David Britton is perhaps one of the most accomplished musicians I've come across in Christian music. He once played drums in a rock band while simultaneously studying opera in college, and then went to earn a Master's in vocal performance and subsequently perform at Carnegie Hall. As if that weren't enough, Britton is now a recording artist who, in 2019, released a deluxe edition of his second studio album, The Storm.

To say that The Storm is interesting is understating it a bit. "Sail Away" opens the album with an epic and triumphant rock sound, and as it pulls you in, you're quickly hit with Britton's thick, operatic baritone instead of the rock vocals you might be expecting. In one moment, you might find yourself thinking how strange it is, but also that it's quite good. And this is the core of The Storm: a mix of rock, contemporary, and pop, but with a voice you'd usually hear in a bonafide opera. There are, however, a couple of songs that line up a lot more with the vocal style; "Love Will Never End" and "Libera Me" are both more in the opera style and feature Britton and guest vocalist Marnie Breckenridge at the height of their abilities.

Additionally, and for another layer of intrigue, about half of the tracklist is made up of cover songs. While there are some tracks where the stylistic combinations don't quite work as well for the song choice, such as the cover of Miley Cyrus' "The Climb," the opposite is true more often than not. For instance, "Viva La Vida" (Coldplay), "Forever Young" (Bob Dylan), and the old gospel song "Wayfaring Stranger" all sound great. Not to mention, the two bonus tracks - Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and The Greatest Showman's "Never Enough" - are both stunning, and possibly the best songs on the album.

The Storm is a musical experience unlike any I've had in my decades of music fandom. It's certainly not for everyone, but the adventurous sort of music fan, or those who enjoy both rock music and opera, will absolutely find a lot to like about David Britton.

- Review date: 5/22/20, written by Scott Fryberger of Jesusfreakhideout.com

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