Audio Adrenaline (album)

Audio Adrenaline
Studio album by Audio Adrenaline
Released	April 17, 1992
Studio	A Cut Above Studio, Quad Studios and The Salt Mine (Nashville, Tennessee) Landmark Studios (Chesapeake, Ohio)
Genre	Christian rock, rap, pop
Length	46:40
Label	ForeFront
Producer	Steve Griffith Audio Adrenaline
Audio Adrenaline chronology
Audio Adrenaline (1992) Don't Censor Me (1993)

Audio Adrenaline is the debut studio album by the American Christian rock band of the same name. It was released on April 17, 1992. "My God" was one of the first songs recorded by the band, which caught the attention of ForeFront Records.

Development

According to the band, the album came to be when they met Bob Herdman. The band, which was known as A-180 at the time, had been playing and touring for some time already. Herdman approached them to record a song he had written called "My God" which mixed metal and rap. After they did, they asked Herdman to join the band as their keyboardist. Herdman also suggested they change their name, which they did to Audio Adrenaline.[1]

Producer and singer Toby McKeehan (from dc Talk) stumbled upon the recording of "My God", and they met after a dc Talk concert in 1989. McKeehan then brought the tape to the people at Forefront Records and they decided to sign the band. They then started writing and recording songs in the same vein as "My God", combining rock/pop elements with rap.[2]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Cross Rhythms	[4]
Jesus Freak Hideout	[5]

Audio Adrenaline was generally well received by the audience selling 75,000 copies.[1] Thom Granger, of AllMusic, gave the album 3 stars out of 5 and called it a "decent debut".[6] Paul Portell, of Jesus Freak Hideout, gave the album 3 stars out of 5. Portell wrote that the album "showed early on that you can be in a Christian band with positive lyrics and still have fun all in the same." However, he pointed out that "the album does have a few flaws". John DiBiase, of Jesus Freak Hideout too, wrote that the album "has a few memorable tunes".[2] The album features the song "DC-10", which would later be featured in several compilations of the band.

In later interviews, band members have expressed their dislike for the album. Guitarist Barry Blair said in an interview with CCM Magazine about the album "If it was up to me, I would burn them all, make them disappear... There is nothing personal about that record."[1] Despite this, the song "DC-10" was remade for Audio Adrenaline's fifth studio album, Underdog, albeit with a swing rhythm.

Music videos

A music video for the song "PDA" was released.[7]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"One Step Hyper"	Bob Herdman, Mark Stuart	Blair, Will McGinniss, Stuart	4:20
2.	"What You Need^[a]"	Herdman	Blair, Stuart	4:26
3.	"Who Do You Love"	Herdman, Stuart	Stuart	3:49
4.	"PDA"	Herdman, Stuart	Blair, Stuart	4:08
5.	"The Most Excellent Way"	Herdman, Stuart	Blair, Stuart	4:25
6.	"J-E-S-U-S Is Right"	Herdman	Blair, Herdman	4:30
7.	"Revolution"	Stuart	Blair, Stuart	5:15
8.	"Audio World"	Herdman, Stuart	Blair, Stuart	4:32
9.	"DC-10^[a]^[b]^[c]"	Herdman	Blair, Stuart	3:12
10.	"My God^[a]"	Herdman	Blair, Stuart (choir)	3:38
11.	"Life"	Blair, Herdman, Stuart	Blair, Steve Griffith, McGinniss, Stuart	4:21
Total length:				46:40

^a Live recording later appeared on Live Bootleg (1995)

^b Demo recording originally appeared on Reaper's Train (1990)

^c Re-recorded for Underdog (1999)

Personnel

Audio Adrenaline

• Mark Stuart – lead vocals, raps, mouth noises, various voices
• Barry Blair – acoustic guitars, electric guitars, backing vocals, drum programming (10), various voices
• Will McGinniss – bass, backing vocals, various voices
• Bob Herdman – percussion, general effects, backing vocals, raps, various voices

Additional musicians

• Steve Griffith – keyboards, programming, arrangements
• Dan Kellerby – keyboards, programming
• Jeffrey Mingle – keyboards, programming, various voices
• Jimmy Abegg – acoustic guitars (2, 3, 6, 8)
• Ron Gibson – drums (9), backing vocals (9)
• Kids Choir – choir (6)
• Jeanette Sullivan – beautiful angelic voice (6)
• Dave Stuart – backing vocals (9)

Choir on "My God"

• Helen DeCanio
• Mary DeCanio
• Steve Murphy
• Mark Stuart

Production

• Dan R. Brock – executive producer
• Ron W. Griffin – executive producer
• Steve Griffith – producer (1–8, 11), recording, mixing
• Audio Adrenaline – producers (9, 10)
• Steve Hoffman – engineer (9, 10)
• Steve Murphy – engineer (9, 10)
• Hank Williams – mastering at MasterMix (Nashville, Tennessee)
• Russ Harrington – photography
• Stephen Murray – art direction, design
• Michele Probst – make-up

References

1. 100% Adrenaline on CCM Magazine; Selby, Marykay (April 1996)
2. Audio Adrenaline review on Jesus Freak Hideout; Portell, Paul (February 12, 2003)
3. AllMusic review
4. Edington, Debbie (February 1, 1993). "Audio Adrenaline - Audio Adrenaline". Cross Rhythms (13). Retrieved October 15, 2022.
5. Jesus Freak Hideout review
6. Audio Adrenaline review on AllMusic; Granger, Thom
7. PDA video on YouTube