Reviewed by Tim Holden

This is the fourth outing from the Ohio-based worship team and continues where they left off with more polished, well written and arranged songs presented with the kind of style and production that an American megachurch budget can afford. As often in the worship market, it is quite easy to mistake this for the latest Hillsongs or Planetshakers release. However, Open Heaven manage to have enough variation to make it stand out a bit, though the opening tracks with their unison vocals might cast some doubt over this. "Heaven's Song" soon puts this to right with haunting processed female vocals over a chilled dance track and "Incredible Goodness" starts out as an anthemic romp before moving into a section from a Gary Keesee preach on the subject before doing a final morph into a great electric guitar solo - not something normally heard on a worship album. As a final step out of the normal fare, "For Your Glory" is a beautifully pared back call to give the glory back to God that resists the temptation to build to a rocking climax which adds a lot to the lyrics power. A very strong worship album that manages to stand out from the crowd.

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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