Into The Great Unknown

Grammy and Dove Award-winning Christian music producer Ed Cash and his brother Scott Cash produced half of the songs on the CD. House of Peace's David Liscum and Yochanan Marcellino produced two songs each and Cody Norris produced one song, as did Klaus Badelt.  

While frontman David Liscum wrote or co-wrote every song on the project, he is quick to point out that House of Peace is a band, and not a solo effort. Liscum is joined by an eclectic group of musicians including guitarist Jeff Maldonado, drummer Seadric Crawford, Ryan Horner on bass and Maldonado's wife Christine on percussions and background vocals. The band was initially featured on the City of Peace compilation project, I Stand With Israel, and Liscum later teamed with label head Yochanan Marcellino to pen "New Life," the song that would become the theme for the feature film The Identical, starring Ashley Judd, Ray Liotta and Blake Rayne.

 "He's a great guy with a wonderful heart and a true worshipper. These songs are responses to God's glory, God's change, God's touch, God's calling" says City of Peace Media's Jordan Marcellino.

Into the Great Unknown is an apt title for the project, according to Liscum. "It's about the journey we all go through with God, a journey of moving from faith to faith where you have to deal with a lot of unknowns. Sometimes, you just have to learn to let go."  

Part of the letting go process involved bringing others alongside to help in the creative process, including Christian music uber-producer Ed Cash, who brought his own flourishes to the project. Cash admires the way House of Peace fuses deep theological insights with lush, accessible, contemporary melodies, and even connects with one of the great traditional hymns of the church. "It is a really beautiful picture of Jesus," Cash says. "I love the tribute it pays to the Old Testament, showing how Christ demonstrated His love for us by placing His blood on our hearts."

Into the Great Unknown opens with the lovely and encouraging "Passover Lamb," which draws imagery from the classic hymn, "Nothing But The Blood." The song segues effortlessly into the acoustic guitar-driven communion song, "Break the Bread." The celebration of the glory of God continues with the shimmering worship aria, "King of the Universe." The mood shifts to one of reverential awe on "New Life," as Liscum ponders the twists and turns of life. "I finally found what I've been searching for," he sings. "It's been there all the time, right before my very eyes!"

Ethereal synths and thudding tom toms accentuate the engaging praise aria, "King ofIsrael." Acoustic guitars take center stage on the horizontally-directed song ofencouragement, "Let Us Be One." The acoustic guitars remain, but the direction shifts toward vertical worship on the gorgeous song of adoration, "Praise Your Name Forever," which prominently features Christine Maldonado on BGVs.

The softly rocking "Glory to Your Name" continues the joyful praise theme, as Liscum exults, "Everyone will praise! Everyone will say, Glory to your name!" The band maintains its reverential prayerful posture while kicking up the tempo on the anthemic, "Rejoice." Engaging piano lines embellish the declaration song, "He Will Reign," before the project closes with the lush and evocative "One Child," the New Life Theme from the feature film The Identical, performed by the Chinese Symphony Orchestra.

While House of Peace is thrilled with how their debut project turned out, they insist their goal is really not about just producing a CD, but about producing disciples of Jesus.

"We are passionate about music and worship because we realize how powerful the combination is as a tool for righteousness," Liscum explains. "We're not just another Christian band with a CD to peddle. We are a worship band, but evangelism is always a component of what we do. We want to go into the great unknown and reach the lost with the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

For more information about House of Peace and Into the Great Unknown, visit houseofpeaceband.com or follow House of Peace on Facebook at facebook.com/HouseofPeaceMusic.