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Among other revivals of classic acts, the legendary Christian rock band Petra has reconvened for not only a 50th anniversary tour, but also for an all-new album. On Oct. 8, 2025, they released the song \u201cDeliver Us\u201d as a single to build up to their Jan. 5 release of the album \u201cHope.\u201d In their publicity pieces for the album, Petra promised songs to offer reassurance in Jesus for a despairing generation lost in a chaotic and uncertain time. They deliver 10 songs that do just that \u2014 and are much better than the average contemporary Christian music tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the first listen, this album seems slightly incohesive; the band chose to vary the styles of the songs noticeably more than on their prior releases (the third track has a fascinating \u201980s-rock-meets-islander vibe.) However, the careful listener will notice that all the songs still sound like Petra, and several stylistic choices, such as the digital self-harmony recording technique for John Schlitt\u2019s singing, tie the songs together with a subtle similarity. Further, while the individual songs\u2019 styles vary more than in the past, the album has a very strong thematic structure and throughline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHope\u201d succeeds in its mission to provide songs that point the listener to Jesus in the midst of trouble. The organization of the album, examined carefully, is a Christian redemption arc. After the introductory, near-metal \u201cFilthy Lucre,\u201d (a penetrating Biblical call away from the pursuit of wealth), they present \u201cKiss the Coals\u201d (my personal favorite from the album). This reference to Isaiah speaks of salvation in a light we all need to be reminded of: salvation and sanctification through trials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God\u2019s love is often compared to fire \u2014 but this song reminds us that it is a fire that will sear away our impurity. This consideration of growth through trials continues throughout the rest of the album (which I won\u2019t completely spoil here). Without shying away from the pain of life in a fallen world, the songs present steady reminders that by relying on our savior, the Word and God\u2019s providence, we will make it \u2014 and we can find joy in this journey. \u201cDeliver Us,\u201d the single, is the final song, prompting us to recall that after the trials and the sanctification, God will rescue us and this world \u2014 and we have a role in the plan of salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each song also holds up as a musically excellent piece. The style is rock, yes, but Petra took the trouble on each track to have quality playing and musical depth. They do not limit themselves to the standard of a single singer, a pair of guitars, and a drum set. In every song, the masterful keyboard work of John Lawry adds a beautiful layer, and toward the end of the album, Greg Bailey brings a powerful hit of emotion and musical complexity with his cello playing. Petra has always built layering into their songs, but now their music has the added benefit of modern recording equipment that preserves the musical quality better than before. Not only is the message of the album good, but so is the delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All in all, this is an amazing album. It might not be the perfect introduction to the music of Petra (I\u2019m biased from having listened to their entire discography), but it is a timely soundtrack for our days of tension and conflict. For anyone who likes Christian music, rock and\/or is tired of 2010-20s contemporary Christian music, give \u201cHope\u201d a listen. I cannot imagine you\u2019ll regret it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A review of Petra\u2019s new album<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":652,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[221],"tags":[76,21,43],"class_list":["post-1266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-benjamin-treadwell","tag-entertainment","tag-issue-2026-02-06"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-02-06-17-hope-hits-all-the-right-notes-1.jpg",192,293,false],"thumbnail":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-02-06-17-hope-hits-all-the-right-notes-1.jpg",98,150,false],"medium":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-02-06-17-hope-hits-all-the-right-notes-1.jpg",192,293,false],"medium_large":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-02-06-17-hope-hits-all-the-right-notes-1.jpg",192,293,false],"large":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-02-06-17-hope-hits-all-the-right-notes-1.jpg",192,293,false],"1536x1536":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-02-06-17-hope-hits-all-the-right-notes-1.jpg",192,293,false],"2048x2048":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-02-06-17-hope-hits-all-the-right-notes-1.jpg",192,293,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Ian Schartner","author_link":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/author\/schartnerij23\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"A review of Petra\u2019s new album","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1266"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1781,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1266\/revisions\/1781"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-02-06-17-hope-hits-all-the-right-notes-2.jpg\")
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