Kevin Max’s The Blood Features Collaborations

Kevin Max returns December 26th with his latest recording, The Blood - a very personal project that allowed him to step back from his usual rock stylings in favor of a musical exploration of Gospel. This deliberate departure features high profile collaborations with an extraordinary cast, including Vince Gill, Amy Grant, American Idol finalist Chris Sligh, Joanne Cash, Ashley Cleveland and others, including the long-anticipated reunion of dcTalk (featuring Max, Michael Tait and TobyMac)!

"This album was something I have been wanting to accomplish as a singer for many years," says Max. "It is literally going back to my roots in search of the music that resonated with me as a young man, when I was searching for something bigger than myself."

Max is quick to point out that The Blood is not a worship record or classic hymns cover project, but rather "a sensitive and stylized adaption of the music that was at the root of rock and roll, blues and popular culture."

"I remember listening to Elvis, Mahalia Jackson, The Imperials, Andrae Crouch, but it took me years to understand the impact it had on me as a singer and an artist," explains Max. "These songs that I picked specifically related to me that the singer was in need of The Gospel more than The Gospel needing to be sung."

With dcTalk, Max accrued album sales exceeding 8 million, as well as numerous Grammy and Dove Awards. Their reunion for "The Cross" marks the first recorded reunion of the group since the 2002 single, "Let's Roll." "Hearing the three of us on the same track again was a treat," says Max. "'The Cross' was the perfect anthem for that reunion."

The Blood was produced by fellow recording artist/songwriter/musician Will Owsley (Amy Grant, Shania Twain, Michael McDonald), and features some of Nashville's finest players including Phil Madeira (B3, Organ, National Guitar). John Painter (Horns, HipHop Bass) and Vince Gill on guitar. The first radio single, "Run On for a Long Time" (featuring Chris Sligh), is going to radio this month.

"Elvis Presley sang gospel music because he needed it in his life, not for fame," reflects Max. "That is precisely the reason i decided to make The Blood. These are songs that I needed to sing, because they fill me with joy."