Reviewed by Mark Lawrence

Messianic worship leader and songwriter Chuck King directs the musical activities of the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem and this includes leading worship for one of Israel's largest Christian congregations and touring all over the world. This, his latest offering, is a collection of songs for worship penned by Chuck himself. There is a an overwhelming middle-eastern sound to the music with swathes of strings, choral arrangements and strongly rhythmic percussion, all of which make for a pleasant change to the staple guitar pop of western worship music. Unfortunately this rich middle-eastern sound at times gives way to rather pedestrian middle-of-the-road soft pop as on "Robes Of Righteousness" which is not dissimilar to an '80s Graham Kendrick song! For most of the album though, such as on epic opener "Sh'ma Yisrael" and the hauntingly beautiful "I Will Go Up", Chuck King gets it right with a healthy cross over of East meets West. Lyrically the album contains strong biblical imagery, especially around the nation of Israel and its relationship to God.

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