Reviewed by Brendan O'Regan

So, you want to keep the Lord's Day holy? Try taking some time off and putting this on you music player. 'Death, Be Not Proud' is a quiet, reflective, prayerful album that will focus your thoughts on God. Usually when I find a good EP my main regret is that it isn't a full album. But this works well in the shorter version with enough depth to draw the listener into a satisfying musical and spiritual experience. With death stalking today's news reports it's good to find a recording that tackles death in a positive Christian way, as one can guess from the title, a quote from poet John Donne. The title track is particularly strong ("Death, be not proud/For your pride has failed you/You will not kill me/Though you may dwell in plague and poison/You're a slave to Fate and desperate men"). The second track, "Death In His Grave" is a song by the renowned John Mark McMillan and follows a similar path and includes a resurrection theme ("On Friday a thief/On Sunday a king. . ./The man Jesus Christ laid/Death in his grave"). The EP also features not unrelated Eucharistic themes, for example on "Lamb Of God" and "Receive". This wistfully beautiful EP ends with the lovely healing song "Love Is Moving" and Assad's fine and subtle piano playing perfectly complements the songs.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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