIVE album, Saviour King.
Review
The torch has almost been completely passed. The line continues to blur between the Hillsong's band that gave us "Shout to the Lord" so many years ago, and their youthful counterpart, United. The day will come, I'm sure, when Darlene Zschech and Rueben Morgan won't even be on the Hillsong albums. Using a sports analogy; this musical powerhouse doesn't rebuild, they just reload! God has blessed them richly with talented singers and songwriters and musicians, and they strike a chord with congregations wherever they lead worship.
Consistency marks this new release. It's live, with many moments of crowd-only singing. It rocks and reflects, giving a good mix of jarring guitar lines and gentle voices. As we've come to expect over the years, the most dramatic songs are the ones that swell and crescendo out of an incredible softness. The band has an ability, which is demonstrated on their many live albums, to lead a worshiper from energetic, hands raised, fist-pumping praise, to a settled in, presence-of-God melt-away worship, and then rising back up to a stand-in-awe-of-Your- majesty, raw emotional climax. They have done this repeatedly in the past and continue on Saviour King.
Evaluating this release just on its own merits reveals a finely crafted, well written, well played album of songs. If you've never picked up one of their albums, this is a fine start. My struggle is when I put the CD alongside all of Hillsong's other releases. Several of the songs here have been recorded before. They're done very well, as they were on the other releases. But, as with the most recent Hillsong United release, musically speaking, there is no new ground being broken. As a movement, Hillsong worship is more than a couple of decades into it now. And they've set the bar quite high for themselves, and the rest. They've been innovative over the past 20 years. "Shout to the Lord" has been, arguably, one of the most often played songs in churches. "Everyday", "I Give You My Heart", "My Redeemer Loves", "All For Love", "Potter's Hand", and so many more songs dot the landscape of the contemporary church worship scene. What tends to happen is that songs that were groundbreaking in their uniqueness become almost a formula for the succeeding songwriters. Instead of striving to continue breaking the mold, it gets comfortable staying the same.
Again, though, the album stands quite well on its own, unencumbered by history. "Hosanna" by Brooke Fraser is a classic (which I have already noted in my review of Hillsong United's latest album). The thousands who were in attendance at the conference from which these songs were culled will testify to the brilliance and poignancy of the music. I don't disagree. I merely note that the cutting edge, where once a constant companion to Hillsong, is now several clicks away.
Review by John Ausmus
Song List: I'm Not Ashamed, Break Free, In Your Freedom, You Are My Strength, Lord Of Lords, One Thing, To Know Your Name, God Of Ages, In The Mystery, You Saw Me, Hosanna, Here In My Life, You Are Faithful, Saviour King 
