Yesterday I received a copy of the 'Now Is The Time' promotional single from Fierce! Furious? will be distributing free copies of the 'Now Is The Time' CD at various festivals in the UK this summer, such as Soul Survivor and Grapevine, just as they did with the 'Majesty' CDs prior to the release of the World Service album. However, unlike with the 'Majesty' CD, 'Now Is The Time' has been produced as a proper CD single package, in a jewel case, with proper artwork front/back covers and with 3 tracks:
1. Now Is The Time (Not Finished Version)
2. Inside Outside (AudioStar Radio Mix)
3. Inside Outside (Video CD-Rom)


It is important to point out that it is not the finished album version of 'Now Is The Time'. The CD also includes the version of 'Inside Outside' that was remixed for German Radio, plus the 'Inside Outside' CD-Rom video. This CD single will not be on-sale anywhere, it is a very limited edition single, apparently they've made just 5000 copies. In addition to being given away at festivals, 1000 people will get a free copy when they place an order at the Fierce Shop. Fierce will be sending a newsletter about this to their distribution list shortly.

The song itself build slowly, but really comes into it's own in the latter half. The main two verses and chorus are good, but then it goes into over drive and becomes absolutely fantastic! There's part of the song near the end where they sing "Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus" (with backing vocals from David+Carrie Grant) and then Martin really 'goes off on one' vocally, singing several long lines of lyrics with a frenzied flurry of energy. This is followed by a 30 second instrumental section, mainly consisting of Stu on guitar. Stunning.

Interestingly the song is credited to "Delirious?/Redman" - which implies the entire band had a hand in writing it, along with Matt Redman. Delirious? are no strangers to working with Matt, he and Martin have co-written a couple of songs in the past and most of the band have performed on Matt's albums at some point in the past. But this, as far as I'm aware, is the first time a song co-written by someone other than Delirious? has appeared on a Delirious? studio album.

In other news...
- It has been confirmed that Delirious? will be supporting Michael W. Smith in Belfast (8th Oct) and London (9th Oct) [News Item]

- Delirious? will be performing at the 'World Youth Day' in Cologne, Germany (20th Aug) and are included in the preview album 'Building One World' [News Item]

After 9 rounds of narrowing down the entire Delirious? back catalogue into a short list of the most popular songs, we have finally reached the final of the Ultimate Delirious? Song Poll. 93 songs have been narrowed down to the following 9 songs which have all reached the final after winning a previous poll in their own right. If you want to help decide which is the Ultimate Delirious? Song of 2005, then vote now! Here is a short reminder about each of the finalists:

Song: I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever
This is without doubt the most famous Delirious? song and arguably one of the most famous Christian songs in the world. Written by Martin Smith in 1994 it appeared on the very first tape the band made, 'Cutting Edge 1'. In 2001 Delirious? took the extraordinary step of releasing this song as single, landing a position in the mainstream UK singles chart.
Route to the final: Won the Cutting Edge 1&2 Poll with 31% of the votes

Song: Obsession
Obsession was one of the last songs to be recorded in the band's Cutting Edge era, appearing on the 'Cutting Edge 4' mini-album. With it's pounding drum beat and searching lyrics it quickly became a favourite at the live concerts, so much so that it was included on both of the first two live Delirious? albums.
Route to the final: Won the Cutting Edge 3&4 Poll with 32% of the votes (narrowly beating 'Did You Feel The Mountains' by just 6 votes)

Song: History Maker
This epic song was massively popular before Delirious? even got around to recording it for their 1997 album 'King of Fools'. It sums up everything that Delirious? stands for and is a typical example of the anthemic songs Delirious? are best at. It has held a regular spot in the band's live setlist for a decade now but shows no signs of aging.
Route to the final: Won the King of Fools Poll with 34% of the votes (getting nearly twice as many votes as it's nearest rival, 'Deeper')

Song: Bliss
When the 'Mezzamorphis' album burst onto the scene in 1999 it set a new standard for Christian music around the world. Always considered ahead of it's time, the album contained a whole batch of God-rock songs, with Bliss leading the way. The rousing guitars and fever pitch chorus make it an inevitable mosh pit favourite. Martin famously made the word "I" last an astonishing 11 syllables and Stu made his vocals debut with the line "It's the simple thing that satisfy".
Route to the final: Won the Mezzamorphis Poll with 21% (beating off stiff competition from 'Heaven' and 'Its Ok')

