In November of each year men travel to Belfast for the largest gathering of Christian men in Europe, called "The Mandate." Worship through music is an essential and vital value of this and is led by
Robin Mark, who also helms this project, chronicling the musical side of the event. There's an invitation in the liner notes for people to get more information about this spiritual event, but the music here is hardly the most inspiring worship experience you'll hear on disc or live. There's a splash of percussive, brassy, Irish-tinged energy on the popular title track and a few others, but most of the choral arrangements are a bit monotone and unadorned, a far cry from the much more emotional gospel worship experiences out there.
Mark contributes a few new worship songs to the experience, and pieces like "Revival (As Sure As Gold)" have the earmarks of songs that could catch on in mainstream churches. But they're a bit bland in comparison to the far superior "Let Everything That Has Breath" and "Shout to the North," both covers. Perhaps you have to be from Belfast to best appreciate this, but this isn't the best the Lord has ever heard. ~ Jonathan Widran