Ohhhhh gosh. Petra. Retiring. This month. DANG! After 33 years! I have to admit that I haven’t liked their music since the 80’s. But back then . . . . they totally rocked!!! I discovered them in 1985 on a mission ship called M.V. Logos. I played the albums all the time. LOUD! There were complaints but I loved them. Bob Hartman wrote some incredible songs and Greg X. Volz sung them and the whole thing totally worked! Moment of silence . . please . . while I read out these sacred words:
Never Say Die (1981) This one healed me of my fundamentalism.
More Power To Ya (1982) Sweet album.
Not of This World (1983) Incredible songs. Maybe their best.
Beat The System (1984) More electronic songs for geeks. I loved it.
Killer albums, all four of them . . . and i WILL NOT HEAR OTHERWISE FROM ANYONE!!! Do I have an Amen? (HT: Pirialigeiro)
Petra: the song “More Power to ya”. Love that song. It was big encouragement to me in light of the ridicule for being a Christian: “…they that wait apon the Lord they shall renew, they shall renew their strength.”
One of my most “profound” moments occurred while playing Petra’s song Clean, which I believe was on the Beat the System album.
I was singing along… while in the shower… and I just had this moment of revelation that I was clean. Incredibly cheesy, I know, but it was really impacting for me at the time. I had been such a complete idiot for several years that a revelation of forgiveness and cleansing really changed me.
Petra.
Got to be one of the best Christian rock band names of all time. Not something like “Switchfoot” (Huh? Why not something cool like “Switchblade” or better yet “Slingblade”? Yeh…mum huh…french fried taters).
I didn’t get the double entendre back in 1985 when I was 12. Petra = “Rock” – Jesus is the Rock. Yet also…we ROCK! Can’t beat that.
I never thought it would happen, but I’ve dug my Petra album out in commemoration.
I pray that eight won’t sound like this in 20 years
Now if the Rolling Stones could take heed! LOL!!!! HeeHeeHeeHeeeee!!!!
thanks. i now have petra lyrics stuck in my head. 🙂 and grateful for it!
peace,
holly
atleast we still have stryper!
i’m proud to say that these albums nursed me through high school, though i discovered them there well after they were cool. i bought them on tape, and then again on CD.
Petra’s bible-based lyrics should be an example to all of today’s songwriters. People are media-learners — let’s get some good theology and bible into the songs that we sing!
I lost track of the number of youth I took to Petra concerts in the 80’s and early 90’s. Many of the youth would comment that they felt like they’d been to a worship time and wondered why church couldn’t rock, as well (!).
I think Beat the System was the last “good” album they did.
yes . . exactly
and i should add that if anyone wanted to hear what Petra sounded like back in the 80’s with the big guitar and Greg’s screeching vocals . . then they should listen to The Darkness
I got to hear Petra on one of their early tours in a church gymnasium in the early 80’s, then again a couple of years later in a bigger arena. I liked being able to sit 3 or 4 rows from them in the gym much better. Great albums!!! Now if I can only find my cassettes……
Petra & Stryper–hadn’t thought about them in a while now.
Where’s my hairspray and teasing comb? Spandex?
Gotta choose today-e-ay
Whom you will serve
Don’t try to wait to find the nerve!
Oh yeah. I got a Petra CD for Easter one year when I was about ten. I was raised in the non-instrumental churches of Christ, so the rocking-out Godward was a profound experience.
Do not go gentle into that good night, O Petra…
dylan thomas?
there’s a lump in my throat man… a great big lump…
Saw Petra did a last Dutch gig in Utrecht, The Netherlands last sunday. They still rock!
Classic line: “Look at the rose-colored stained glass windows / never allowing the world to see in”
Back to the Street & This Means War were pretty good, but the oldies with Greg X. Volz were the best!
yes, andrew. that was dylan thomas.
“When the last enemy is gone, from the dust there will come a song.”
Andrew,
I can’t even remember the amount of times I saw Petra live as a teen. Interesting note, my mother is actually still a huge fan of theirs. The only reason I got sick of their music was because she would only listen to “This Means War” in the van for like a year straight.
I heard that they may be releasing a DVD of “captured in time and space” which would be cool.
Take care andrew.
chad
I must get a new turntable. Thanks for reminding me of that. I love old Petra!
Are you kidding? yeah the Synthesizer era of Petra was awesome, but hands down Beyond Belief is the best album they ever did. Sure their follow up albums after that (unseen power, wake up call, praise II) all were great as well, but I think that was the Zenith of their music. Its a shame that the band didn’t have to “rotate” musicians as much later on.