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**Take Me To Your Leader - Newsboys**
★★★★☆

In the grand pantheon of Christian rock's most audacious experiments, few albums dare to crash-land quite as spectacularly as the Newsboys' 1996 opus "Take Me To Your Leader." This is the sound of a band who've clearly been abducted by aliens, subjected to some serious sonic probing, and returned to Earth with their musical DNA fundamentally altered – and frankly, we're all better for it.

By the mid-90s, the Australian-born, Nashville-transplanted Newsboys had already established themselves as Christian rock's most gleefully irreverent provocateurs. Following the commercial breakthrough of "Not Ashamed" and "Going Public," the quartet found themselves at a crossroads that would have sent lesser bands scurrying back to the safety of power-chord orthodoxy. Instead, they chose to dive headfirst into the swirling vortex of industrial rock, electronic experimentation, and sci-fi conceptualism that was reshaping alternative music's landscape.

The album's genesis reads like a fever dream concocted by caffeinated theologians. Frontman Peter Furler and his cohorts – Phil Joel, Duncan Phillips, and Jeff Frankenstein – had become increasingly fascinated with humanity's place in the cosmic order, leading them to craft a loose concept album that tackles spiritual themes through the lens of interplanetary visitation. It's "The X-Files" meets "Mere Christianity," and somehow, impossibly, it works.

Musically, "Take Me To Your Leader" represents a quantum leap into uncharted territory. The band's previous guitar-driven anthems give way to a kaleidoscope of programmed beats, synthesized textures, and industrial flourishes that would make Trent Reznor nod approvingly. Producer Steve Taylor, himself no stranger to Christian music's outer fringes, helps sculpt a soundscape that's simultaneously futuristic and primal, electronic and organic.

The album's crown jewel, "Shine," erupts like a supernova of infectious energy, marrying a relentless electronic pulse with Furler's acrobatic vocals and a chorus that burrows into your brain like some benevolent parasite. It's pop perfection wrapped in industrial clothing, and it remains one of Christian rock's most enduring anthems. The track's success on mainstream radio proved that spiritual conviction and commercial appeal need not be mutually exclusive.

"Take Me To Your Leader," the title track, unfurls as a seven-minute epic that wouldn't sound out of place on a Pink Floyd album, if Roger Waters had found Jesus and developed an obsession with UFOs. Its sprawling narrative structure and atmospheric production create a genuinely cinematic experience that elevates the album beyond mere collection of songs into something approaching art.

Elsewhere, "God Is Not A Secret" transforms theological discourse into a danceable manifesto, while "Elle G." serves up a tender acoustic interlude that provides necessary breathing space amid the electronic chaos. "Breakfast" might be the album's most audacious moment – a stream-of-consciousness ramble that somehow manages to find profound meaning in the mundane ritual of morning meals.

The band's willingness to embrace programming and electronic manipulation never overshadows their fundamental humanity. Furler's vocals remain the emotional anchor throughout, capable of conveying both vulnerability and triumph, often within the same phrase. His bandmates prove equally adaptable, with Phillips' drumming providing an essential human heartbeat beneath the technological wizardry.

"Take Me To Your Leader" didn't just succeed commercially – it spawned multiple radio hits and achieved gold certification – it fundamentally altered the trajectory of Christian rock. Suddenly, bands felt permission to experiment, to push boundaries, to recognize that sacred music need not sound like it was recorded in a cathedral. The album's influence can be heard in everyone from Skillet to Thousand Foot Krutch.

Nearly three decades later, the album's bold fusion of spiritual seeking and sonic adventurism feels remarkably prescient. In an era where the boundaries between genres have become increasingly porous, the Newsboys' willingness to throw conventional wisdom out the airlock seems less like reckless abandon and more like visionary foresight.

"Take Me To Your Leader" stands as testament to the transformative power of creative risk-taking. It's an album that dared to ask what Christian rock might sound like if it truly embraced the infinite possibilities of the universe – and in answering that question, it created something genuinely otherworldly. The