Obscure CCM Bands - Vo. 4

I really thought I was done with this little series. I had a couple others I thought I might share but nothing really stood out to me. 

Then three weeks later I remembers this band. They are a group that represents one of the rare times where CCM was ahead of the cultural wave instead of following it's wake. 

The band - AVB. Acappella Vocal Band (or is it "All Vocal Band", this website makes me wonder if I've been mistaken for 30 years).

You must understand, long before the Pitch Perfect movie franchise and even before Glee became a cultural phenomenon, CCM was featuring acapella groups all over the place. Now this isn't to say that acapella music was totally absent in mainstream culture, it wasn't. In fact I remember Rockapella being ever-present on one of my favorite tv shows, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

AVB was actually an off-shoot from the original group named Acappella, a vocal group founded in the early 80's. Both groups had their 15 minutes of CCM fame for sure. But it is AVB that made an impression on me. 

Their 1989 album Song in My Soul put them on my musical radar thanks to a couple songs that got radio play. Before I looked it up, I was sure this was the early 90's. As I look back though, they were probably my gateway-drug to the emerging pop-rock CCM acts that followed - ie, Newsboys, dc Talk. Their style had great vocal harmony but also featured an up-beat, almost hip-hop sound. 

The song that hooked me, for at least this one album, was "The Victim". Here's a version they did at what is an apparent reunion appearance 10 years ago. 

The group had many iterations, normally made up of 4-5 members at a time. I will never be confused with being a judge on any singing competition, yet they seem to still have a lot of talent and skill. And by combining into a larger group, they are able to do a nice job layering their sound.

I could not have told you that when I was a pre-teen though. All I knew then was, they had a unique sound and catchy lyrics. In this case, convicting-ly catchy lyrics. I gave my life to Christ at an early age, but I remember this song in particular being one of the first times I really learned that Jesus' death gave me the key to "stop doing those things" I knew were wrong. It was more than knowing right from wrong, but knowing how to live accordingly.

And as we consider anew the incredible truths of this Holy Week, the one Truth that stands above all is that when he "died upon the cross, the wage of sin was then made free". He truly took the torture and the punishment that was mine, that was ours. He became the victim of our crime. What a sacrifice and what a wonderful Risen Savior we serve!