Dan Parr of hard music's CENACLE answered some questions from Tony Cummings

Cenacle

St Helens-based metal band Cenacle (pronounced sen-a-kle) may have supported post-hardcore big-hitters Funeral For A Friend but that doesn't stop them from having a defiantly direct spiritual agenda. Cross Rhythms quizzed the band's drummer, Dan Parr, and he spelt out their spiritually militant view of things. "We see ourselves as 100 per cent ministry. A lot of people might just see us as a rock band but it goes much further than that. We are gifted in music and the music scene is our sphere of influence. Our music is a vehicle that gains us access to places where we meet people who see music as their god. A lot of people we meet are broken, hurting, and in need of hope. We want to be that hope to them in whatever way we feel led to be."

Cenacle began in 2005 and was started by former frontman, Joe Consiglio and his brother, current frontman, Si Consiglio. In 2007, drummer Dan joined the band, soon to be followed by Ben Ryan (bass) and Ben Houghton (lead guitar). Down the years Cenacle's music has evolved to reflect their journey bringing in fresh sounds. The band recorded a number of demos until in 2010 they released their first EP, 'Immortality'. After a great deal of gigging playing every kind of venue, from pubs to Christian festivals, in 2012 the band made a huge step forward and signed to Nameless/Faceless Records. In March 2014 Cenacle released the EP 'The New Today' along with the single "Rise Up".

Dan explained how the group came to make the connection with Funeral For A Friend. "The venue that Funeral For A Friend played in was where we held our EP launch in March 2014. Over the years we have played the same venue many times and therefore we have a good relationship with the staff there. Once hearing about Funeral For A Friend playing there, we immediately made contact where they passed our details onto their management who then selected us."

The gig with FFAF was, in the band's own word, "incredible." Said Dan, "It was exactly where we want to be. We want to be regularly playing alongside great bands like Funeral For A Friend in the venue we played in. It was an incredible opportunity for us to be that light in the dark place. The crowd seemed to really like our sound. We gained a lot of new followers from the show!"

Since their EP launch many people have been discovering Cenacle's music. Dan mentioned a couple of the songs. "A band favourite is 'Encountering'. It's a story of a person's journey through life and the point being that it's more than words that convince people that God is real and wants to know them personally. The song poses an invitation for the person to see past their preconceptions of the spiritual and allow God to meet them in power. As a band our ministry revolves around this. Instead of just telling people about God we want them to experience him. We believe the Kingdom of God is not a matter of words but a matter of power.
Another popular song is 'Rise Up' which we released as a single. It's a personal declaration for us as a band who are on a mission. We proclaim that our time has come and we are going to rise up to everything that God wants to do in and through us. It's also a declaration to other believers to say that we are one in spirit and there are no 'solo missions' in the Kingdom. Everyone has a part to play in expanding God's Kingdom across the earth and it's time to rise up to the call of God on our lives."

2015 is turning out to be Cenacle's busiest year. "Already we have played a weekend of shows in Scotland, a weekend in Essex and at the end of February we are completing another two week 'EXIT Tour in Czech Republic. Upon return from Czech Republic, we go straight into a UK Battle For Your Souls Tour followed by shows at Spring Harvest and Big Night Out already booked in. Throughout 2015 and 2016, the band are looking to work with churches to assist with outreach events throughout the country, as well as continuing to play secular venues and festivals in the UK and Europe. An album at the end of 2015 is also on the cards."

Spiritually Cenacle are fired up for all that is to come. Enthused Dan, "We are already seeing God do incredible things whilst on tour in the UK and Europe and the great news is, there's so much more! We believe that revival will happen when we as believers start to step more and more into our identity in Christ. Revival starts in a person's heart, then in their city, then in their nation and beyond. We believe that when more and more Christians have a true revelation that Jesus paid the price for everything and act out of that, revival will be happening everywhere. Imagine if we truly believed what Jesus said and did in the gospels. That through his sacrifice we can raise the dead, heal the sick and cleanse the lepers. The more we can grab hold of that, the more revival we will see."