Metal core band to release EP in Pelham

Published 4:16 pm Thursday, July 17, 2008

Thrashing vocals and heavy drum beats might not reverberate a message of God’s everlasting love and grace to the ears of most Christians, but for members of the band I Am Terrified their music is worship in its truest form.

“We play our music only for Jesus and we don’t bring any apologies for it,” lead vocalist Patrick Schefano said. “We stand out because we do scream, but if you dig deep into the lyrics you will see that we seek to glorify Christ.”

Schefano is part of the worship team at Life Church in Pelham, where the band will release its six-song EP at a show Friday night.

Life Church pastor Rick Bishop said I Am Terrified reaches people that traditional or even most contemporary worship bands often would not.

“We tend to do a different type of worship service but even our members aren’t used to the music Patrick and the band performs,” Bishop said. “They have a great message though and are bringing kids to Christ that wouldn’t come through our services.”

At the opening of “Falling Everlasting” Schefano growls through the speakers, followed by even deeper backup vocals. The song softens toward the chorus though as the vocalist belts out lyrics like “Go and tell the world, tell the world of his beautiful name. Go tell the world we all fall short.”

Schefano said the band really got sucked into the genre. Now, he feels like its more than just a few gigs here and there.

“We’ve had a lot of kids be saved at our shows and that’s really humbling,” Schefano said. “That kind of stuff really makes you step out of your skin and realize what God is doing. God just told me you’re going to do this … you’re going to lead people in radical worship.”

The EP release show will be Friday, July 18 at Life Church in Pelham. The doors open at 6 p.m. with the show starting at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door. The church is located on the hill behind Old Time Pottery off of Highway 31 in Pelham.