Song: My Glorious
By the time Delirious? released 'Glo' in 2000, fans were ready for a fresh sound and a familiar message. The band delivered the goods with an album described as 'a soundtrack for life'. My Glorious was the album's centre piece and roared into life with the loudest guitar and drum sound achieved to date. Another track that has retained it's regular set list spot, and always a perfect example of the band's strength and passion.
Route to the final: Won the Glo Poll with 36% (the largest winning percentage of all the songs in the final)

Song: Take Me Away
'Audio Lessonover?' is the most secular sounding album Delirious? have ever made. Whilst not always popular with some sections of the fanbase, it did throw up some of the band's best songs to date, with a mix of ballads and rock tracks like 'Take Me Away'. Unusually for Delirious? this song is about a Man's love for his wife, not the love between Man and God. It also marked Delirious' debut appearance in the mp3 arena, becoming a free downloadable single in 2001.
Route to the final: Won the Audio Lessonover? Poll with 23% of the votes

Song: Majesty
This song quickly became loved by fans because of it's moving melody and beautiful lyrics. When performed live it is impossible not to stand in awe at the thought of His Majesty. Often accompanied by footage from the Passion movie, the result is one of unbelievable emotional. Released as a free mp3 download, it held the top spot in the MP3 Guitar Rock chart for an entire month.
Route to the final: Won the World Service Poll with 25% of the votes (beating Inside Outside by just 4 votes)

Song: Touch
Touch was first recorded as a b-side for the 1997 'Deeper EP'. It was then re-recorded in 2000 for a compilation album titled 'Roaring Lambs'. It quickly became popular and in 2002 became the title track when it was included on the US version of the Audio Lessonover album. Always sung enthusiastically by the crowd at concerts, as demonstrated on the Access:d live album.
Route to the final: Won the b-sides Poll with 35% of the votes

Song: Investigate
If any song could be described as stunning then 'Investigate' is surely it. Taken from the 2000 Glo album, this worshipful rock ballad reaches a new level when performed live. Towards the end of the song the entire band launch into an instrumental extravaganza that leaves people gasping in sheer amazement. This effect led to it taking over from 'Obsession' as the epic concert finale song.
Route to the final: Came second in the Glo Poll (with 25% of the votes) and then went on to win the closely fought wild-card Poll.

If I'd had to pick out a few songs that would make the final before any of this had begun there are several songs that would certainly have been on my list. 'Deeper' and 'Did You Feel The Mountains' would have been on the list for a start, but somehow, quite amazingly they just missed out on a place in the final. It's definitely be an interesting experiment in finding out which d: songs truly are the most popular.

The final will run for about 2 weeks, and the results will be announced at the end - unlike the previous rounds the results will not be available throughout the poll. So place your vote and come back soon to find out which song wins. The excitement is building!

It's the old bus adage, you wait ages then 2 come along at once. It's been just like that with Delirious? concerts for me. After 6 months of no gigs, I've just been to my second one in a week (see review). On Friday night I drove over to Horsham for the concert; it also happened to be Jon Thatcher's birthday, so on arrival I handed him a card. The venue itself was an extremely wide room, with a very low ceiling and a stage at one end. Outside a huge queue of people were waiting to enter.

On of the reasons I was excited about this concert was because I'd heard that the band were planning on doing a couple of the new songs for the first time. They spent the afternoon practising them, and sure enough the set list confirmed the presence of 'Now Is The Time' and 'Paint The Town Red'. The performance of both was faultless and they are superb songs which are sure to becoming extremely popular over the coming years.

The concert as a whole was first-class, probably one of the most rocking d: shows I've seen in recent years. The band seemed to be on top form and the set list contained a nice blend of old and new. But of course it's the new songs that are most interesting. 'Now Is The Time' is a very church friendly kind of song, where as 'Paint The Town Red' has a much more rock-based feel to it. Both have overtly Christian lyrics, and demonstrate the range of musical styles the new album will contain. A major highlight of the concert was 'Mountains High' which always shines. There is something incredible about the power and emotion of the song. I was also particularly pleased with the photo I managed to capture during the song (see above), with Martin sat at the keyboard and the alien climbing a mountain visible on the video screen behind him. The band finished the concert with a moving rendition of 'There Is A Ligh', with Martin picking a girl out of the crowd (very bonoesque!) to hold a candle while he sung (see below).

So, things are hotting up with the build-up to the release of the new album. The title is still a closely guarded secret, but the release date is confirmed as being 7th November. There will also be an iTunes single released on 11th October, originally planned to be called 'Stronger' although this is now likely to change since the song may well be included on the Narnia soundtrack. This fantastic image (right) has also been revealed as a placeholder for the album cover. The final artwork is very different, but this picture is an excellent example of Mr Hutch's recent photo shoot in Morocco.