There’s a moment in every believer’s life when the static clears, when the noise of self-doubt, addiction, and all those late-night whispers finally collapse into silence—and something pure, incandescent, and terrifyingly real takes its place. That’s the space Ashes Awaken occupies with “A Better Way,” their debut single and sonic testimony of deliverance. It’s less a song and more an exorcism disguised as a metal hymn—a declaration that faith and distortion can coexist, that redemption has a rhythm section.
From the first notes, “A Better Way” doesn’t ask politely for your attention; it demands it. The guitars roar like they’ve been baptized in the same molten river that once gave birth to early Metallica and Stryper. The drums—tight, deliberate, and unapologetic—drive the message like a preacher slamming his fist on a pulpit made of amplifiers. But the heart of it all lies in the lyrics: “Only Love can set me free.” It’s not a tagline. It’s a confession.
Project leader Michael Stover, the mind and spirit behind the reborn Ashes Awaken, has said that this band isn’t just about riffs and redemption—it’s about resurrection. The name change from Ashes Awake wasn’t just a legal necessity; it was a spiritual one. And you can hear that rebirth in every chorus, every power chord that seems to claw its way toward heaven. This is the sound of a man—and a movement—refusing to stay buried under yesterday’s pain.
Christian metal has always been an outsider in both worlds: too loud for the pews, too sacred for the pit. Yet “A Better Way” manages to straddle that divide with fearless grace. It’s got the crunch and conviction to please the headbangers, and the clarity of spirit to touch the seekers. There’s something profoundly honest in its construction; it’s not trying to impress—it’s trying to heal. You can feel it in the solo that splits the sky midway through the track, a blistering sermon of six strings that bleeds catharsis.
Thematically, it’s about the search for meaning after the wreckage—the long crawl from addiction, despair, and the hollow promises of false comfort toward something unbreakable and eternal. It’s about finding that “better way,” not as an idea, but as an act of surrender. This isn’t radio religion; it’s street-corner salvation with a Les Paul and a Marshall stack.
By the time the final chorus hits, you’re not just hearing the band—you’re inside the revival tent with them. The lights flicker, the smoke rises, and every scar in your soul starts humming in tune. “A Better Way” doesn’t save you, but it reminds you that salvation is possible, even for the most wrecked among us.
Ashes Awaken isn’t here to entertain. They’re here to testify. And if this first offering is any indication, they’re about to wake a lot more than ashes—they’re about to resurrect faith in the power of loud, unapologetically spiritual rock.
“A Better Way” by Ashes Awaken is available now via MTS Records. Play it loud. Play it redeemed.
–Lonnie Nabors