Glorious Ruins

Glorious Ruins
Live album by Hillsong Church
Released	July 2, 2013
Recorded	Hillsong Convention Centre (Sydney, Australia) [October 27 & 28th 2012] & London Dominion Theatre (London, England) [February, 17 2013]
Genre	Contemporary worship
Label	Hillsong
Hillsong Music Australia Live praise & worship chronology
Cornerstone 2012 Glorious Ruins 2013 Unknown 2014

Glorious Ruins is the twenty-second album in the live praise and worship series of Christian Contemporary music by Hillsong Church. It was recorded live in London, England, and Sydney, Australia by the Hillsong worship team from around the world including Reuben Morgan, Joel Houston, Ben Fielding, UNITED band, Cassey Zschech [Hillsong Live] and international teams from London, Stockholm, and Cape Town. The album includes 12 songs including "Man of Sorrows", "Glorious Ruins", "Christ Is Enough", "Anchor", and "You Crown the Year". It was released on June 28, 2013 in Australia and New Zealand ^[1] and on July 2, 2013 internationally.^[2]

History

Recording Night: This Is For Everyone

On October 27 & 28, 2012, Hillsong Live recorded the first part of Glorious Ruins at the Hillsong Convention Centre in Sydney with a worship night called "This Is For Everyone".

London Album Recording

On February 17, 2013, Hillsong London recorded the second part of the album at London's Dominion Theatre.

Easter Single: Man of Sorrows

Just before Easter, Hillsong released a single entitled "Man Of Sorrows" from the album. It was available as a free download for a time being.^[3]

Album Cover Artwork Released

On April 3, 2013, the Hillsong Live Facebook page announced the new album by releasing its cover artwork.^[4]

Album Song Sampling

On May 25, 2013, Hillsong Live began releasing audio samples of the album's songs on its Facebook page as exclusive content.

Album Trailer Released

On June 4, 2013, Hillsong Live released the new trailer for the album and the live video for 'Man Of Sorrows'.

Album Release

The night before the release of the album, a pre-release event was held. On July 2, the album was officially released.

Vision & Inspiration

"Let the ruins come to life | In the beauty of Your Name | Rising up from the ashes | God forever You reign"

This chorus of the title track, Glorious Ruins, was an underlying theme through the life of Hillsong Church in the lead up to the Hillsong Live praise & worship album recording, Glorious Ruins. It’s a vivid image which captures the imagination and stirs the soul. Brian Houston, Senior Pastor of Hillsong Church explains, “Ruins can speak of crushing defeat or perhaps of something abandoned, but the good news today is that the ruins come to life. …Through Jesus Christ what we look at is ruins that become glorious..." Whether it be through times of personal devotion or in your church, we pray that the lyrics contained in this album stir your faith & love in Jesus Christ.^[5]

Track listing

Personnel

Worship Leaders

• Juliet Adekambi
• Ty Braland
• Jay Cook
• Matt Crocker
• Jonathan 'JD' Douglass
• Ben Fielding
• Annie Garratt
• Jad Gillies
• Joel Houston
• Eric Liljero
• Reuben Morgan
• Laura Toganivalu
• David Ware

Vocals

• Dan Barrett
• Ashley John Baptiste
• Jill Marie Cooper
• Jenny Deacon
• Katie Dodson
• Hannah Hobbs
• Jorim Kelly
• Ingrid Kennedy
• Brad Kohring
• Ana Loback
• Collena Masuku
• Nait Masuku
• Sheila Mpofu
• Alexander Pappas
• Dean Ussher
• Esther Volstad

Music Directors

• Chris Davenport
• Gio Galanti
• Autumn Hardman
• Nigel Hendroff

Electric Guitars

• Chris Davenport
• Ben Fielding
• Nigel Hendroff
• Joel Hingston
• David Kennedy
• Timon Klein
• Dave Marinelli
• Isaac Soon
• Dylan Thomas

Acoustic Guitars

• Ty Braland
• Matt Crocker
• Ben Fielding
• Jad Gillies
• Joel Houston
• Reuben Morgan

Keys

• David Andrew
• Moses Byun
• Adam Dodson
• Gio Galanti
• Dave George
• Autumn Hardman
• Peter James
• Thiago Pereira
• Ryan Taubert
• Ben Tennikoff

Bass

• Ike Graham
• Matt Hann
• Ntando 'Bob' Mpofu
• Jihea Oh

Drums

• Daniel McMurray
• Harrison Wood
• Simon Kobler

Percussion

• Bede Benjamin-Korporaal
• Hristo Dushev
• JP Starra

Trombone

• Marc Warry

French Horn

• Elizabeth Gorringe

Violin

• Evie Gallardo

Cello

• Michaeli Witney

Instruments

• Nigel Hendroff: TMG.
• Timon Klein: Fender.
• Isaac Soon: Fender.
• Reuben Morgan: Martin.
• Joel Houston: Martin & Taylor.
• Matt Crocker: Taylor.
• Ben Fielding: Rickenbacker, Collings.
• Dylan Thomas: Fender.
• Jad Gillies: Gretsch.
• David Kennedy: Fender
• Joel Hingston: Fender.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Louder Than The Music	[6]

Before its release, the album received positive reviews from Louder Than the Music's Jono Davies, who wrote, "there aren't many Christian bands that make the world stop and listen when they release a new album, but Hillsong are one of them." And describes the album's sound as "is this album much of the same classic Hillsong sound, or a new fresh style of worship? Well, a bit of both to be honest, but more on that later." And ends saying "How do you sum up an album like this? I don't know if words are enough. People will love this album simply because it's another classic from Hillsong, who seem to be getting better and better with each release. The band have been more creative in the last few years, which must be commended. I actually think the songs on this album are stronger than previous albums. If some albums in the past worked well as a package, this album has much stronger songs that can stand on their own in times of worship."^[6] The album received three four-and-a-half-star-out-of-five ratings.

References